The International Scientific and Practical Conference OSHAgro-2025, organized by NULES, brought together over 250 participants online this year. Among them were scientists, Members of Parliament, representatives of the International Labour Organization, the Ministry of Economy, the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine, representatives of the Occupational Safety and Civil Protection Department of SFE “Forests of Ukraine”, and many others.
The main topic of discussion was legislative requirements for occupational safety and practical aspects of managing professional risks at enterprises. Lawmakers are preparing to adopt Draft Law No. 10147 “On the Safety and Health of Workers at Work”, which has a Euro-integration focus and is based on EU directives establishing principles of workplace risk management. The key goal of the bill is to reduce occupational injuries and fatalities.
Ukrainian enterprises are now preparing to transition to new standards. Employers must assess risks in advance, plan and implement measures to minimize or eliminate them. These requirements are also in line with the international occupational safety standard ISO 45001.
Representatives of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” shared their experience in risk-oriented approaches to workplace safety. A working group was established to develop occupational safety regulations that comply with new requirements and international standards.
Since last autumn, the enterprise has launched pilot projects for production control, which have been fully implemented across all branches since April this year. Checklists have been introduced at forestry work sites, and workplaces are inspected according to compliance criteria.
A risk map has been implemented to identify the acceptability of compliance criteria and allow timely preventive measures.
A procedure for managing occupational risks has also been approved. This is a continuous, multi-stage process involving feedback from employees. The procedure provides for regular training and simulation of potential situations before work begins, which helps to improve compliance with occupational safety requirements.
Work is also underway to ensure that contractor organizations comply with the new occupational safety standards.
Participants of the conference highly appreciated the achievements of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” in implementing risk-oriented approaches to workplace safety, particularly the developed risk map and risk management procedures. The event proved to be an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences in preventing workplace injuries and to adopt the best practices from other organizations.