How to create a work environment plan

The work environment is about everything that affects you at work: from air and noise to work pace and contact with colleagues. A good work environment makes the workplace both safe and pleasant – and it is your responsibility as an employer.

When you work with the work environment, you need to do it in a systematic and planned way. Systematic work environment management consists of a number of activities, and the conditions for these. Here is how you proceed, step by step:

1. Examine the work environment Create routines for examining the work environment. Answer these questions: What, when and how will you examine? Who will do it? The Swedish Work Environment Authority recommends that you examine the work environment both regularly, for example once a year, and in connection with changes. A good routine is to carry out health and work environment tests once a year, divided into two test occasions, and to perform some smaller tests, such as heart rate measurements, more frequently.

2. Investigate ill health and accidents Has anyone become ill because of the work? Has an accident occurred, or was there a near miss? You need to investigate what has happened in order to understand why it happened – only then can you avoid it happening again.

• Let someone at the workplace investigate what has happened. You can also get help from occupational health services.

• Make sure that several people take part in the investigation. For example, you can interview different people about what has happened.

• Describe what has happened: What was the task? Who was involved? Where did it happen? What happened? What illness or injury did, or could, result? What happened beforehand?

• Analyse: How could we have prevented it from happening? What can we do to make sure it does not happen again? Write a short report and inform everyone at the workplace.

Carry out the investigation immediately after someone has become ill, been involved in an accident, or almost been involved in a serious incident.

3. Assess the risks What have you seen when you have examined and investigated the work environment? Are there different risks for women and men? How great are the risks and what can they lead to? Always assess the risks that you discover during examinations or in other ways. Also assess the risks when you are going to change something, for example move to other premises or change job tasks.