Upon request, our team of asbestos field workers will visit sites to carry out a building assessment and take samples which will then be analysed in our mineralogy unit. If the assessor’s report resulting from this visit indicates the presence of asbestos, the degree of urgency and recommended action will be stipulated in the report. Our teams can also monitor and check asbestos-removal sites and check the air contamination in premises to detect any possible presence of asbestos.

A first site visit – without commitment – enables us to define the target, then put forward a proposal that is relevant to the needs and resources of the company soliciting our evaluation service. We propose a whole range of interventions suitable for the various occupational health policies (questionnaires for drawing up a status report, tailor-made training sessions, awareness-raising workshop, workstation layout, prevention campaigns, advice on the design of premises and procedures, measurement of nuisance, risk analyses, etc.). Our charges therefore depend very much on the type of intervention.

The Institute for Work and Health has developed a NICotine Monitor called MoNIC to measure the level of gaseous nicotine in the ambient air. The badge, which passively collects nicotine vapour, is worn for a few hours or a few days. IST then analyses the badge and, within two weeks, delivers its results expressed as an (equivalent) number of cigarettes passively smoked.

If your doctor suspects there is an occupational cause underlying an ailment you are suffering from, he can contact our doctors for an occupational medicine consultation. One of the unique features of this consultation is that it includes a visit to your workplace (with the agreement of the person concerned and his employer). As with any other medical speciality, the costs are met by the health insurance fund or by the accident insurance if it is a proven occupational disease.

Bullying is an increasingly “fashionable” term, yet it is a very serious problem which can often have heavy implications for the health of individuals as well as companies. Restoring a good atmosphere for dialogue demands a very prudent and insightful approach. Our occupational psychologists offer training sessions, propose in-house awareness courses and can intercede with companies.

At the request of attending physicians, our doctors also deal with people who are potentially victims of bullying in order to evaluate the situation and avert conflict problems at work or other instances of psychological fragility. The occupational physician may thus suggest courses of action both to the person concerned and the attending physician.

Called "ASA Richtlinie" in German, the directive emanates from the Federal Commission for coordination of occupational safety and concerns the consultation of occupational physicians and other occupational safety specialists. This directive came into force on 1st January 2000 and was revised on 1st February 2007. All companies insured in accordance with LAA (federal law on accident insurance) must conform to the requirements set out in this directive; these requirements depend on the presence or absence of special hazards within the company as well as the size of the company.

The directive stipulates that a safety concept must be set up, in particular including a hazard inventory and analysis; where the hazards listed are deemed to be special hazards, the company shall then call on occupational physicians and other occupational safety specialists. The latter will then carry out a professional risk assessment and recommend appropriate preventive measures.

There are actually several ways of satisfying the directive requirements: either draw up an individual solution (adapted for large companies or those with very specific hazards) or adopt solutions developed by professional sectors of industry (industry solution), by groups of companies or by specialist agencies or institutions (class solution).

The Institute for Work and Health has no control or inspection function and is only able to act in the field as a consultant or expert. Our page Organismes cantonaux et fédéraux [Cantonal and federal bodies] will take you to the websites of the labour inspectorates.

To protect workers’ health and prevent accidents at work and occupational diseases, the employer is obliged to take all the measures that experience has shown to be necessary, which state of the art will enable the employer to take and which are appropriate to the conditions of the company.

The employer must furthermore give his/her employees an opportunity to be involved in setting up measures to prevent accidents and occupational diseases. Workers have the right to be consulted on all questions relating to safety at work.

The employer must ensure that all the workers are informed of the risks to which they are exposed and are instructed in measures to be taken to prevent these risks. Where work involves special hazards, the employer must ensure that the worker performing the work has been specifically trained in this respect.

Employees are obliged to support the employer in the application of provisions regarding prevention of accidents and occupational diseases. In other words, they must comply with the employer’s instructions, observe the safety advice, use the prescribed individual protective equipment and use safety devices correctly.

If employees notice any fault that may compromise safety at work, they must remedy it immediately or, if they are not in a position to do so, must inform the employer without delay.

Both the employer and the employee may be held responsible for a serious event occurring and may incur legal penalties if the statutory provisions have not been complied with, whether intentionally or negligently.

Ergonomists help to adapt work to human beings (and not the other way round!). They analyse work activity (tools, work organisation, space planning, environment, etc.) in order to promote workers’ health on the one hand and improve company performance on the other. Ergonomics may also prove indispensable when designing products or production processes with a view to making them consistent with users’ needs, skills and characteristics.

Occupational hygienists deal with the prevention of health risks by anticipating, identifying, evaluating and managing nuisance in the workplace, while taking into account the possible impact on the neighbouring community and the environment in general.

Safety engineers and officers have a general role of supervising the implementation of regulations relating to safety within a company. In direct contact with the management, they coordinate not only the safety systems (for example fire safety) but also preventive action and interventional measures related to the safety of life and property.

Occupational physicians have the job of ensuring that workers’ health and safety is protected: this means identifying all the factors likely to affect health, in the work environment, the work activities and tools, organisation, working relations and individual factors. Thus occupational physicians are also specialists in prevention.

Some disorders originate from an inadequate working environment in terms of air quality, lighting, acoustics and ergonomics. Irritation of the eyes, nose or throat, headaches, fatigue, concentration problems or other ailments may result, with a decrease in performance. IST recommends a multi-disciplinary approach (hygienist, doctor, ergonomist) to assess the situation, rule out any source of toxicity and identify the aspects that can be improved in order to restore a healthy working environment.

On its website, the Federal Office of Public Health deals with the subject of building related illnesses in the workplace (French and German only).