International Experience in Evaluating Effectiveness of Public Control in Occupational Safety

Abstract

Improving effectiveness of public supervision and inspection is at the core of public reform priorities outlined in the RF Presidential Address to the State Assembly in 2014 and 2015. To implement this priority, a system of objectives, performance indicators and expected results from the supervision and inspection activities should be designed.
This article reviews international experience and empirical studies conducted in foreign countries on evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of government inspections in the area of occupational health and safety. The author emphasizes the importance of adhering to the balance of interests of all stakeholders, including employees, employers, and the state to provide comprehensive evaluation of supervisory activities. The effectiveness evaluation should not be limited to measuring effects from inspections per se. While inspections constitute an important form of enforcing regulatory requirements, they are not to be seen as the only form to implement the legal provisions. Consultation support and advice from control bodies in helping businesses to meet the legal requirements is equally important. In addition to the annual evaluation of outcomes and outputs in the subject area, there is a need to conduct periodic evaluations on the impact of inspection and supervision activities on the incident rates and fatalities.