Occupational health and safety (OH&S) plays an important role in European legislation and is closely linked with standardization.
Standardization contributes to the improvement of working conditions with regard to health and safety, which is a cross-sectoral issue. This concerns in particular those Technical Committees which develop product standards with OH&S aspects, especially those in support of EU directives for products like machinery, pressure equipment and personal protective equipment. OH&S also concerns TCs which prepare standards with hazard-oriented generic functions e.g. in the field of noise, vibration, ergonomics or hazardous substances.
The nature of OH&S requires a permanent body to ensure the implementation of a long term CEN Strategy on OH&S. Therefore, the CEN Strategic Advisory Board for Occupational Health and Safety (SAB OH&S) was created in July 2008 following a proposal from the former BT/WG 168 OH&S.
The objective of this Strategic Advisory Board is to give advice to all technical committees on OH&S-related aspects and to coordinate all relevant activities within CEN.
The Chairman of the SAB OH&S is Mr Norbert Breutmann, CEN Sector Rapporteur OH&S.
The Secretariat is provided by Mr Mick Maghar, BSI.