Evaluation

With the intention of evaluating the attainment of the objectives of the Joint German OSH Strategy, the Federal Republic of Germany is following the example of other EU states which are also evaluating their national occupational safety and health strategies.

The three bodies responsible for the Joint German OSH Strategy already agreed in 2007 that "the attainment of the objectives of the Joint German OSH Strategy would be quality-assured and evaluated". "This applies both to events, campaigns and projects as well as to the routine procedures assigned to the objectives and to the co-operation in occupational safety and health." In addition to the evaluation of targeted work programmes across states and responsible bodies, it is also planned to evaluate the Joint German OSH Strategy in its entirety as regards interdisciplinary effects on the occupational safety and health system and safety and health at work (overall evaluation).

A feasibility study on the Joint German OSH Strategy overall evaluation was conducted on behalf of the National Occupational Safety and Health Conference (NOSHC) in the first half of 2009 which formulated requirements placed on a robust evaluation routine. Based on the results of this feasibility study, evaluations were initiated at the following five objective levels:

1. The national occupational safety and health objectives (reduction in work accidents, musculoskeletal disorders and skin diseases):

   • To what extent have they been achieved?

2. The relevance and effectiveness of institutional occupational safety and health in companies:

   • To what extent are they improving?

3. The optimisation of co-operation between the bodies responsible in the dual system:

   • To what extent is it succeeding?

4. The improvement in co-operation with third parties as part of the Joint German OSH Strategy:

   • What successes are the Joint German OSH Strategy bodies achieving as part of the networking with health insurance funds, pension insurance institutions, the social partners, associations and organisations for safety and health at work? and

5. Company prevention for health and competitiveness:

   • To what extent are the activities of the Joint German OSH Strategy making the working conditions in companies healthier and safer?

The overall evaluation also examines, in particular at objective levels 2 and 5, the evaluation results of the 11 national and, where applicable, regional Joint German OSH Strategy work programmes.

The data surveys and evaluations with in the work programmes were mainly conducted at two points in time (2010 and 2012). They relate to up to about 250,000 companies in Germany.

An external evaluator conducted four different surveys: Up to 3,500 supervisors of the accident insurance institutions and up to 3,000 Labour Inspectorate officers of the federal states were surveyed. Moreover, at one point in time telephone interviews with up to 6,500 company representatives and workers were planned. In order to examine the commitment to and acceptance of the Joint German OSH Strategy among expert multipliers, the institutions and people working in the Occupational Safety and Health Forum were also surveyed as part of a random analysis.

Some of the surveys were conducted by the Joint German OSH Strategy bodies themselves, others by an external contractor, and supported by the systematic reporting section of the NOSHC office.

Two interim reports were planned for 2011 and 2012, the final report on the overall evaluation of the first strategy period for 2013.

The criteria and procedures of primary data surveys and evaluation recognised as the state of the art (standards of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Evaluation e.V.) were used.