The single professional risk assessment document: an asset in the service of company management

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Since 2001, the single professional risk assessment document (DU or DUER) has been mandatory in all companies, regardless of the size and sector of activity of the company. It must list all the occupational risks incurred by employees and the resulting prevention and protection actions.

Beyond its mandatory nature, the single document is an excellent lever for the employer to steer its activity, unite and manage its teams.

However, only 45% of them have established one (Dares – 2021), and not all of them are up to date!
The single document serves as the basis for any prevention approach within the company. It is indeed an essential tool for defining an action plan intended to improve the working conditions of employees. It plays a key role in reducing workplace accidents and occupational diseases within the company. It can also make it possible to integrate all employees in a common objective, serving the improvement of working conditions through cross-functional dialogue and the pursuit of common objectives.

The 9 general principles that govern the organization of prevention are:
• Avoiding risks, i.e. removing the hazard or exposure to the hazard
• Assess the risks, i.e. assess the exposure to danger and the importance of the risk in order to prioritize the preventive actions to be taken
• Combat risks at source, i.e. integrate prevention as far upstream as possible, in particular from the design of workplaces, equipment or operating methods
• Adapt work to people, taking into account individual differences, with the aim of reducing the effects of work on health
• Take technical developments into account, i.e. adapt prevention to technical and organizational developments
• Replace what is dangerous with what is less dangerous, i.e. avoid the use of dangerous processes or products when the same result can be obtained with a method presenting less danger
• Plan prevention by integrating technique, organization and working conditions, social relations and the environment
• Give priority to collective protection measures and only use personal protective equipment in addition to collective protection if it proves to be insufficient
• Give appropriate instructions to employees, i.e. train and inform employees so that they know the risks and preventive measures
Source: https://www.service-public.fr/

The DUER must be made available to employees, members of the CSE, the occupational physician, labor inspection agents and agents of the Carsat prevention services. The employer is also required to display the procedures for consulting this document on the company’s information board.

The single risk assessment document must be updated at least once a year. It must also be reviewed in the event of changes to working conditions or any other decision, event or information that may impact the health or safety of employees.

Failure to formalize the results of the risk assessment is punishable by a fine.

Jurisprudence has pointed this out lately with COVID 19: several companies have been condemned for not having created it while benefiting from state aid to prevent the COVID risk. The government then judges that if a company is able to assess and manage the COVID risk to benefit from context-related aid, it is able to do the same for all risks. Thus, several companies have been sentenced to a fine of €7,500 and to reimburse all the partial unemployment of their staff.

LauguiConcept has prevention specialists who can assist you in risk assessment, setting up, monitoring and updating your single professional risk assessment document (DU or DUER).

Find more information about our support.