Data reliability
Implementation of occupational health standards requires the recognition and control of workplace conditions and medical monitoring. Implementation of the standards commenced at the end of 2002 and since then there have been improvements in both monitoring and reporting; however, this is still variable across the Group. We expected that increased awareness of occupational health may, in the short term, increase the recorded numbers of new cases of occupational illness and lead to an apparent deterioration in reported workplace exposures and this trend remains evident in 2005. By the end of 2005, 91 per cent of our employees worked at an operation that has implemented the occupational health standards. Auditing against the standards commenced in early 2005.
The process of data verification provides for contact between headquarters and sites to discuss any queries with their reports. The progressive implementation of occupational health standards across the Group has further increased the reliability of reported data. However, medical diagnosis is not a precise art and improving consistency across such a diverse Group will remain a challenge.
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