AKAN is a workplace advisory centre for issues relating to alcohol, drugs and addictive gambling. It was set up in 1963 as a joint effort between the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) and the Norwegian government. AKAN’s objective is to prevent substance abuse in the workplace, enable managers and employees to tackle harmful addictions and assist employees with substance abuse problems to find help.
Substance abuse is about more than just safety
“We are keen to tackle substance abuse at the earliest possible stage,” says Alf Moen. “Substance abuse almost always affects a lot of people – not just the person with the problem, but their family, colleagues, work… There are a lot of very good reasons to make a serious effort to tackle substance abuse in the workplace. Safety, which must always be the highest priority in a company like ours, is just one of them,” he adds.
“Society is changing, and that also has an impact on the workplace. Problems associated with substance abuse are more complex than before. This is, not least, a problem for managers and employee representatives. The effects of certain narcotics can be difficult to detect. That is why it is vital that key personnel receive the necessary training. At Sunndal we are working consistently to do just that,” he says.
A measure of success
Alf Moen has worked at the Sunndal facility for a long time – almost 30 years. For the past ten years he has been a member of the company’s AKAN committee. “This issue is more demanding than before. We have had success, but we have also failed. We fail when it is necessary to terminate someone’s employment contract. It happens – but always after a thorough review and complete documentation of the programs that have been tried. In my opinion, though, it is a measure of success when the employee himself or herself takes the initiative to enter into an AKAN agreement. That happens too.”
According to Moen, the workplace can be an extremely effective arena for tackling substance abuse. “Workmates who care can be worth their weight in gold. A supervisor who does not duck out of having ‘that serious chat’ can make all the difference. And if we can get the employee to sign an AKAN agreement, the person appointed to be their personal contact can provide invaluable support,” he says.
High risk
“We can always worry about the long-term problems associated with alcohol. Problems relating to ‘new’ drugs most often affect younger employees. Substance abuse leads to unauthorized time off. It affects their performance at work and is a safety hazard. We have been in contact with Hydro’s HSE staff, and would like to see more training initiatives so that we can work even more systematically with this type of problem,” says Moen.
As the employees’ chief health and safety representative he deals with a wide range of issues affecting the working environment within the company. Even though heavy industry today is a vastly better place to work than a few decades ago, there are still serious challenges to be faced.
Noise and dust
“One example is the fact that every year we report more than 20 cases of hearing impairment to the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority. There is a lot of noise, particularly in connection with tapping operations. We are working on several fronts: both increased use of protective equipment and reducing the time spent in the noise area to a minimum. We plan to invest in a scheme which will allow the draw-off line to be cleaned, which produces a lot of noise, while the operator is protected from both the noise and the dust.”
Among the improvements made, says Moen, is the fact that in the past two years there have been no reported new cases of asthma among company employees. This is due to a better internal environment within the plant, increased use of protective equipment and routine health checks for new employees.
Inclusive working life
– even more demanding
Hydro and its Sunndal plant have signed up to Norway’s inclusive working life (IA) scheme, whose objective is to reduce long-term sickness absence through the active follow-up of those affected. This includes an assessment of the person’s ‘residual work capacity’ with a view to giving them tasks to do which make use of whatever work capacity they may still have. Active sick leave is another measure. For the past ten years Alf Moen has been a member of the company’s workplace rehabilitation committee.
“The most difficult challenge is not when employees must be temporarily reassigned, but when they have to be transferred on a permanent basis. Today our options are more limited than before. A number of support services have been outsourced, so there are a lot of jobs that are no longer performed by the company’s own staff. On the other hand, the social services have become a more active partner, so that it is possible to combine part-time working and social security benefits. Nevertheless, the parent company is still responsible for the employee. As chief health and safety representative it is my privilege to constantly remind them of that fact,” he says.
