OREANDA-NEWS  On 27 February was announced, that IBA became the first IT company in Belarus to certify to STB 18001-2005 that corresponds to the international standard OHSAS 18001.

The labor safety system that meets basic requirements of OHSAS 18001 has been implemented at IBA stage-by-stage. The first stage scheduled for the year 2008 included the development and implementation of a labor safety system at the IBA Technical Center and its subsequent integration with the IBA Quality Management System.

The IBA Technical Center certified to OHSAS 18001:1999 its labor safety management system for the production of IBA PCs, servers, and information and payment terminals, as well as for the maintenance and support of hardware and banking systems.

The labor safety management system of the IBA Technical Center secures:

- Minimization of health and security risks for personnel, contractors and other stakeholders

- Optimized working environment when developing, producing, repairing, and testing computer hardware or banking systems

- Higher employee motivation

- Observance of the current labor safety laws

- Continuous training of employees in labor safety

- Compliance of the production environment with the sanitary norms and regulations of the current legislation

- Review of complaints by employees and other stakeholders regarding labor safety, STB ISO 18001, and corporate policies for labor safety.

The OHSAS 18001 certification provides the following benefits:

For the company:

- Stronger reputation

- Higher quality of goods

- Increased labor productivity

- Improved business processes

- Lower workplace disability

- Better relations with employees, customers, local communities, and governing bodies.

For employees:

- Improved labor conditions

- Increased awareness of labor rights and responsibilities

- Possibility to communicate on labor rights with top executives

- Reduced security and labor safety risks

- Higher quality of work.

For customers and governing bodies:

- Trust in IBA and its ability to execute work in the agreed terms and meeting humanitarian norms

- Information for government institutions about the IBA’s corporate social responsibility and its support of the national program on the improvement of labor conditions and labor safety for the years 2006-2010 and of the program “Quality” of the city of Minsk for the years 2007-2010.

Zinaida Larionova, IBA Quality Management Director, comments: “The IBA certification to OHSAS 18001 provides a number of advantages for the company. Striving to strengthen its reputation as a credible, transparent and responsible company, IBA keeps improving its services, labor productivity, and business processes. For IBA customers and investors, the certification guarantees strict observance of the work schedule and humanitarian norms when implementing projects.”