The Egyptian Delegation on a Study Visit on Occupational Health and Safety

On February 27 2010, the second study visit under the Twinning Project Egypt “Organizational Modernization of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Management System” which was implemented by the Ministry of Labor in partnership with INAIL, ISPESL, Italia Lavoro, the Tuscany Region and Formez, concluded successfully.
The project will be closed with a final conference at the beginning of July under which the results achieved and the benchmarks produced through collaboration over these past months, will be outlined.
In the study visit, a delegation composed of 10 officials from the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower and Migration took part, among whom the Project Leader, Mr. Mohamed Soliman Ibrahim Ewaid, Head of the Department for Workers’ Health and Safety and Working Environment.
Participants had the occasion for effectively sharing views about the implementation of the techniques and procedures previously outlined during the training activities carried out in Cairo.
The first step of the study visit was the Tuscany Region. In particular on February 22, the Egyptian officials visited Eli Lilly, a US pharmaceutical multinational corporation founded in 1876 and the Hospital of S. Maria Nuova, the oldest hospital in Florence which is still active. On February 23, they were invited to visit the building sites where the construction works of the highway sub-crossing in the area of Florence as well as of the new High Speed train station, are being conducted. On February 24, after the welcome address of Mr Marco Masi, Head of the Area Safety and Health in the Workplace of the Regional Council and Lawyer Fantini from the Ministry of Labour, the delegation visited the laboratories of Public Hygiene to the Local Health Authority (ASL) Central Divisions. Finally on February 25, the officials visited the cement factory in Testi located on the Chianti hills.
The second section of the tour took place in Rome where on February 26, the Egyptian delegation was welcomed by the Central IT Department of INAIL.
At the end of each meeting, panel discussions were dedicated sufficient time to verify whether the topics outlined needed to be analysed more in depth.
Participants appreciated very much the opportunity given to them for concretely verifying the various experiences and techniques applied in terms of security and health in the workplace, and positively evaluated technical and organizational aspects.