Message to ICOH Members as nominee for ICOH President
<<Strategic priorities for ICOH>>

Dr. Kazutaka Kogi, at the participatory workshop in the Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand, May 2008

<<ICOH career>>

1) Dr. Kazutaka Kogi has an extensive career at ICOH.

• Currently, Dr. Kogi is ICOH Vice-President for 2006-2009 responsible for ICOH National Secretaries.
• He served as ICOH Board Member for 2000-2003 and for 2003-2006.
• He acted as Chair of the ICOH Scientific Committee on Shiftwork until 1996 following Joseph Rutenfranz and followed by Simon Folkard and Giovanni Costa.
• As ICOH Member since 1969, his work has centred around the development of practical methods and programmes for workplace improvement through international ties.
• Working as Research Adviser of the Institute for Science of Labour,the most active non-profit research body in occupational health and safety, ergonomics and working conditions, established in 1921, he devotes his time to international cooperation in close collaboration with ICOH Scientific Committees.

<<International work through the ILO>>

2) His experiences in the ILO for 12 years are useful for ICOH work.

• Dr. Kogi served the International Labour Office (ILO) first as Regional Adviser for Asia and the Pacific, stationed at the ILO Regional Office in Bangkok, Thailand during 1983-1987.
• He then served as Chief of the Occupational Safety and Health Branch and Director of the Working Conditions and Environment Department in the ILO Headquarters in Geneva for 1988-1993.
• He was responsible for ILO standards setting, advising governments and employers’ and workers’ organizations, and technical cooperation projects in occupational health and safety and working conditions During and after the ILO service, he promoted collaboration with ICOH
  and the International Ergonomics Association (IEA).
• His collaboration was particularly for improving workplace conditions in industrially developing countries.
• His special inputs included the creation of WISE (work improvement in small enterprises) methodology for participatory workplace programmes that has spread to all the developing regions and in developed countries.
• He edited the ILO/IEA Ergonomic Checkpoints as action tool forimproving work design and productivity by low-cost improvements.
• He is joining the editing team for developing ICOH/IEA Ergonomics Guidelines for occupational health practice in developing countries.

Dr. Kogi in Buenos Aires during the International Congress on Occupational Health, November 2007

<<Services for Grassroots Occupational Health>>

3) Dr. Kogi has contributed to networking grassroots occupational health programmes for small-scale workplaces.

• He initiated participatory work improvement programmes applying WISE (for small enterprises), WIND (for agriculture) and POSITIVE (for trade unions) methods in collaboration with the ILO and network partners.
• During his ILO work, the WISE (work improvement in small enterprises) was first developed applying participatory action-oriented training.
• The similar methodology was incorporated in WIND (work improvement in neighbourhood development) for farmers and POSITIVE for trade unions.
• These programmes are spreading practically in all regions with numerous workplace improvements achieved at low cost
• His services for Grassroots-level Occupational Health through these innovative approaches have reached dozens of thousands workers and workplaces practically in all continents in developing and industrialized countries.
• The outcomes are visible in linked websites:

WIN-Asia (Work Improvement Network in Asia)

WISE (ILO, Work Improvement in Small Enterprises, for owners and managers of small and medium enterprises)

WIND (ILO, Work Improvement in Neighbourhood Development, for agricultural workers)

POSITIVE (JILAF, Participation-Oriented Safety Improvement by Trade union InisiatiVE, for trade union members)

<<Strengthening ICOH ties>>

4) His dedicated work at ICOH has contributed to strengthening ICOH ties and enhancing international occupational health.

• As Vice-President, he has reinforced the ICOH network of National Secretaries and ties with international and national organizations.
• As an active ICOH member and Board Member as well as Scientific Committee officers/executive members (SC OH in Development, Shiftwork and Working Time, OH in Small Enterprises and the Informal Sector), he has contributed to the development of action-oriented training programmes.
• He has promoted training programmes for Basic Occupational Health Services for small-scale and informal sectors and for developing countries.
• He made special contributions to promoting occupational health research and practice with the support of action-oriented training tools.Based on these wide experiences, Dr. Kogi hopes to continue to work with many ICOH colleagues to enhance ICOH ties worldwide for promoting
  action-oriented occupational health programmes.

Dr. Kazutaka Kogi in the meeting of the ICOH Scientific Committee on Occupational Health in Development held in Munbai in January, 2008.

<<Strategic priorities for ICOH>>
--- Message to ICOH Members as nominee for ICOH President ---

1. Today ICOH is the leading international association in occupational health and provides a contact forum for occupational health experts throughout the world.
2. Such contacts are important not only for promotion of occupational health in the countries, but also for personal development of the members as experts in occupational health.
3. To maintain such a leadership role, ICOH needs to be in the forefront of occupational health research and also lead the utilization of research results for the benefit of the workers of the world in both industrialized and developing countries.
4. For that we need training, education, information and development of good practices.

1. ICOH has renewed its strategy for international occupational health.
2. ICHO has strengthened the activities of the Scientific Committees and National Secretaries.
3. ICOH is further developing close working relations with the International organizations, WHO and ILO and with the International associations, IEA (ergonomics) and IOHA (occupational hygiene).
4. Membership campaigns have been directed besides to the whole occupational health community, also to developing countries and to young members.

New challenges are faced by ICOH in the future globalizing world with the fast introduction of new technologies, new substances, new organizations of work and new types of employment contracts. ICOH contributions in research, information, training and practices are needed to manage such developments. To my mind, ICOH has good opportunities to make a difference in the improvement of occupational health and safety in both industrialized and developing countries. To make such a difference, I find the following points in ICOH future developments important:

1. Designing of a new strategy that addresses:

• the major challenges of the globalizing world of work in both industrialized and developing countries and
• providing effective, evidence-based solutions to them.

• through further development of and support to the work of the Scientific Committees and
• through ICOH congresses and meetings.

• occupational health services for people working in industrialized and developing countries;
• practices that are adjusted to the local conditions, are acceptable to the workers and enterprises, and use the innovative capacities of the workplaces themselves; and
• the development of Basic Occupational Health Services for all workers, despite many constraints, as a key action.

• continuing and further developing productive working relations with the WHO and ILO;
• strengthening our working relations with IEA (International Ergonomics Association) and IOHA (International Occupational Hygiene Association); and
• collaborative projects with these international organizations and networks.

• find ways to support them with all the means ICOH Officers and Scientific Committees can provide, and
• combine the work of National Secretaries with ICOH meetings in their regions and countries.

• Total numbers of members of National Associations of Occupational Health rise to dozens of thousands, while the ICOH membership covers less than 2000. This provides a basis for strengthening the links with the National Associations.
• Through the network of Scientific Committees, we enhance collaboration with OH professionals in all the regions and countries.

• further disseminating concrete membership benefits for ICOH members and
• concerted membership campaigns taking advantage of Scientific Committee activities and our ties with OH organizations through all our activities.

• promotion of professional ethics in occupational health both within ICOH and outside ICOH;
• upgrading ICOH organizational performance as the key target;
• active involvement of ICOH Board Members, Scientific Committee Officers, National Secretaries, Task Groups and Networks in this ICOH work; and
• dissemination of ICOH achievements through our network, publications and websites.

Dr. Kazutaka Kgoi talking with OSH trainers for workers at the Occupational Safety and Health Center, Quezon City, the Philippines, in August 2008.

Back to Top