The third NEPSI (Negotiation Platform for Silica) reporting took place from 15 January to 14 March 2014. The purpose of this voluntary exercise is to demonstrate the industry’s commitment to and continued improvement in dealing with respirable crystalline silica and this by adopting good practices and risk management measures where necessary.

In 2014 the ceramic industry further improved its performance in monitoring risk, training and informing employees. Hence, the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) show that 97% of the ceramic industry’s employees are covered by a risk assessment. Moreover, the share of employees covered by exposure monitoring increased by 7 percentage points between 2012 and 2014. In the same period, the shares of employees covered by information, instruction and training on General Principles and on Task Sheets respectively increased by 6 and 9 percentage points.

The reporting rates remain stable, in line with other industries participating in the NEPSI exercise. The 2014 data collection covers around 18,000 additional employees, that is to say an increase of 24%. However, the total number of employees covered decreased slightly compared to 2012 due to several reasons, among which the economic crisis and the consequent decrease in the number of employees in the ceramics industry.

NEPSI is the acronym of the Negotiation Platform for Silica formed by the Employee and Employer European sectorial associations having signed the Social Dialogue “Agreement on workers' health protection through the good handling and use of crystalline silica and products containing it”. The agreement was signed in 2006 and covers 15 industry sectors. It aims at protecting employees occupationally exposed to respirable crystalline silica in the workplace and minimising such exposure by applying good practices and increasing the knowledge around potential health effects.