Copel’s programs of management in health and safety at work aim at keeping the work environment safer, preventing accidents and occupational diseases by means of the identification of possible risks, analysis of the environment where they manifest themselves and the creation of action plans for prevention, mitigation or elimination of these risks. For this purpose, Copel maintains the Health and Safety Management System, highlighting the Risk Management Programs (PGR) and the Medical Control of Occupational Health Program (PCMSO), which are feedbacked and consider aspects related to the different regulatory standards, activities, hazards and environmental risks for each job, function or activity developed in the company’s units, focusing on the identification of possible injuries and aggravations caused by these risks and, consequently, affecting the workers’ health and safety.

Risk Management Program

The Risk Management Program (PGR) aims to manage risks, evaluate processes, and propose, by means of an action plan, solutions to prevent accidents that might put the worker’s safety and physical integrity at risk, avoid occupational risks that might originate at work; identify the dangers and possible injuries or health hazards; evaluate the occupational risks, indicating the risk level; classify the occupational risks to determine the need to adopt prevention measures; implement prevention measures, according to the risk classification; monitor the control of occupational risks.

The mapping of hazards and risks is carried out by means of the Risk Inventory, which makes up the PGR – Risk Management Program, using the criteria of severity, probability, employee exposure, effectiveness of existing controls, and concentration. The Risk is graded as:

• Negligible (Insignificant): at this level it is not necessary to implement new controls.
• Acceptable (Insignificant): at this level it is not necessary to implement new controls, it is recommended to evaluate the possibility of implementing more controls in order to reach the Negligible level.
• Moderate (Significant): at this level it is important to implement controls to reduce the risks, aiming at least at the Negligible or Acceptable level.
• Substantial (Significant): at this level, controls must be implemented to reduce risks, aiming at the Acceptable level.
• Unacceptable (Significant): at this level, the activity cannot be performed until controls are implemented, reaching at least the Substantial level, and then new measures must be implemented seeking to reach the Despicable or Acceptable level.

The process is conducted by the safety area in conjunction with the employees and/or CIPA. All professionals in the safety area are technically qualified for hazard and risk analysis and instruct employees in the methodology before the assessment process begins.

The measures proposed to minimize the hazards and risks are inserted in the Action Plan, which is also part of the Risk Management Program, and are followed up in the Critical Analysis Meetings, which occur periodically.

For the prioritization and integration of the action plans, the risks are assessed, following the methodology of probability versus severity and exposure, through the risk inventory (one of the items that make up the RMP). According to the results, action plans are created, prioritizing the risks with the highest scores. This way, the risks are mitigated, which impacts on the reduction of work accidents and the consequent reduction of the values of the indicators related to this theme.

Occupational Health Medical Control Program

The Medical Control Program of Occupational Health (PCMSO) has as its main objectives: the promotion and preservation of the health of all of the company’s employees, besides establishing the obligatory and periodicity of the medical evaluations, complementary exams, and medical-administrative conducts to be taken.

The health actions are coordinated in a continuous way together with the occupational safety engineering professionals and, by analyzing the environmental dangers and risks raised and registered in the electronic management system, it is established the obligatory and periodicity of the medical evaluations, complementary exams, and medical-administrative conducts, seeking to prevent, to prevent, track, and diagnose early changes in health status, mainly resulting from the nature of the work, as well as to determine the conditions of physical and mental fitness of the employee to safely perform their duties, both for themselves and in relation to colleagues, third parties, and the community, in addition to situations that may have future repercussions on their working capacity and quality of life.

One of the focuses of occupational health is the monitoring of aggravations to the worker’s health, which can generate occupational diseases. To this end, a surveillance and investigation process with multiple inputs is used, ranging from the periodic medical examination to the monitoring of absences/absenteeism, the special evaluation for behavioral and productivity changes, and also direct requests for restrictions or withdrawals.

Once a disease is identified whose cause may be related to the work activities developed, after the initial investigation stage with complementary exams and specialized medical evaluation, such data are associated with social and ergonomic evaluation, whenever necessary, confirming (or ruling out) the causal link for the employee and ensuring that such risk factors are remedied for a safe return to work and even for other colleagues in similar conditions, besides the correct registration of the case, guaranteeing all the worker’s rights.

Finally, the actions of the PCMSO during the year are statistically analyzed in search of points of attention and even correction of the actions to promote the health of all its workers.

Risk Hunting Program

The purpose of the Risk Hunt program is to consult and involve the workers in the survey of potential accident risks in Copel’s internal and external environments and to help the areas and entities involved in work safety with regard to the planning, execution, follow-up, and costs of the actions planned and adopted to solve the potential risks found. The management of these risks is carried out by CIPA representatives who create an action plan to mitigate and eliminate them.

Internal Commission for Accident Prevention and Sexual Harassment

The Internal Commission for the Prevention of Accidents and Sexual Harassment (CIPA), altered by MTP Ordinance No. 4,219 of December 20, 2022, is composed of representatives of the employer and employees, with the objective of promoting the prevention of accidents and work-related illnesses, in order to contribute to a safe and healthy work environment focused on the preservation of life, the promotion of worker health, and the fight against sexual harassment. This is a requirement of the Brazilian legislation, foreseen in Federal Law 13.174/2001.