Case Study

The CACES system: accredited certification supporting workplace safety

Summary

In France, the responsibility for assessing operators to use work equipment lies with the company manager, who can consult the results obtained by the employee in the certificat d’aptitude à la conduite en sécurité (CACES) test – a certificate of ability to drive safely – for the appropriate category of equipment.

Only a testing body certified to carry out tests for the category of equipment concerned can issue a CACES for that category. This testing body must be certified by an accredited certification body.

This system has been in place since 2001. Having largely proven its worth in terms of reducing the risk of accidents at work, this system was renewed in 2017.

Background

In France, through numerous statistics and studies, the compulsory insurer of companies for the risk of accidents at work and occupational diseases found that significant risks of accidents were linked to the use of work equipment. It therefore recommended that the skills of employees responsible for using this equipment be verified, which led to the creation of the CACES.

The CACES enables a certificate to be issued by name for successful completion of theoretical and practical tests. It consists of a theoretical and practical examination at the end of a training course which concerns 33 different categories of equipment.

Strategy

Cofrac delivers accreditation against ISO/IEC 17021-1 Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems to certification bodies that certify CACES testing bodies.

Accredited certification provides confidence in the robustness of the examinations that work equipment operators take.

Results and impact

Since the first CACES recommendations were published 20 years ago, new machines have appeared and new needs have arisen in companies and among users.

With a reduction in the number of accidents and cases despite the explosion in the amount of work equipment used in companies, the professional federations and associations have realised the benefits of this driver training assessment system based on accredited certification.

Contact

Cofrac – Communication department (communication@cofrac.fr)