ILO strengthens heavy-duty machinery safety inspections in Jordan

AMMAN, Jordan (ILO News)- The International Labour Organization (ILO), in cooperation with the Jordanian Ministry of Labour and with funding from the European Union (EU), concluded a six-day training and Training of Trainers (ToT) programme aimed at strengthening occupational safety and health (OSH) systems and promoting safer workplaces across Jordan’s industrial sector.

Held in Amman from 9–14 May 2026, the programme brought together labour and Social Security Corporation inspectors, Occupational Safety and Health representatives from the private sector along with workers’ representatives to strengthen technical inspection capacities and enhance compliance with occupational safety standards related to heavy-duty machinery operations.

Muna Ali, ILO Enterprise advisor, stated that “The International Labour Organization has supported initiatives to strengthen the capacity of labour inspectors in Jordan through training, on-the-job coaching and peer-to-peer mentoring. These efforts also contributed to the development of compliance assessment tools aligned with national labour legislation and the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Together, these have enhanced inspectors’ technical capacity to assess working conditions, provide practical guidance to enterprises, and support improved workplace compliance, as well as safer and more equitable working conditions.”

Heavy-duty machinery - including boilers, compressors, and industrial lifts - is essential to Jordan’s industrial sector but continues to pose serious occupational safety and health risks due to poor maintenance, inadequate training, and the lack of standardized procedures. In 2023, these categories of heavy-duty machinery were formally incorporated into Jordan’s Occupational Safety and Health Legislation, highlighting the growing need to strengthen technical capacities and ensure effective implementation and compliance across workplaces.

Throughout the training, participants received practical and technical guidance on inspection methodologies, risk assessment procedures, Lock-out Tag-out (LOTO) systems, stop-work mechanisms, and standardized inspection frameworks aligned with Jordanian legislation and international occupational safety standards.

The programme also builds on findings from a technical assessment conducted across 20 factories in Jordan’s industrial zones, which identified operational risks and compliance gaps related to machinery safety, maintenance, and inspection practices.

Through interactive workshops, field visit, and simulation exercises, participants gained hands-on experience in identifying workplace hazards, reviewing technical documentation, assessing machinery risks, and applying inspection roadmaps in operational settings.

Ahmad Ali from the Inspection Directorate in Irbid highlighted the practical value of the programme, stating that the training “was an eye opener and provided codes and a checklist for each heavy machinery category such as boilers.”
The accompanying Training of Trainers (ToT) component aimed to strengthen long-term institutional capacity and sustainability within Jordan’s labour inspection system. Participants were equipped with training methodologies, adult learning techniques, instructional tools, and assessment approaches to support knowledge transfer within their respective institutions and workplaces, contributing to greater national self-reliance in occupational safety training and compliance systems.
Ghaith Hseinat, Health and Safety Unit Manager at Fine Hygienic Paper in the Levant Region, noted that the ToT programme contributes to raising awareness of new legislations and SOPs in Jordan related to heavy machinery. He added that the training formed part of a broader series of programmes implemented by the ILO to strengthen occupational safety and health practices across the industrial sector.

The training programme emphasized the importance of preventive maintenance, emergency preparedness, certified third-party inspections, and continuous monitoring.
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