Scientific and Methodological Foundations for Determining the Annual Workload of State Inspectors in the Field of Protection Against Emergencies

Abstract

This article develops a scientific and methodological approach to determining the annual workload of a state inspector responsible for fire safety supervision in the field of protection against emergencies. The approach integrates the number of supervised facilities, inspection frequency according to their fire risk groups, standard or actual time recorded for individual supervisory activities, and the inspector’s annual working time fund. The study takes into account the number of working days, daily working hours, and planned reductions in available working time when calculating the annual working time fund. The annual working time fund is analysed in accordance with the provisions of the Labour Code governing working hours, weekly rest periods, non-working public holidays, and annual leave, as well as the additional non-working days and rescheduled rest days established for 2026. Based on a five-day working week of 40 hours and an eight-hour working day, the total annual working time fund for 2026 was calculated at 248 working days, equivalent to 1,984 hours. After accounting for an assumed reduction of 30 working days for preliminary planning purposes, the effective annual working time fund was determined to be 1,744 hours. Furthermore, a procedure is proposed for assessing the inspector’s annual workload in hours, taking into account inspection frequencies for facilities classified into fire risk Groups 1–4, night-time inspections, and official statistical indicators of fire safety supervision activities for 2023 and 2026. The proposed approach emphasises that supervisory workload should be determined not solely by the number of supervised facilities, but also by inspection frequency and the total labour time required to complete each supervisory activity. The methodology enables an objective assessment of inspectors’ workloads, the determination of required staffing levels, the rational allocation of supervised facilities across territorial sectors, and an evaluation of whether the planned volume of supervisory activities can be accommodated within the available working time fund.