More appropriate premises for the workforce development operations of Ateliers Sans Frontières

Ateliers Sans Frontières (ASF), created in 2003, is a workforce development agency through business activity. Every year, it welcomes more than 60 young people and adults in its workshops, offering them a job, training and individual counseling. They are offered three types of activity: recycling of computer hardware; bicycles; and storage and logistics for entities involved in fair trade.

The nonprofit recovers used computer and sports equipment from municipalities and companies. The obsolete IT hardware is dismantled according to standards in force, overhauled and offered at very low prices, in France and abroad, to schools, associations and hospitals. ASF also helps its back-to-work employees to participate in international projects, in Morocco, Romania, India, etc., during which they participate in the construction of IT and sports infrastructures for the beneficiaries of developing countries.

These projects offer the back-to-work employees an opportunity to open up to the outside world and to meet people who are often even more vulnerable than themselves. More than 600 jobseekers have been hired by the nonprofit since its creation, with a return to a lasting job for more than 60% of them.

A major reorganization program

To improve the return to a job of its employees in a back-to-work project, and to welcome even more, ASF is launching a major program of investment and reorganization of its premises at Bonneuil-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne) in order to professionalize its production, improve the socioprofessional tracking of its employees, and safeguard its activities.

Professionalizing production

The IT workshop is being enlarged and organized into five divisions. Cathode screen dismantling has been abandoned, and the sports workshop is specializing in bicycles; storage areas are optimized and installed on a mezzanine. A covered outdoor playground is being reorganized as a storage area. A 25 square meter office for the IT technical staff is being created at the center of the workshop and can also serve as a small training room. The purchase of a bale press will help cut the volume of waste generated by dismantling by 90%; the acquisition of 10 roll rack trolleys will serve to transport the delicate flat screens, which must be handled with care to upgrade them. Finally, for considerations of safety, efficiency and training of the back-to-work employees, it is necessary to install a tailgate system on the collection trucks.

Improving the socioprofessional tracking of the employees

Two interfaced softwares are being installed to improve the management of administrative data, routing, scheduling and socioprofessional activities conducted for each of the back-to-work employees. Since many activities require travel in small groups, particularly company field trips, trips to employment forums, cultural and civic activities, ASF will acquire a nine-seat vehicle and a small personal transport vehicle accessible to all the staff (French B license).

Safeguarding the activities

In addition to the enlargement of the workshops and offices, it is important to protect them against breakins by a perimetric and volumetric detection system.

Besides, inspection by the regional health insurance agency necessitated a number of upgradings to meet the labor regulations. These include installing safety gates on each of the workshop mezzanines to raise and lower the pallets in complete safety.

A general audit carried out by Apave (specialists in risk control) also requires the upgrading of the general electrical installation (incomplete identification, grounding continuity, defective fastenings, incorrect power supplies, etc.).

Finally, the installation of smoke extraction systems is required by the safety regulations for premises larger than 300 square meters on the ground floor or upper storey.