SAFETY FIRST – GREATER ON-THE-JOB SAFETY IS EVERYONE’S BUSINESS
Employee well-being is firmly anchored in the Symrise CSR strategy – and occupational safety and employee health are substantial elements of that strategy. In order to heighten awareness of these important issues, Symrise initiated a new concept for corporate health management and occupational safety in 2010. The concept has already clearly born fruit.
New occupational safety guidelines, increased training and a safety competition for employees – those are the core elements of the new safety concept that Symrise implemented in 2010 with the active support of the Executive Board and top management. Symrise and its subsidiary TESIUM developed the concept together. Its focus? Prevention. “We want to do everything in our power to prevent accidents. And this isn’t just about the statistics for us,” explains Dr. Norbert Kalkert, Managing Director of TESIUM. “Increased on-the-job safety is a win-win situation both for corporate management and for our employees – both sides benefit.”
Taking safety to the workplace
Statistics represent an important tool for gauging workplace safety, and statistics don’t lie. The number of on-the-job injuries has, in fact, risen slightly over the past few years – yet another reason to institute a focused, systematic process to effect positive change. The Symrise safety brochure was updated with general safety tips, reissued and handed out to every employee, and a long-term poster campaign was launched to highlight specific hazards. Strategic safety seminars employing techniques such as simulations of hazardous situations have been held to prepare employees for an actual emergency. And as an additional motivation, Symrise has also instituted a safety competition. The aim of the competition, which is to last until the middle of 2012, is to bring the number of days lost to accidents down from the 2008 and 2009 averages.
Putting a face on occupational safety
The program began bearing fruit at an early stage – due in part to having consistently communicated the issue to work areas. “Providing information, raising awareness, opening peoples’ eyes and motivating employees – those are our goals,” explains Mr. Hans Dick, the head of occupational safety at TESIUM, who was responsible for giving the concept a face. High-profile posters, banners and regular information in internal media (such as the employee magazine and the intranet) have driven the message home. Dick explains the initiative, saying, “We wanted to convey that on-the-job safety is everybody’s business at the company – no exceptions.” To this Dr. Norbert Kalkert adds, “The message got through. Our employees have realized that helping improve safety means starting with yourself. The most important ways you can reduce hazards at work are by exercising caution, paying attention and keeping your workplace clean and organized. Being careful is more important than being fast.”
The success of the concept obviously depends on the willingness of our employees. That they are in fact willing is also obvious: Our initial success has represented a quantum leap in safety: in the first six months alone we were able to reduce the number of lost days by over 90 percent. Dr. Kalkert is pleased: “We are more than satisfied with these results. We’re confident that the positive developments we’ve seen will continue on into the future.”
