Safety First: Information day at SEKISUI ALVEO
At the end of March, the Safety Day of SEKISUI ALVEO BS GMBH took place in Bad Sobernheim, Germany – with around 90 employees and a varied program on the subject of occupational safety under the motto "Work safe - investment into the future". All in all, it was the sixth event organised for the employees at the production site for foam materials, but the first that was exclusively dedicated to the topic of safety.
In the morning, the employees gathered in the production hall in Bad Sobernheim, Germany. The management of SEKISUI ALVEO from Switzerland also joined the event. After a short welcome, the employees, divided into groups, visited each location and were able to examine the topic of safety from different angles. There were lectures, live demonstrations and discussions at a total of eight on-site stations.
The stations were serviced by employees as well as by external experts. Amongst others the German Social Accident Insurance illustrated the danger of tripping, Schmitt Brandschutzservice – a long-standing partner of SEKISUI ALVEO – illustrated the topic of fire protection in a theoretical lecture and in a practical exercise, that every employee could carry out. The dangers of forklifts were presented and demonstrated by the company Arbeitssicherheit Brendel and the Managing Director referred to risks discovered by 'near misses' in the recent past and related improvements that were executed as a consequence. Adjustments to the machines and operating elements resulting from "almost" accidents and risk assessments were presented and demonstrated in detail by the production departments.
The individual topics were developed by and with the employees themselves – with the aim of passing on their important knowledge.
Eight stations were serviced by employees as well as by external experts.
"The information shared today should not come as a surprise to any of the employees," says Markus Roemer, Managing Director and Production Manager at the small town in Rhineland-Palatinate. "But it's important that we don't just have the safety rules ready on paper, but that we actively draw attention to it to protect our employees." Accordingly, it was also important to the management that all employees were able to join the event. The production was stopped for the day, allowing everyone in the 3-shift operation to participate. And also the office workers were interested in gaining insights into the topic of safety and a more detailed understanding of the production processes. In an emergency, everyone must know what to do!
"Safety begins with each individual employee"
The event clearly showed that safety is lived at SEKISUI ALVEO. “Safety begins in the organization with each individual employee. They are most familiar with the machines and know best where risks might occur. It's also about informing colleagues to prevent accidents or pass on information about potential safety hazards to the department managers via the employee suggestion system," says Bjoern Fischborn, Safety Officer at SEKISUI ALVEO, summarising the company's self-conception.
Although safety has always been of great importance to the Japanese rooted company, the measures in Bad Sobernheim were expanded and intensified in the last two years. A comprehensive risk assessments revision of the production facilities was initiated and the team of safety associates was expanded.
A joint lunch at the sunny day offered a good opportunity to exchange information about the individual stations and lessons learned. The Safety Day was a great success – especially as it was the first one where all employees gathered since the outbreak of the corona pandemic .
The Safety Day in Bad Sobernheim clearly demonstrated how the SEKISUI Group goal "Zero Accidents" is consistently pursued and lived at the eight production sites in Europe.