A safe workplace for everyone

As an operator of chemical plants, we are committed to do everything we can to avoid operating problems and potential accidents. With our motto “Safety First-It starts with me” we have made occupational health and safety to one of our top priorities – in addition to product safety and environmental protection. This includes ensuring a healthy and safe work environment, but also raising awareness of safety standards to minimize risks and prevent unnecessary injuries.

That’s why we are actively promoting a safety culture at our workplaces. With our “Safety First-It starts with me” initiative, we have introduced Siegwerk-related safety principles to establish a culture in which everyone is encouraged to always pay attention to safety for themselves and others when dealing with business challenges and risks. As part of our safety culture program we will conduct a survey to better understand current needs and determine concrete goals to further improve our progress.

As a result, our “Safety First-It starts with me” initiative focuses on:

1. ensuring a safe workplace for all employees
2. regularly inspecting our production machines and plants to identify potential hazards at an early stage
3. providing training courses and communication activities to raise employees’ awareness of safe behavior in the workplace

How we guarantee safe workplaces for employees

We have developed safety guidelines for every workplace around the world. These guidelines are mostly based on the directives applicable within the European Union, such as the Framework Directive of Safety and Health at Work. To make sure our different locations comply with the strict criteria set in our guidelines, the local organizations perform their own safety inspections. Apart from that, our HSE specialists also conduct regular “global HSE audits“ in our larger production facilities.

How we evaluate the risks at the different workplaces

As every workplace around the world is subjected to a different kind of risk assessment, we have developed strict standards to follow. We assess the risks in existing facilities on a regular basis, but at the latest when changes occur at a workplace, always based on implemented control measures. This includes, amongst other things, a recurring inspection of production facilities by means of Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP), which are common practice in the chemical industry for the comprehensive and structured analysis of plants.

How we train our employees worldwide

We strive to provide our employees with relevant safety training so that they always feel safe in their own workplace. Internal events at global and regional level also help to ensure that all participants have the same understanding of safety at work. We also have developed standard training content to educate employees on specific topics such as fire safety, proper use of tools, handling of chemical substances and using the right Personal Protective Equipement (PPE). In addition, we publish safety alerts to share lessons learned and further sharpen the safety awareness throughout the organization.