Our health and safety regulations are designed to make working at Herlitz as safe as possible for everyone. Their main focus is on accident prevention measures, fire precautions, improving the ergonomic design of workstations, and analysing accidents which occur at work and during work-related travel.
At Herlitz Group, accident prevention and workplace security are of particular importance in our Production unit, but they also have a major role to play in Logistics and Administration as well. Our workplace safety committee meets four times a year, and each of our units holds at least one meeting every quarter to discuss shortcomings in workplace safety. This work helps to spot and tackle problems quickly, and thereby contributes to preventing accidents. We conduct hazard evaluation steps, and we see to it that every unit at the company complies with workplace safety laws and labour association regulations.
Health and safety officers are responsible for providing staff on all levels with advice about workplace safety issues, and they regularly interface with regional health and safety authorities, the company’s in-house medical specialists and organisations devoted to promoting workplace safety. These officers also coordinate training courses for designated first aid helpers and safety specialists, and they also contribute when we are compiling information brochures or workplace guidelines.
Twelve employees in Administration are now trained to provide first aid. We are very proud to have people willing to take on this crucial function, because we believe in actively improving safety levels at our company.
Under German law, companies have certain responsibilities regarding health and safety in the workplace, and we conducted a total of 111 workplace inspections in 2011 in line with these legal requirements. The following figures provide ample evidence that these measures have a positive impact: At eCom Logistik, there were 2 accidents in the workplace (2010: 4) and no travel-related accidents in 2011. Last year saw the formation of our new POSS Servicegesellschaft GmbH, which registered a total of 7 workplace and 2 travel-related accidents. Winter weather and minor incidents transporting products were responsible for the increase in accidents away from our facilities and offices, but when you work out the averages, the number of incidents at Herlitz Group is still towards the lower end of the statistics compiled by our health and safety umbrella organisation.
Accident figures were up somewhat at Herlitz PBS AG, with 7 incidents over the course of 2011 (2010: 3), but we still had fewer numbers than the average company. We were also quick to act whenever an accident did occur, making a record of its reason and consequences while also quickly implementing the necessary measures to reduce future risks. Travel-related accidents were up slightly to 8 (2010: 5), as a result of severe weather during winter.
Susy Card saw a substantial fall in the number of incidents in 2011: there were 3 workplace accidents (2010: 8) and 2 travel-related accidents (2010: 7).
As in 2010, our IT subsidiary Mercoline GmbH reported no accidents at the workplace in 2011, and there was again just one travel-related incident.