Extreme temperatures, corrosive chemicals, razor-sharp quartz glass— depending on the business area, Heraeus employees must deal with very different safety requirements. And not all the dangers are as obvious as the familiar white shark. This scourge of the deep is just one of several motifs in a campaign which the company created to put more teeth into the pursuit of occupational health and safety around the world.
Certain topics do not require a lengthy discussion about goals. Occupational health and safety is one of them. “We want to bring the number of workplace accidents to zero,” explains Dr. Uwe Endruschat. “Occupational safety is inextricably bound with our pursuit of excellence and with all programs derived from that objective. It is part of the Heraeus corporate culture.” With the support of international occupational safety experts, Dr. Endruschat and his team are developing ways to incorporate this culture even more. To that end, they analyzed accidents that occured at Heraeus and identified four areas for action: Strengthen knowledge, set standards, create awareness and foster a culture of safety.
Building on this foundation, in 2018 the team introduced a large-scale communications campaign, training sessions and regular workshops at all locations. One particular challenge: Each business area has a different risk profile.