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Sustainability

Safety First! Timber Construction Safety Day 2022

The “Safety Day Holzbau 2022” in Rümlang focused on workplace safety.

In mid-June, all employees of the Specialties – Timber Construction Division gathered at the Rümlang site for this year’s “Safety Day Timber Construction 2022,” which featured a special morning program. The timber construction safety officer, Silvio Neumann, organized a safety course for all employees at the Rümlang site again this year. This included a staged live accident and guests such as SUVA, the Care Team Thurgau, and Werner Witschi, an accident victim who now uses a wheelchair.

 

H&S Day was a very memorable experience for all participants and was captured on camera.

To get an idea, feel free to watch the video.

Investing a few minutes in safety can save you from having to spend your life in a wheelchair. It’s always worth investing in safety.

Werner Witschi, SUVA Ambassador

As it does every year, the goal of the safety awareness day was to raise awareness of safety and hazard identification on our construction sites and in our production facilities using real-world examples.

This was demonstrated particularly effectively through a staged accident. The unsuspecting employees suddenly heard screams and rushed to the “scene of the accident.” Three of them took charge of the situation, immediately administered first aid, and called the emergency dispatch center. Ten minutes passed, and the injured person kept losing consciousness. The employees tried to keep the situation under control until the ambulance finally arrived, followed by the Care Team and the police.

After the exercise, the live accident was discussed in a group session, focusing on what was done well and what could have been done better. The participants gained a keen awareness of the importance of always keeping a cool head in such a situation and of just how long the time between administering first aid and the arrival of the ambulance can feel.

That is why we are addressing the topic of health and safety

Healthy employees are our most valuable asset. Every employee should return home safely at the end of the day. A workplace accident results in very high costs and lost work time. That is why we want to minimize the risk of accidents as much as possible.

Health & Safety in Wood Construction in Practice

Health & Safety can be practiced in many ways and requires our full attention every day. We always pay attention to:

  • Safe Construction Sites
  • Safe, well-adapted, ergonomic workstations
  • Equipment to eliminate the need to carry heavy loads
  • Modern extraction systems for wood chips and dust to ensure excellent air quality in the production halls

This is how we keep our employees informed.

  • Monthly 15-minute training sessions
  • Weekly safety talks at larger construction sites with 4 or more people
  • Monthly H&S meetings at the management level
  • An annual H&S Day
  • Regular safety audits conducted by management on construction sites and in production

Here's what our employees had to say about H&S Day 2022

The hands-on morning session showed the participants how important it is to address workplace safety on a daily basis:

I used to get stressed whenever someone watched me work. I’d always rush through things. But starting today, I think I’ll be able to slow down a bit and pay attention to what I’m doing.

Ali Hussaini Akbar, apprentice carpenter (EFZ)

Always say “STOP” when I see someone doing something wrong or acting carelessly, or point it out to them if they’ve forgotten to take something into account.

Sonja Glauser, Apprentice Carpenter (EFZ)

From an occupational safety perspective, the figures from SUVA—which I saw for the first time—are very interesting.

Marc Jacobsen, Foreman, Wood Construction

Werner Witschi’s talk also makes you realize once again just how effective those extra five minutes you should take for safety really are. And how close you can come—as his accident and resulting paralysis show—to death, or vice versa. It really hits home.

Christian Müller, Head of the Carpentry Shop