Cemex operations hold innovative safety days

Special crash and roll-over simulators were brought in for Employee Safety Days in Germany and Poland to demonstrate the effectiveness of seatbelts. Employees could experience a vehicle rollover in the simulator, allowing them to learn something very dangerous under controlled and safe conditions. The simulation, which move at a speed of 5 mph, allow participants to experience the forces that act on a driver during a crash. The health and safety team in Germany also arranged a demonstration by Babelsberg Film Studio, who showed off their skills by simulating a motorcycle accident and van collision.

These simulations had a very vital takeaway for employees as well as management. "It is extremely important that we support drivers together,” according to Rüdiger Kuhn, Head of CEMEX in Germany. “Drivers can quickly find themselves in a situation where they are exposed to pressures and excessive demands from all sides. We must always perceive them as human beings, respect their limits and realise how demanding their job is."

In Germany and Spain, experts from the local fire department provided special training on site. Volunteers from the German fire department and from Johanniter Accident Assistance participated in a demonstration where employees were able to try special goggles that let you experience how visibility, response time and spatial perception change with alcohol consumption. Similarly, in various operations throughout Spain our employees enjoyed a full day of activities including a paintball battle and a simulated rescue with the support of the local fire department, which also offered a workshop in extinguishing fires.

In Poland the simulation activity was incorporated into the annual family picnic to promote health and safety in the local community. Hands-on first aid training was provided along with healthy nutrition workshops. This year also launched the first family days in Spain.

Teams in France held their sixth Employee Safety Day this year, dedicated to the prevention of risks related to traffic accidents. With the support of 200 managers, training was provided in the form of educational workshops using 4 themes this year: Traffic and travel on site, telephone traffic, setting the driving position and the recall of the traffic and the street. And in a separate event, a little healthy competition was used as a tool during a health and safety rally to test the local operations on their preparedness. Teams competed against each other for points to test their skills under pressure and try to gauge how they would react in real-world safety situations. Among other activities, the teams were run through trials to identify dangers and assess potential risks while another activity found teams simulating the rescue of an unconscious victim.

“I really appreciated the rally and its format, which is very useful as it allows numerous safety essentials to be highlighted in a fun, participation-based way,” said Jean Bergouignan, CEMEX VP of Aggregates in France, who presented the winning team with their trophy. “Many of the participants realised that they did not necessarily have a full grasp of various procedures applicable in this situation-based exercise. Very well done to the teams for putting on this brilliant event.”

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/14102016/cemex-operations-hold-innovative-safety-days/