A sustained and focused effort on workplace safety has yielded significant results at Sanistål. In 2009, Sanistål had 82 workplace accidents. Ten years later, in 2019, there were eight, which corresponds to a reduction of 90%. For this extensive effort, the company is now winning the 2020 Workplace Safety Award in the category of 'Workplace Accidents'.
"The working environment and workplace safety are very much in our consciousness and actions. Therefore, we are truly happy and proud to win the 2020 Workplace Safety Award," says Christian B. Lund, CEO of Sanistål.
Sanistål wins the Working Environment Award 2020
A dedicated effort from both employees and management has resulted in Sanistål reducing the number of workplace accidents by 90% over ten years. Therefore, Sanistål wins the Occupational Health and Safety Award 2020 in the category of 'Workplace Accidents'.
It is a joint project
The significant decrease in workplace accidents is not only due to changed working procedures – it is the entire culture and the employees' behavior that have changed. It has required systematic efforts, persistence, and collaboration, says Clifton Augustine Deane, who is the occupational health coordinator at Sanistål:
“This is a joint project that both management and employees prioritize highly. The result is that safety today is a natural part of our work, and everyone thinks in terms of safety. We have created a culture where we take responsibility for ourselves and our colleagues. And now that we have won the Occupational Safety Award, it is a huge recognition of the great work we have done together over the past ten years,” he says.
The effort continues
Even though the risk of injury is particularly high at Sanistål's warehouse in Billund, workplace health and safety are on the agenda throughout the organization. Working procedures have been documented, and all near-miss incidents are systematically followed up on. And the systematic effort for a better working environment continues every day at Sanistål, assures occupational health coordinator Henriette Marker Thomsen:
“With the Occupational Safety Award, we have been confirmed that our efforts are making a difference, and we will of course continue with full force. Besides safety, we are also working on a well-being project where we all put workplace health, well-being, and collaboration on the agenda,” she says.
The goal is for Sanistål to have absolutely no workplace accidents, says CEO Christian B. Lund:
“We create significant changes when we make a joint effort. Therefore, I also believe that we will achieve our goal of zero accidents,” he says.
The Working Environment Council awards the Working Environment Prize each year to a company that has made a special effort for the working environment, which can inspire others.
September 8, 2020