Annual Report 2010 - Falck

48 Falck Annual Report 2010 | Management review
Falck generally endeavours to minimise its consumption of resources
and the discharge of pollutants from the sources listed
above. In the pursuit of its activities, Falck pays attention to
reducing the negative environmental impact and continuously
logs its consumption. Registration of environmental data ensures
that performance in the area can constantly be monitored
and optimised.
An example of Falck’s environmental initiatives is the introduction
with effect from 2011 of electronic pay slips which replace
almost 10,000 pay slips per month.
Falck has also installed a monitoring system in 30 vehicles
in Denmark. The system monitors rapid acceleration, hard
breaking, sharp turning and idle running of engines, all of which
affect fuel consumption and wearing parts. This is expected to
lead to changes in driving behaviour that will save 5-20% of fuel
costs.
Employee relations
The Falck Group respects the freedom of association of its
employees and other workers with respect to legal labour
unions and recognises the employees’ right to collective
bargaining. The Falck Group ensures a safe and healthy working
environment which protects against accidents and injury.
The work on safety and prevention of injury at work is carried
out in collaboration with the operational and safety organisations
in the individual countries of operation. They develop and
hold courses in transfer techniques, lifting/carrying techniques,
information material, and material for use in activities relating
to the psychological working environment. Likewise, the safety
organisation intends to ensure that Falck has the right safety
equipment for its employees, such as patient lifts, lifting cushions
for patients lying on the ground, electric stair climbers for
the airport, etc.
In 2001, Falck introduced a new health service for its employees
in Denmark by way of “Interdisciplinary Treatment” with a view
to treating and preventing work-related injuries which reduce
both employee well-being and productivity and should there-
fore be efficiently prevented. Outside the areas where Falck has
concepts of its own to handle such injuries, external suppliers
or in-house specialists are used. Later on, this health service was
expanded to include health consulting, including assistance to
understand and use the healthcare system.
At injury or accident sites, rescue officers and fire fighters
experience events that can be very intense and potentially
impair their quality of life and working capacity. As in the case
of physical injury, there are defined guidelines on how to act,
if such problems arise. Since 1993, Falck has ensured that
its employees can get crisis therapy, which includes internal
debriefing as well as assistance from psychologists and other
trauma experts. Based on this experience, both crisis therapy
and interdisciplinary treatment are now important elements
of the services Falck offers its customers, and the pursuit of
corporate social responsibility has thus given Falck opportunities
for product innovation for the benefit of both Danish and
international companies.
In spite of the many preventive and curative initiatives, Falck
staff, especially ambulance staff, do on occasion suffer physical
injuries which prevent them from continuing in their job. The
psychological consequences of the job may also make it necessary
for an employee to stop his or her career as an ambulance
officer. There is great focus on either finding a different job
in-house for such employees or on establishing special jobs that
match what the employee can handle in his or her new situation.
In 2010, the largest project to date within health and safety
at work was initiated aimed at minimising the number of back
injuries among rescue staff. The project runs over 20 months in
a partnership with the Danish Technological Institute and the
Danish Prevention Fund. The project involves about 375 rescue
officers from all regions of Denmark.
The Falck Group’s code of conduct naturally requires that
human rights are observed, including that child labour or forced
labour does not occur. Moreover, rules have been defined in
order to avoid discrimination relating to working and employment
conditions.