Annual report - Sequana

COMMITMENTS THAT MATTERSafety12Eye witnessJoseph Hemmerlé,Manager of the Witcel(Argentina) plant“While safety concerns everyone,the involvement of, and example setby management is crucial.The strong signals coming frommanagement help bolster ourconvictions and underpin ouractions. While we are extremelyproud that we have not had anyaccidents with stoppages in the pasttwo years, you cannot afford to reston your laurels where safety isconcerned and we have launched aninnovative, hands-on campaign toanalyse and eliminate risks andhazards throughout the factory.Everything began spontaneouslyafter one of the operators drew apicture and then everybody elsebegan chipping in with ideas.”SafetyFirst, and All the TimeEmployee safetyThe safety of employees in bothproduction and distribution activitieshas always been a Group priority. It isone of the guiding principles of itssustainable development strategy anda key performance indicator.Group Safety management is taskedwith coordinating information andtraining programmes, regulatorycompliance, risk analysis and audits,action plans, communication of bestpractices and reporting across bothbusinesses. It is supported at divisionallevel by a network of safety coordinatorsand by safety leaders at site orcountry level.On the production side, a five-year programme waslaunched in June 2009 around two broad themes:–the primacy of employee physical welfare over thecontinuity of production;–the necessity to focus on behaviour and the protectionof facilities in tandem.“Making paper safely”The aim of this programme is to validate and deploy thebest technical standards for paper machines such as protectivegrids, closure and controlling access by interlockedguards, operating in step-by-step mode, etc. It also aimsto develop organisational safety procedures aroundconsigning equipment or the nature and use of specifictools. Following an audit of all European sites, an initialaction plan was rolled out in each division to provide allmachines with a level of protection sufficient to containthe main risks by the end of June 2010, when a supplementaryaction plan is to be submitted. This will aim todeploy an optimal level of protection on each machine byend-2012 at the latest.Sequana 40 2009 Annual report