That's No Easy Success

A full 5,000 days without an accident-related absence works out to more than thirteen and one-half years. “A strong performance” is how Steiger put it in his short speech. He was joined by Dr. Richard Zuber, plant manager for the overall mixing operation in Weinheim. “This was no easy success,” he said, pointing to the risks that lurk in the employees’ everyday routines: rolling mills, kneaders, presses with high temperatures and pressures, the work with knives and chemicals. It all forces QM employees in testing labs, the Technical Center, and the Mixing Technology Center to pay the greatest possible attention to the hazards. Compounds are developed and small quantities are produced at these locations.

“The greatest danger is the routine,” said Armin Scheuermann, who heads the QM test lab and Technical Center. That’s why he considers short, regular safety talks to be key factors in the success. “The employees work out solutions to the problems themselves, so they internalize the results more effectively,” he said. Two other aspects are also firmly integrated into the every­day routine: instructions and the alternating role of the “daily safety man,” who regularly moves through the operation “from coworker to coworker” and points out abnormalities and hazards.
“We recently carried out a 5S project in the Mixing Technical Center,” said Volker Fischer, its manager, citing yet another aspect that QM is addressing: orderliness and cleanliness. Both factors are considered to be important foundations for safe work in the department.