RAISING HEALTH AND SAFETY AWARENESS AMONG EMPLOYEES

«Of Course I Pay Attention»: a prevention campaign

The “Of Course I Pay Attention… not to slip, trip, fall” campaign is an initiative which aims to remind us of things we do know but often tend to disregard, thus putting our safety at risk.

As the name suggests, the initial phase of the campaign emphasizes slips, trips and falls, highlighting common and less obvious circumstances, situations and behaviours that lead to such accidents.

This initiative was triggered by the data gathered by the Greek Region Health and Safety Department: approximately half of the accidents recorded between 2011 and 2016 were due to slips, trips or falls and often led to injuries of the upper and lower limbs, resulting in several days of absence from regular or favourite activities.

Therefore, the objective of the campaign is for all employees to realize how much it is in their power to carry out their daily tasks respecting basic safety rules and staying alert, in order to protect themselves and their co-workers –every day– against all causes of potential accidents.

Safe Driving

Over 1,170 employees, contractors, partners and representatives of authorities participated in the specialized safety and traffic education programme organized by TITAN (September 2018-March 2019) at five of its units in Attiki, Achaia, Thessaloniki and Crete.

The programme, which was coordinated by the Road Safety Institute “Panos Mylonas”, was developed in collaboration with 9 expert European organizations and was presented by experienced instructors. It included both theoretical training and hands-on experience.

The programme aspired to acquaint drivers with the mistakes they make –often without actually realizing it– and to help them improve their driving behaviour when driving either commercial or private vehicles to avoid getting involved in traffic incidents.

A key feature was the participation of local community bodies, including the Police, Road Traffic Police, Fire Service, Coast Guard, Emergency Rescue Squad (EMAK), etc., whose drivers are often exposed to high-risk driving conditions, and of representatives of the educational community (e.g. School Principals, Parents/Guardians Associations).

Participants provided very positive comments, inasmuch as they felt that they could immediately apply the takeaways from the programme in their everyday life and thus improve their road safety behaviour.

Noise – hearing conservation

Tasks carried out at a height – prevention of falls from heights

Awareness about near miss reporting

Dust – respiratory protection

Essential Rules in cement plants

Occupational Safety is rewarded
And it also rewards…

The “Occupational Safety Social Awards” institution at the Greek cement plants was established in 2010 with an aim to reward plants that attained the goal of zero accidents at work for six consecutive months.

This goal is at the heart of informative and educational actions regularly provided at all production units with drill exercises, seminars about accident prevention, etc.

We donate EUR 1,000 to each award-winning plant and then employees donate the sum to local associations or charities of their choosing.

Following its great success, this institution –originally implemented in the cement plants- has now expanded to our ready-mix operations in Greece (INTERBETON), as well as the quarries in Crete, Milos, and Xirorema.