Health and Safety

Safety begins with workers and returns to them as the final objective of the actions we implement for the overall risk mitigation and management. The phases of the process are planned and implemented through the involvement and participation of the workers themselves. Awareness, as a personal attitude, is one of the key factors in accident prevention.

The Golden Rules of our Group

With various offices around the world and several acquisitions over the years, we have decided to implement rules and guidelines valid for everyone, to standardize behavior, share health and safety best practices and create a Group culture based on common principles.
In 2020 we therefore worked on the definition of the Golden Rules, the operational guiding principles of the Group on health and safety at work that we issued at the beginning of 2021 precisely with the aim of preventing accidents and therefore protecting employees at work.

The Golden Rules, which can be supplemented by specific local requirements, are in fact a prerequisite for developing a proactive and responsible safety culture, where the principle "Each one protects everyone" applies.

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ISO 45001 Standard

The implementation and maintenance of effective management systems for accident prevention is one of the key objectives at Group level. During 2020, all certified cement production plants completed the migration process to the ISO 45001 standard.
At the end of 2020, certified cement plants accounted for 73% of the total and the Group plans to certify all cement production plants by 2022. 

Accident prevention

We are constantly working to prevent injuries.

• Each plant / work area is subjected to periodic controls aimed at highlighting and correcting any risk factors by defining the corrective plans regarding the technical and managerial solutions as well as any updates to the operating and behavioral methods. The actions and results are examined in depth during the periodic safety meetings.
• Scheduled maintenance of individual equipment is coordinated in order to maintain their safety and reliability constant over time.
• Investments and expenses in safety devices (both individual and plant) have the objective of maintaining a high technological and prevention level.
• Technical-specialist and behavioral training is carried out in the classroom and through on-the-job coaching. The necessary technical skills for the safe use of machinery are complemented by information and involvement campaigns for the empowerment of all employees at all levels.
• The periodic improvement and prevention plans are defined and implemented in line with the risk assessment and with the principle of continuous improvement, the cornerstone of the management systems in the field of health and safety in the workplace. On-site contractors are also involved in the process. Specific indicators are monitored to evaluate performance and verify the status and effectiveness of the planned interventions.
• The periodic checks carried out by the Group Internal Audit function provide a measure of the management effectiveness achieved and compliance with local regulatory requirements and Group guidelines on the matter.

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Accidents at work

In 2020, there were no fatal injuries or high-consequences injuries for employees, while contractors recorded two fatal injuries: a road accident in Turkey due to speeding  and one during an unauthorized maintenance operation in Belgium . The lost-time injury frequency rate for employees increased by 6% due to the lower overall number of hours worked, largely due to the restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic. On the contrary, the severity index decreased by 41%.