A continued safe work environment requires a proactive mindset | Nilfisk

A continued safe work environment requires a proactive mindset

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Safety has to be an intuitive part of the daily routine

Sustainability is not simply a destination for Lilla Weiszburg, Global Manager of Environment Health and Safety (EHS) and based at the two Nilfisk assembly plants in Hungary, it is more like a lifelong journey.

“The challenge of maintaining a sustainably safe work environment is a journey that we must all embark upon together,” she says.

“Some people think of employee health and safety as one-off changes to fix existing threats,” says Lilla. “But I take a larger view and see my job as ensuring a safe and healthy work culture that is fully committed to systematically identifying potential dangers so that accidents can be prevented from happening in the first place.”

The work environment that Lilla oversees is a rather large one. Nilfisk’s two manufacturing sites in Hungary are located over 200 km apart and employ more than 800 skilled workers combined. Here, a typical day requires working with technical equipment and operating machinery like forklifts in a fast-paced work environment to ensure customer orders are filled on time.

“Safety has to be an intuitive part of the daily routine in such a busy workplace where speed and efficiency is paramount,” says Lilla, who holds a master’s degree in health and safety engineering and has more than 10 years of professional experience in the EHS field.

OHS CASE Lilla

Creating a culture that learns from near misses

“Many of the safety changes that we implemented in 2021 were driven by so-called ‘’near miss” events that occurred in previous years,” recounts Lilla. “Near misses are incidents where someone comes close to being hurt but, luckily, they narrowly escape being injured. These incidents typically occur because of unsafe behaviours or work conditions which often can be improved.”

The industry standard is a ratio of 10 near misses for every accident and that is a goal that Lilla and her colleagues at Nilfisk in Hungary are committed to maintaining.

Constant vigilance is key, so it is important that employees across the organization feel empowered to report near misses, big and small. One of Lilla’s top priorities when she started two years ago was to accelerate a project her colleagues in Corporate Social Responsibility and Occupational Health & Safety had already initiated.

“This initiative makes it easier for all employees to share near misses,” says Lilla, adding that managers now encourage their employees to take ownership, speak up, give feedback, implement new solutions and adopt measures because they get points in the quarterly EHS awarding system for reporting safety related findings.

Lilla finds that the teams are beginning to understand that near misses provide an opportunity to identify risky behaviours and, ideally, take proactive measures to change.  

The way they work and increase the potential to stop accidents from occurring in the first place, which is in everyone’s best interests - from floor staff to managers to site visitors.

OHS CASE Floor

Concrete changes make a difference

For example, many traffic safety near misses in recent years have been caused by a lack of adequate visibility on the shop floor. “A review of traffic safety near miss reports also pointed the need for a stricter separation between pedestrian and forklift traffic lanes,” adds Lilla.

The key safety changes implemented in 2021 at the two Hungary assembly sites were, indeed, highly visible, including demarcation of the so-called ‘yellow path’ designed to keep pedestrian traffic out of the way of forklifts. Other noteworthy changes include the strategic placement of mirrors and large print traffic signs, the addition of flashing blue lights on forklifts, and a new requirement that people always wear brightly coloured safety vests while in the warehouse.

Towards raising safety consciousness: Seeing is believing

But, perhaps, the most profound health and safety changes are those taking place inside the hearts and minds of the management and employees alike. “Change requires a journey for both management and employees and we are at the start of this journey,” says Lilla. “Safety does not come naturally, in my experience, rather it needs to be built into the mindset through training exercises, peer-to-peer support and the ability to engage in an open dialogue with top management.”

In her short tenure at Nilfisk, Lilla has been impressed by the openness of top management in embracing a more long-term, sustainable approach to employee health and safety. Whenever she suggested a new safety procedure or change to the workplace, “people said yes, let’s do it and we did it,” recounts Lilla.

She also believes the COVID pandemic has helped to raise safety consciousness among employees and managers alike. “We were already used to a lot of new rules about distancing and hand washing, wearing face masks and, generally, looking out for the health and wellbeing of ourselves, as well as the members of the communities in which we live and work.”

Being visible and taking personal ownership is an approach that suits Lilla very well. “I have never been a sit behind my desk and issue rules type of EHS manager. I prefer to walk the shop floor and work closely with my colleagues to understand what is needed to keep us all safer and healthier today, tomorrow and in the future.”

OHS CASE