“Safety Culture: Health and safety at work is everyone's business”

The key takeaways from the keynote speeches, best practice examples and workshops: Effective health and safety management at work does not stem solely from standards, systems and processes – it begins with a culture that is lived every day, one that makes safety a shared responsibility. Internal networking and international exchange contribute to a strong and sustainable safety culture.

Find out more in the videos from Anita Singh (Dr. Oetker Canada) and Eliezer Oliviera Dr. Oetker Brazil: 

The project has been lead by  Dr. Peter Kunz (SEM Quality & Innovation) and Alexander Siepmann (Project Manager International Quality Management and Services). Since 2021, they have coordinated and driven the introduction, implementation and audit phases of the OH&S Management System together with a dedicated project team and local colleagues across the production sites.

What Comes Next?

Occupational health and safety initiatives and cross-site collaboration will continue to be
developed and strengthened – all contributing to shared global objectives:

·        Maintaining and continuously improving the high standard of a safe and healthy working environment.

·        Building and sustainably strengthening a strong safety-oriented corporate culture.

·        Engaging and empowering employees across all functions and organizational levels to actively contribute.

·        Extension of the OH&S management system to further sites.

From fire protection to early warning systems – examples of measures from our plants around the world: 

In order to further develop occupational health and safety, it is crucial to continuously improve the system. To make it work, intensive involvement of employees from all levels and functional areas is essential. This internal networking and international exchange pave the way for the development of a corporate culture that promotes occupational health and safety. "Train the trainer" is the sustainable principle.

In Brazil, an “Accident prevention and health & safety week” is held annually at the Sao Paulo and Itatiba sites. During the week employees of all work areas and levels receive on-site training for accident prevention, risk awareness, identification and reporting of hazards, the focus topics of the prevention and safety week, or as it is called in Brazil: the SIPATMA. There are also regular training sessions for the company's own task force in cooperation with the local fire department; hazardous situations such as fires are then simulated. CIPA=elections (CIPA = COMISSÃO INTERNA DE PREVENÇÃO DE ACIDENTES) are also held at all three locations. The company does not only focus on work safety topics, but also educates the employees regarding health and wellbeing, for example by teaching them effective protection against contagious diseases. 

Eliezer Oliviera, Occupational Safety Technician at Dr. Oetker Brasil Ltda.: "The importance of occupational safety cannot be underestimated – it's the foundation of employee well-being, productivity, and organizational success.” 

Preventive measures relating to evacuation and fire protection are a top priority:
At Dr. Oetker Tiefkühlprodukte KG in Wittlich (Germany), regular occupational safety and fire safety inspections are carried out using a detailed checklist. Unannounced evacuation trainings also ensure that the company is always well prepared in case of emergency. 

Cooperation with the local fire department is also very close here: jointly planned exercises take place on the factory premises several times a year. During these trainings, company-specific features, new buildings and premises, hazardous substances and much more are presented and corresponding possible deployment scenarios are simulated.

Dominik Schönhofen, specialist for occupational safety at Dr. Oetker Wittlich, has also been working for the local fire department for 17 years. He emphasizes: “The close cooperation with the fire department is an advantage for both sides. Should a hazardous situation ever arise, our colleagues from the fire department are well-informed about the spatial and technical building conditions at the plant and able to work efficiently."

In England, where Dr. Oetker is represented at the Leeds and Leyland sites with over 600 employees, a digital hazard and near miss reporting system was introduced at the Leyland site to quickly identify, report and eliminate potential hazards before they become a risk for our employees. People and technology are needed to make this work: hazards, near misses and risk indicators are identified on a monthly basis and appropriate measures are taken directly to eliminate the root cause. Based on the information provided in the reports, the company's internal Health, Safety, Environment team, led by Julie Pomfret-Brown, Head of Health, Safety and Environment at Dr. Oetker UK, can analyze the data using a digital dashboard. This helps to identify trends and focus areas in order to ensure the continuous improvement of the health and safety management system. 

At Dr. Oetker, the focus is on people; this is also reflected in the regular first aid training courses. At Dr. Oetker Tiefkühlprodukte Wittenburg KG (Germany) colleagues who have been trained as first aiders keep their knowledge up to date. The training of the approximately 150 first aiders at the Wittenburg site takes place every two years. It is particularly positive that this important training can be carried out by one of our own qualified employees. As a trainer, Matthias Gabriel, therefore, has the opportunity to address plant-specific topics in particular and tailor the training accordingly.

In Poland, too, where Dr. Oetker has more than 900 employees at the Gdansk, Lebcz and Plock sites, so-called “Occupational Health and Safety Days” are held regularly to familiarize employees with the various facets of occupational health and safety and to deepen existing knowledge and train them for practical application.

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