Workplace Safety

WACKER’s processes and standards for workplace safety are aligned with the international OHSAS 18001 standard. Systematic workplace safety includes regular evaluation of hazards and work-area monitoring.

All our employees are given safety training tailored to their own work areas. WACKER Germany, for example, offers online courses on occupational safety issues. Topics range from general safety guidelines for office and laboratory workers to instruction on safe behavior in potentially explosive atmospheres and the classification of hazardous materials.

One of our workplace safety goals is to ensure that the number of workplace accidents per 1 million hours worked does not exceed 1.7 groupwide by 2020. In terms of reportable accidents (accidents with more than three work days missed), WACKER’s numbers are far better than the German chemical industry average. The reportable accident rate in 2018 was 1.3. per 1 million hours worked, whereas in 2017, Germany’s BG RCI (the statutory employer liability insurance carrier of the basic materials and chemical industries) registered 9.3 reportable accidents per 1 million hours worked in chemical companies. As in the past, there was not a single fatal workplace accident among WACKER employees during the reporting period.

Very few accidents at WACKER involve chemicals. The most common causes are tripping, slipping, falling and lack of care when performing manual activities. We are not satisfied with our accident rate and are stepping up our safety efforts. In 2018, we reviewed how effectively our German sites implement key safety regulations, for example those about the safety of partner-company employees or about working safely on ladders.

We are continuing to implement our WACKER Safety Plus (WSP) program, which builds on elements of successful safety strategies at sites with particularly low accident rates – such as safety patrols, emergency drills and holding discussions with the workforce. WACKER Safety Plus has the goal of recognizing and avoiding unsafe behavior – on the way to and from work, in the office, at the plant, when operating machinery, or when handling chemicals.

Safety Days took place at WACKER Greater China’s Shanghai, Zhangjiagang and Nanjing sites in 2017. Seminars and safety drills raised the awareness of employees for safety risks and highlighted accident-prevention measures. As the Ulsan plant in South Korea had notched up 17 years without an accident, its site manager was presented with the Korean Chamber of Industry and Commerce’s 2018 “Safety Award.”

At its German sites, WACKER placed particular emphasis on reviewing and updating job-related hazard assessments in the reporting period. As a consequence, we have improved protection strategies and safety measures in many areas.

Due to the high number of personal-mobility accidents, caused, for example, by tripping, slipping or falling, we focused on exactly this topic in 2017. By launching various campaigns, such as “Crime Scene: Stairs” and holding talks with employees about personal mobility, we aimed to enhance awareness among employees for this topic and, at the same time, encourage them to think about their own habits and behavior patterns. Traffic checks on the site premises complemented the program.