Incident Management

Despite the fact that safety management at WACKER focuses on prevention, incidents that impact safety cannot always be avoided. For this reason, we maintain a communication system known as CLICS (Closed Loop Incident Communication System), which helps us record real-time data on incidents anywhere in the company that are relevant to the environment, health and safety. Employees are required to report incidents and near-misses on a special form and send it to a central email address. Once they have been assessed and action has been taken, these reports are then forwarded to other corporate entities with similar risk levels. These entities thus benefit from any insights gained.

Every WACKER site has its emergency response plan detailing cooperation between internal and external emergency response teams, and with the authorities. Once a year, for example, the plant fire departments in Burghausen and Nünchritz conduct emergency drills coordinated with the local fire and emergency services. These drills provide a practical opportunity to rehearse a large-scale emergency response. Afterward, the exercise is analyzed to identify and eliminate any weak points. 2010 was the first time that our site in Zhangjiagang, China, held an emergency drill in combination with a crisis communication training exercise.

Not only do WACKER’s plant fire departments train fire departments from the surrounding areas – they also invite the fire departments of other companies and municipalities to WACKER sites, where they can prepare their response to accidents involving hazardous waste.

TUIS: Accident Assistance

The German chemical industry established its Transport Accident Information and Emergency Response System (TUIS) in 1982 to provide assistance in the event of chemical accidents. WACKER has been involved in this network from the start. Today, TUIS comprises some 130 chemical companies, along with their plant fire departments and specialists (chemists, toxicologists, production experts, etc.). Public services, such as fire departments, police and disaster control agencies, can contact TUIS for telephone consultation services or request specialized equipment or assistance from experts. When accidents involving WACKER products occur, for instance, our TUIS experts are available throughout the world to offer help. TUIS is part of the German chemical industry’s contribution to the Responsible Care^® initiative.