An award for the scaffolding division
No matter how often a company may be praised or receives an award, it is always something very special. Every year, REMONDIS’ industrial service providers, BUCHEN and XERVON, are presented with awards from their satisfied customers. These are primarily in recognition of their high safety standards. As was the case with BP’s ‘Believe in Zero’ Award, an international safety prize that was presented to XERVON’s scaffolding division.
BP analyses the services performed by around 50,000 employees and contractors before selecting the winners of its ‘Believe in Zero’ Award
A multiple award winner
This newest award is the latest in a series of prizes won by these scaffolding specialists: in 2016, they received safety awards from LyondellBasell and Evonik. This was then followed in 2017 by the Safety Award from Bayer’s subsidiary, Covestro. And now they have been given the ‘Believe in Zero’ Award – an annual prize which BP presents having carried out an analysis of the services performed by around 50,000 employees and contractors. Its focus for this award is on the ideas, measures and professional conduct that help to significantly increase safety at its plants. Their client was obviously impressed by the quality of the scaffolding services provided by XERVON at its refinery in the German city of Gelsenkirchen. The XERVON specialists work as a contractor there, carrying out a wide range of scaffolding tasks, for example during shutdowns.
“The whole subject of safety is at the very core of our business – in Gelsenkirchen and wherever else we may be working.”
Klaus Thiele, Managing Director of XERVON GmbH
Best practice means greater safety
XERVON and BUCHEN pay great attention to safety no matter which task they may be performing. Indeed, both companies consider their ‘safety first’ approach to be as if not more important than their business success. Klaus Thiele, managing director of XERVON GmbH and responsible for scaffolding across Germany, commented: “The whole subject of safety is at the very core of our business – in Gelsenkirchen and wherever else we may be working.”
Expertise as a service: providing expert QHSE advice is part of both BUCHEN and XERVON’s portfolio.
Zero errors – that is the goal. To ensure they reach it, BUCHEN and XERVON are continuously looking at ways to improve their safety measures. Risks to health and safety are systematically identified and protection measures drawn up and implemented. At the same time, the companies hold a wide range of seminars and training courses to make their employees more aware of potential risks and teach them how to deal with them. An extensive programme of safety tools has also been put together that is used by the staff in their day-to-day work, such as multi-language information sheets and safety cards for the checks that have to be carried out before they begin their tasks.
Preventing work becoming routine
One aspect of BUCHEN and XERVON’s safety strategy is to ensure their employees are closely involved in all QHSE matters, i.e. topics covering quality, health, safety and the environment. The idea here is to strengthen their sense of responsibility as well as to hone their ability to spot risks. Special campaigns are also organised alongside the companies’ standard activities to further highlight the whole subject of safety at work.
Top priority is given to safety during all phases of a project – including, of course, the planning stage.
Just one example is the ‘Safer together. You. Me. All of us’ campaign, which was launched this April. One of the main reasons why BUCHEN and XERVON decided to start this comprehensive initiative was to prevent its employees becoming careless when performing routine jobs. A whole series of tools such as posters, flyers and videos are being used here to highlight a different safety issue every month. Yet another way, therefore, to ensure QHSE matters remain deeply embedded in the companies’ everyday business. Something that is essential as far as BUCHEN and XERVON are concerned, as it is only possible to uphold their excellent safety standards if each and every employee carries out their work as they should – reliably, responsibly and competently.
Accreditation in line with international standards
The extensive range of accreditations issued to both BUCHEN and XERVON under-line the stringent quality and safety standards followed by both companies in their daily business. Both industrial service providers have an integrated management system in line with DIN EN ISO 9001 and 14001. In addition, the companies have accreditation in accordance with the international occupational health and safety management system, SCCP, as well as the occupational health and safety guidelines, OHSAS 18001. Their QHSE organisation comprises around 60 safety specialists and over 200 safety officers.
