Safety

Our Safety Common Platform has established company-wide improvement programs in people, process and product safety, supported by continuous improvement and capability building processes. It sets out milestones for achieving our long-term safety ambitions in 2020. We aim to differentiate ourselves by our thoroughness in embedding best practice safety, health and environmental processes in all our operations, using common systems:

• Life-Saving Rules (LSR) is our flagship injury prevention program, providing clear rules relating to high risk work activities which have the highest potential for life-threatening consequences. To strengthen incident prevention, the company launched the LSR maturity self-assessment tool in 2016 to provide further clarity on the required conditions that need to be provided by work locations to facilitate LSR compliance. All manufacturing sites have completed their LSR maturity assessment and are putting plans in place to reach leading levels in LSR maturity. LSR e-learning for line managers was launched and a refresher e-learning for all employees is planned for early 2017. Life-Saving Rules breaches that were intentional or repeated led to the maximum disciplinary sanction allowed under local legislation in 25 cases
• Behavior-based safety (BBS) has been implemented at all sites, including all non-production work locations such as offices, stores, warehouses, laboratories and remote workers. To ensure the BBS process is embedded and continues to drive safe behavior and prevent incidents, a self-assessment tool has been developed and was piloted during 2016. As well as enabling the maturity of locally managed BBS processes to be evaluated, it also identifies any necessary improvement actions. The tool will be systematically applied, starting with all production sites in 2017
• Company drivers participate in our global Safe Driving program. An awareness e-learning training is also available to all employees and their family members
• Our process safety management (PSM) framework sets out minimum standards to be implemented at all manufacturing sites. Progress has continued towards expected completion in 2018. In addition to the 128 sites that have already started PSM implementation, 73 more joined in 2016. New PSM KPIs implemented in January will help us to monitor and improve our PSM performance and enable benchmarking using leading international standards. Various actions – including external benchmarking, capability building and development of the PSM maturity model – have helped to embed PSM in the organization
• Our company-wide rule on product stewardship requires all businesses to implement an effective and auditable product stewardship management process. Businesses are required to address the key elements of product stewardship, following the principles of Responsible Care^® and Coatings Care^®. Our product stewardship procedure provides guidance on how to implement the eight key elements of product stewardship
• Our product stewardship and product safety processes are underpinned by a requirement for continuous improvement. In 2016, all businesses completed the product stewardship continuous improvement tool to assess their maturity level. They also provided an improvement plan and agreed next steps
• Through our HSE Faculty, various groups of line managers and specialists have received refresher training in the company’s expectations and the required competencies for safety leadership. The advanced safety leadership program (Hearts & Minds), introduced in 2015, provides site managers with the opportunity to benchmark internally, receive coaching and share best practices worldwide. In 2016, key personnel received training in priority substance management to ensure the required risk management measures are in place at our sites. This continuous focus contributed to a further reduction in the number of injuries by 13 percent