Health and safety

Part of the non-financial report
NfR: Employee health and safety

GRI-Indicators

As an employer, the KION Group is responsible for the health and safety of its employees. It focuses on preventing accidents and occupational illnesses as much as possible, as well as safeguarding each individual’s long-term capacity to work. A dedicated action field in the KION sustainability strategy underscores the significance of occupational health and safety to the company.

Based on the experience and assessments of the KION HSE experts, particular emphasis is placed on the areas that pose comparatively higher risks to employees’ health and safety. These include the foundry, assembly of facilities and deployments to customer sites. In the year under review, the experts paid particular attention to the latter at the annual HSE conference of the sales and service units, as the KION Group has only limited scope to influence the general conditions there. This increases the likelihood of workplace accidents, as happened in 2018.

Local legal and organisational conditions are always considered when implementing any measures; no uniform Group-wide procedure is established. In accordance with KION’s safety culture, all employees have the right and duty to withdraw from hazardous work situations. They can also report identified risks. Different processes and instruments are available in the individual units for this purpose.

Employees are always involved in occupational safety issues, for example in risk and accident analyses or in the respective works council committees on occupational safety. Over 90 per cent of the Group’s employees are represented by health and safety employee committees. The functioning and responsibilities of employee committees vary according to local circumstances, such as country-specific legislation, which is why KION has not established any Group-wide regulation. The processes and instruments used to analyse workplace accidents and identify potential for improvement vary depending on the unit and characteristics of the incident under investigation.

Virtually all (over 99 per cent) KION employees are trained in occupational health and safety topics. Across the company, different forms of training are used to suit requirements – with each employee receiving training at least once a year. Another goal is to ensure that every new employee receives appropriate training already on their first day at work. In addition, a special module on occupational health and safety was recently introduced as part of the KION Group’s regular executive training programme.

Via its Social Intranet, KION also raises its employees’ awareness of occupational health and safety topics. It provides Safety Alerts concerning recent developments as well as practical tips. Related activities were further intensified in the year under review.

KION also involves its business partners, suppliers and guests in its measures. In principle, all visitors to a KION location are firstly familiarised with safety instructions. Furthermore, suppliers working on site are instructed, controlled and, to a certain extent, audited. Safety aspects, such as the existence of a management system, are already considered in the supplier selection process.

The KION HSE policy sets out the framework for the Group’s activities in the field of health, safety and environment (see section on Environment). It commits the KION Group, among other things, to provide and maintain a safe working environment that allows employees to protect themselves from risks and accidents. The Group policy is supplemented by the operating units’ and Group companies’ additional guidelines.

The Group-wide HSE network of experts ensures knowledge is shared and best practices rolled out throughout the Group. Once a year, the HSE programme owners at the company’s plants and sales and service units meet. Regular conference calls further support the information exchange. Plants also have a set date on which to discuss the current accident situation.