Health protection
“Health is all!” –the elderly used to say very wisely.
We must remain committed to the prevention of contagious diseases, with special attention to the COVID-19 epidemic. In accordance with the current regulations, colleagues with symptoms suggesting upper respiratory tract illness are tested with rapid antigen tests. In August, we relaxed the rules on wearing masks: we abolished their permanent wearing, but they should still be worn in cases where there is a higher risk of infection, to protect the community. For example, in case the number of infected people in the different work communities increases, or when making use any health care utilization at Hankook. The mitigations were based on the fact that everyone now knows and understands how to protect themselves and the importance of doing so. However, anyone who feels sick is required to wear a mask! Fortunately, the trend shows that 60-70% of people get negative results in coronavirus test after the seven-day quarantine and are fit to work again, but there are some who need the ten days’ rest to be symptom-free. Older people and those with chronic musculoskeletal conditions report inflammatory changes that make recovery more difficult, leading to longer periods at home. It is particularly important to prevent the spread of infections because of them!
Work safety
“The earth is beneath you, the sky is above you, the ladder is within you.” – Sándor Weöres
We would like to quote a line from a verse by our famous poet to draw attention to the fact that it is up to us whether we are steadily climbing up the “ladder” to safety or free-falling towards the ground because of a bad decision. There is no typical difference in the experience of those who have suffered accidents this year. Both the more experienced, as well as the newer workers admit at the time of the investigation the fact that they had broken a rule which, if followed, could have helped them to avoid the accident. Thanks to our recurrent health and safety training, everybody can learn the skills they need to work safely. It is important that shift supervisors distribute all EHS materials (e.g. weekly OPLs) and explain the contents to their colleagues.
It is in everyone’s own interest to comply with the regulations, not only during certain parts of the working day, but always, especially during the hazardous operations. Shift supervisors have a key responsibility to educate and enforce rules, and provide protective equipment, but significant change can only be achieved if accident prevention is a priority for everyone. The most serious injuries continue to happen during troubleshooting when the machine is not properly stopped, i.e. by intervening in the hazardous area of a machine while it is still in operation. In these cases, great care must be taken!
Objectives
The work safety targets set for this year continue to focus on improving education, communicating widely information related to accident prevention (visual and audio materials in rest areas and workplaces), launching a mentoring program, thus improving the educational skills of more experienced colleagues from a work safety perspective.
Health protection objectives include a comprehensive screening program, which has already been implemented and in which, we are pleased to report, 261 colleagues have participated in, and the control of the coronavirus epidemic. The financial resources allocated to these measures amount to HUF 20 million.