The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work takes place globally on 28 April and has been run by the International Labour Organization since 2003. It’s an awareness-raising campaign designed to focus international attention on creating a better culture of safety and health in the workplace. This year, on the same day, the Volvo Group announced the winners of its Annual Health & Safety award.
“Care for people and their well-being is our top priority” says David Brard, Head of Health & Safety. “In Volvo Group, we aim to reach an interdependent level of safety culture, that requires accountability, open communication, leadership and self- awareness. »
The award scheme covered a variety of contributions and activities grouped into three categories. Five winners were selected out of the 80 submissions. Let’s meet the winners in each category.
Category 1: Health and Safety of our workplaces
Winner: Safety and Wellbeing Journey Event by Volvo Group Trucks Operations, Safety Team, Curitiba, Brazil
The Safety and Wellbeing Journey Event was a ten-day digital event elevating the safety culture and promoting attitudes of the wellbeing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at work and outside the work, in every moment of life. It was attended by approximately 3,800 employees and reached over 400 more throughout the Instagram live event.
Winner: 10 Years Journey of Be safe Be happy by Volvo Construction Equipment, Shanghai, China
For the past ten years in Volvo Construction Equipment in China, a Safety Month has been held every June, letting colleagues engage with what can help them work in a safer, happier way. It’s been so well-received that it has even been used as a benchmark safety activity by local government. Given that Safety Month has become so well established over the course of a whole decade, the judges highlighted its “remarkable safety records.”
Category 2: Mental Health
Winner: Leading with Care by Volvo Financial Services, HR Team, World
Effective leadership starts with self-awareness - after several months of working from home due to Covid, 300+ VFS leaders were invited to think about psychological health and safety for themselves, their teams, the organization and for their families.
Leaders were coached on how to support and assess their own mental well-being and that of their teams as they adjust to yet more changes in a world already affected by the pandemic. They were given a solid understanding of what to ask, what to look out for and what to discuss: 300+ leaders from 50 countries took part and were able to have a positive impact all around the world. Mental health is, for us at Volvo Group, just as important as physical well-being and this initiative has been catching the essence of the Volvo Group culture.
Category 3 - Health & Safety in Retail
Winner: Safety Program by Volvo Trucks Latin America
This initiative was aimed at increasing safety at Volvo Trucks dealer network in Latin America and was based on four main pillars: Measurements, Governance, Learning and Improvements. The Safety Program Latin America involved hiring a new network of safety specialists, in each market, and the creation of a new learning and training framework. Actions were taken in key areas and a whole package of activities and tools was developed, leading already to a significant reduction in the number of dealer network accidents as a result.
Winner: Safe Driving Academy by Renault Trucks, Młochów, Poland
70 % of the employees in Renault Trucks Poland drive a company car for business purposes. To increase awareness on the road safety, the Safe Driving Academy project was launched – a comprehensive safe driving project for all of the company’s employees in the country, addressing road safety in general and aimed at when they themselves are driving their cars. It takes a complete, holistic approach to road safety, covering everything from intensive training in preventive psychology to individual driving skills assessments.
The initiative was enthusiastically received by colleagues, and accidents have decreased quarter-by-quarter as a result.
