People first! Health, Safety & Wellbeing at STRABAG
People come first at STRABAG. As the world's leading construction technology group, we are strongly committed to the health and safety of all our employees. This is also reflected in our Strategy 2030, "People. Planet. Progress." We focus on creating a healthy and safe working environment that ensures that all colleagues return home safely at the end of the working day.
Juliane and Patrick are responsible for the overarching topic of health promotion as Wellbeing Officers in the Health, Safety & Wellbeing (HSW) division, which was newly established in 2023. Here they provide exciting insights into their work.
How do you and your team contribute to a safe working environment?
Juliane: Health and safety are crucial in our day-to-day work. We firmly believe that every employee has the right to work safely and healthily. This is precisely what we are committed to! The Occupational Health and Safety Act is our guide and our obligation is to ensure that every workplace is a safe workplace. This requires us to identify risks, assess hazards and take measures to prevent accidents and adverse health effects.
Patrick: We take our responsibility seriously and act proactively. Our safety officers and occupational safety specialists work tirelessly to ensure that all employees have the right equipment and training to work safely. They carry out regular inspections, check compliance with safety standards and are the people to contact if you have any questions or concerns.
Juliane: Safety is not only the job of the health and safety officers. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us. Every employee contributes by observing precautionary measures, adhering to safety guidelines and reporting potential hazards.
How do you promote health and wellbeing in employees' day-to-day work?
Juliane: We offer many measures to promote employees' health and wellbeing in their day-to-day work. For example, we offer sports courses that take place before or after working hours at office locations. Short active breaks during working hours are also designed to improve well-being and performance. We focus on health through health days with workshops and screenings.
What challenges are typical of working in your department? And how do you deal with them?
Patrick: Basically, it is important to us to always strive for a way to integrate occupational safety and wellbeing into the day-to-day work of all employees in a meaningful way. This should not result in additional work for individuals. At the end of the day, the implementation must be practicable and should also offer added value in the areas of occupational health and safety. We want to raise awareness of our topics and show that our own health and that of our colleagues should always come first.
Can you give us an example of a successful health, safety and wellbeing measure that was developed and implemented by your team?
Juliane: Sure! We can proudly name the Health Mobile and water4workers measures. Both are measures that particularly reach our industrial colleagues on the construction site. The Health Mobile as a mobile version makes it possible to bring health measures to the construction site, for example screenings.
Patrick: And the water4workers measure aims to implement healthy drinking habits.
How do you and your team work with other departments within STRABAG to ensure that HSW standards are maintained across the company?
Juliane: Occupational safety is a legal requirement and health-promoting measures are offered to all employees. We therefore work together with all directorates, departments and locations. Site teams and HSW officers act as multipliers and support us in implementing measures locally. Managers are an important link here, as they enable the implementation of measures and support us in establishing our safety culture.
How can employees actively participate in our HSW initiatives?
Patrick: All employees are part of our health culture at STRABAG and can take part in health campaigns, such as health days with screenings, workshops or sports activities after work. By being open to new activities and campaigns and supporting each other as a team and on the construction site, we can all contribute to improving the working environment for us personally and for all colleagues.
Juliane: Colleagues who would like to support the conception and implementation of measures can also contact us at any time and become part of a site team or set up their own team and thus act as multipliers.