ASSA ABLOY to mark the UN World Day for Safety & Health at Work in its Dubai Factory
To mark the UN World Day for Safety & Health at Work, we hear from Raashid Muhammed, HSE professional from our Middle East team who provides an insight into what having a safe working environment means for employees to ensure they feel safe and secure.
Raashid has been part of ASSA ABLOY Opening solutions Middle East for the past three years. Part of his role is to create a positive safety culture and healthy work environment.
“The most challenging part of my role when I started was to change the mindset of many employees who were resistant to changing behaviors and practices even if it is in their own interest. Safety is everyone's responsibility, all employees are committed to taking the necessary steps to ensure their own safety and the safety of their colleagues. This approach will lead us to a safer working environment, as well as an increase in productivity, efficiency, and also morale among employees.
I encourage employees to report any safety concerns or near-miss incidents, so that I follow up and take any necessary action appropriately. I regularly carry out safety audits to help identify areas that require improvement, this enables me to provide recommendations to the management team on how to address those areas. Recognizing safety achievements and milestones, such as injury-free days, reinforces the importance of safety and motivates employees to maintain safe practices,” he explains.
"Once any major risks have been identified, we develop mitigation strategies to proactively reduce the likelihood or impact of each risk. These strategies are based on best practices and should be designed to prevent or minimize the impact of potential incidents."
Safety devices intsalled on machinery
Examples of safety devices for machines, safety light curtains for body protection, interlocking systems, also automatic shut off valves when high temperatures are detected.
Before and after implementation of minimal handling
In the Dubai factory there is now minimal manual handling in the process of door manufacturing. Safety mechanisms have now been implemented on high-risk machinery aimed at reducing the risk of fires during the hot weather period in Dubai.
"Since the implementation of the handling equipment the injury rate has decreased dramatically. Injuries received while loading and unloading leaves in the paint line is now at zero percent."
"We are committed to reducing workplace hazards and risks, actively identifying potential hazards and take measures to minimize or eliminate them. We adhere to the ASSA ABLOY strong safety policies and procedures, once employees have been trained this encourages them to report safety hazards or concerns, and take prompt action."
“I have regular meetings with section supervisors where we discuss any safety concerns that may have arisen, this assists me to help maintain a safe working environment and provide a variety of resources if needed. The H&S directive plan is used as a framework to identify hazards and implement controls to reduce them. We review it regularly to ensure it remains effective and relevant to the changing workplace.
The biggest impact on the safety performance over the last 2 years has been providing more safety training for employees and educating them to help increase their awareness of potential hazards and provide them with the knowledge and skills to prevent accidents.
"The presence of strong safety leaders and management has been a critical factor within our organization helping to drive and improve better performance for our safety improvement.
Having a safer working environment helps us as a business by reducing the costs associated with accidents and injuries and lost working time. It enhances our reputation with our customers, suppliers and stakeholders by prioritizing health and safety and being compliant with H&S regulations.” Raashid continues.