SOCIETY

A top priority for ELVAL is the health and safety of its employees and associates. The company ensures that it provides a safe working environment, focusing at all times on prevention by:

• consistently implementing the Occupational Health and Safety Management System (certified according to the OHSAS 18001:2007 standard)
• taking all necessary measures
• implementing major investments every year
• getting all the employees to involve and participate with responsibility towards the relevant issues.

ELVAL’s Health and Safety Management System:

• Is based on prevention.
• Seeks to ensure constant improvements of occupational health and safety conditions.
• Focuses on people, to ensure their safety in the workplace.
• Requires that all employees (and associates) participate and contribute.
• Covers all company production facilities.

In order to reduce safety incidents, check and/or eliminate risks, improve the working environment and improve the company’s performance in this sector in general, preventative programmes and measures for occupational health and safety are planned and implemented each year.

Preventative Health Programme for Employees:

• Measurements of harmful agents are taken.
• All employees undergo check-ups.
• The Company runs a fully-equipped infirmary attended daily by a nurse, with regular visits by an occupational physician.
• Confidential medical records are kept for each individual employee.
• A blood bank is kept to meet the needs of employees and their families.
• First aid workshops run in collaboration with the Hellenic Red Cross.

Preventative Safety Programme for Employees:

• Scheduled health and safety inspections take place.
• Accidents and safety incidents are suitably investigated to identify root causes and take corrective and preventative measures.
• Occupational risks are identified and evaluated.
• Measures are taken to constantly reduce risk.
• The most advanced Personal Protection Equipment is procured and used, depending on the requirements of each post.
• Emergency drills are conducted to ensure people are ready and that equipment is working properly.

ELVAL runs an extensive range of training courses to create and foster a "safety climate". Those courses include:

• first aid workshops, run in collaboration with the Hellenic Red Cross
• employee training concerning occupational health and safety issues
• employee training concerning safe conduct
• employee training concerning fire safety
• employee training concerning safety when transporting cargo
• training on safety against electrical hazards
• employee training about emergency response
• training for behavioural safety auditors
• training for machinery and equipment operators (forklift trucks and cranes)
• on-the-job training.

Furthermore, in order to prevent hazards and raise the staff’s awareness, the company has implemented Safe Conduct inspections, since 2008. One important tool ELVAL uses is behavioural safety audits that seek to limit hazards and raise greater awareness among all members of staff. Each day almost all members of ELVAL’s management team carry out scheduled and unscheduled safety visits based on the methodology the company has developed. During those visits members of the management team talk to all employees about safety issues (i.e. how to properly use personal protection equipment or about safety signage and rules) and in general management and employees are engaged in a constructive exchange of views and proposals in order to improve occupational safety.