- Improving occupational health and safety performance is a Group-wide priority
- Further fatal incidents occurred especially in developing countries
- Security has been stepped up to protect employees and contractors in risk areas
Despite ongoing and intensive training in 2007, fatal and serious incidents occurred at work sites, on roads and three people were killed in an air crash.
Ensuring good occupational health and safety performance – the fundamental right of an employee or subcontractor to return home unharmed after a day’s work – is a core priority for the Group. This continues to be supported by training on behavior and the further development of systems and standards throughout the company.
Nonetheless, a total of 22 people, including one member of the public, died as a result of ABB operations in 2007. Of these, 15 fatalities were in the workplace, three were road-travel related, three people were killed in the crash of a Kenya Airways plane in Cameroon, and one person died in a hotel. A total of 49 people were seriously injured. There has, however, been some progress with lower workplace fatality rates and lost time injury frequency rates.
Every death or injury is unacceptable for ABB. Improvements in health and safety will continue to be a priority for years to come.
The company is focussing on three main areas of weakness: ensuring employees and subcontractors follow established rules when working at height and on live electrical equipment, and when they drive or are driven as part of their work.
ABB continues to work hard to improve project safety. More than 2,300 project and site managers have received training to date. Online occupational health and safety training courses on key risks are now available in English, Spanish, French, Chinese and Arabic.
The company also strengthened its security measures for employees and subcontractors in 2007, particularly in parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Systematic assessment of security risks now forms an integral part of the divisions’ risk review process when tendering for projects.
Health, safety and security remain a challenge for ABB; the Group is working hard to find the right answers.