From engineer to psychiatrist – The transformation of occupational safety
Charles Darwin recognized, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change”. At Boehringer Ingelheim we are currently experiencing one major change in the world of work – a digital transformation. New information and communication technologies push towards a close global network and pave the way for intelligent manufacturing and autonomous robots. This unlocks huge chances and challenges for all our business units. In addition to improvements in instruments, measures, processes and capabilities, one further aspect should not be overlooked: the equally sweeping transformation affecting the concept of occupational safety and risk management.
In times were economic regions are merging, flexible work arrangements are increasing and the pace of change is accelerating, the demands Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) management face are also rising. In the following interview Dr. Hansjörg Hagels, Leader of Occupational Safety Germany (OSG), and Mathias Locher, Head of EHS Corporate Responsibility, describe on behalf of the “BE Safe” initiative from Boehringer Ingelheim their experiences and expectations for occupational safety in this new era.
How does the digital transformation and industry 4.0 change the working environment?
Hansjörg: We have experienced a shift in the way our employees work because of the transformation and availability of digital communication. This enables our employees to work from anywhere, at any time. Working from home or checking emails after business hours is already common today. A result from this trend is the blurring between work and private life.
Mathias: In production, technical systems continue to take over more and more routine work from the employees. In return, the tasks of the employees working in the production sector are evolving and becoming much more complex. They have to be able to act in case of system malfunctions and unplanned events; therefore, they have to know the construction and function of the machines more precise than before.
Which digital developments have a special influence on the safety and health environment at the workplace?
Mathias: The employees are going to have a much stronger interaction with machines and IT systems, what can result in a dependence to digital systems and the loss of some of their autonomy. This goes along with a bigger chance to lose interpersonal relationships in the world of working, growing emotional stress as well as the feeling of loneliness.
Hansjörg: We are already witnessing more sources of distraction at the workplace, which can be overwhelming and harmful for the employee. The consequences can be both emotional stress as well as occupational accidents.
Where do you see the biggest chances from digital Transformation for the occupational safety?
Hansjörg: There are going to be better self-organized production systems, which have the potential to reduce work accident rates and ensure safer working conditions in high-risk environments, particularly because physical stain can be taken off the employees.
Mathias: One big opportunity, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, is the usage of robots in the work with chemical hazards. In the future, employees will no longer be exposed to this source of risk.
Where do you see a strong need for action?
Mathias: We have to evaluate what effects the work arrangement, staff deployment, working time regulation, but also the attitude of our safety culture and the importance of our employees’ health and safety. With each major change, we have to extensively study its impact on occupational safety.
Hansjörg: It is important to continue to develop the Company’s prevention culture and “Zero by Choice” ambition. With growing heterogeneous working environments among the employees, it is important to create a common understanding of the personal responsibility through the right education.
What does the digital transformation mean especially for teams responsible for the occupational safety?
Mathias: It’s important to execute holistic risk assessments to get an overview of all correlations. In addition, set the ground for a safety culture in the Company by using executives as safety role models, encouraging safety dialogues and promoting the Speak Up culture across all levels of the organization.
Hansjörg: As our environment transforms we have to transform as well. In the past occupational safety was strongly focused on mechanical questions. The current trend shows that in the future there will be a much stronger focus on psychological questions too.
How we care for each other
In times were economic regions are merging, flexible work arrangements are increasing and the pace of change is accelerating, the demands Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) management face are also rising. Watch how we care for each other and learn more about our concept of occupational safety and risk management.