Health and Safety
FERROVIAL WORKS TO CREATE RISK-FREE ENVIRONMENTS FOR ALL ITS EMPLOYEES, AS WELL AS FOR USERS OF INFRASTRUCTURES AND SERVICES BY DEVELOPING ACTION PLANS UNDER THE PREMISE OF THE TARGET ZERO PRINCIPLES AND THAT ANY ACCIDENT CAN BE AVOIDED.
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FREQUENCY INDEX (1)
-9.3 % -
SEVERITY INDEX (2)
-6.1 % -
health and safety inspections and audits
79,058 -
hours of health and safety training
753,818 +2,4 MILLION SINCE 2015
(1) Year-on-year change in the index giving the number of accidents occurring during working hours that lead to days lost, for every million hours worked. Subcontractors not included.
(2) Year-on-year change in the index giving the number of days lost as a result of occupational accidents for every thousand hours worked.
COMMITMENT BY THE MANAGEMENT
Ferrovial’s Health and Safety strategy, together with the firm commitment from the management and all employees, have improved the company’s accident rates.
Health and Safety is a Senior Management priority, and it is fully committed.
In 2015, the Board of Directors of Ferrovial approved a new Health and Safety Policy for the whole company, establishing the objective of developing risk-free working environments, based on the conviction that any accident is avoidable.
The maximum executive level of Ferrovial supervises the functions and responsibilities in Health and Safety. Thus the CEO reports the information related to this matter periodically to the Board of Directors. In addition, in all the areas the person responsible for Health and Safety is part of the Business Committee.
The annual Managers’ meeting, which brings together the 300 company managers, begins with a Health and Safety presentation to report and raise awareness of this issue.
HEALTH AND SAFETY STRATEGY
In October 2017, Ferrovial held the second edition of the H&S Global Meeting at the headquarters of its Corporate University, which brought together employees from the different business areas around the world with responsibilities in Health and Safety management. The meeting served to discuss the Health and Safety strategy for the next two years, pooling the projects being developed, highlighting examples of good practice and analyzing the measurement of results.
Ferrovial’s Health and Safety strategy, which is currently being updated, is based on the principles of action included in its policy:
Risk evaluation and planning. A reliable risk and hazard evaluation process has been implemented in all work centers to establish the organization, planning and control systems needed to facilitate a safe work environment. To confirm that these control systems are implemented and effective, different initiatives are carried out in Ferrovial’s subsidiaries, including RCE in Broadspectrum.
Compliance with legislation and other standards in force in each of the countries where the company operates, paying attention to best practices when they are reasonably viable.
Effective and consistent communication, facilitating communication channels to encourage all employees to contribute to a positive performance in matters of Occupational Health and Safety, promoting a safety culture throughout the company.
To promote a positive culture, different internal campaigns have been designed, including The Safety Week H&S Internal Campaign, carried out in Amey’s environmental services business, awarded with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, and finalist in the Chartered Institute of Waste Management awards within its industry.
Training and involving workers. Ferrovial has spent years increasing its training efforts to involve workers increasingly in the common goal of creating risk-free workplaces. Since 2015, more than 2.4 million hours of training have been given, encouraging the participation of all workers in the detection of unsafe acts and situations.
All sessions and campaigns aim to create a strong Health and Safety culture, driven by employees, the working environment and the behaviors they demonstrate in the workplace.
Measuring and monitoring performance. To promote a consistent and positive work safety culture, a reporting system is needed that gives promotes the identification of unsafe situations or actions before they occur and implement the necessary preventive measures to avoid any type of accident.
In 2017, 79,058 Health and Safety visits and audits were conducted at the different Ferrovial centers.
All these measures, together with the preventive actions that have been implemented, have led to a notable improvement in the frequency index, which has reduced by 42% since 2014.
Ferrovial monitors health and safety performance, seeking continuous improvement. To do so, specific Health and Safety targets have been set.
Innovation. New standards of performance, technology and safety measures can be developed through innovation, contributing to the achievement of the Target Zero goal.
The action plan for innovation includes:
- Wearables in road maintenance. Use of sensor equipment to detect signs of drowsiness, stress and fatigue, as well as monitoring, which includes a warning button to know the exact location of the worker in case he/she needs assistance.
- R2. Kit containing beacons and wristbands that implements security protocols to manage control and access to worksites, delimit risks and help in emergency situations by means of a panic button.
- Big Data. Use of the DriveSmart mobile application to promote road safety for drivers, both on the Autema toll road and in its areas of influence. The application analyzes the driver’s behavior at the wheel to detect their bad habits, promoting better driving and rewarding their good driving.
BRS: RISK CONTROL EFFECTIVENESS (RCE)
Broadspectrum has conducted a review to ensure the operation and effectiveness of safety controls in their processes. This analysis concluded that a large number of controls and verifications were being conducted, focused on low-risk activities and not high-risk activities.
The Risk Control Effectiveness (RCE) Program served to redirect the focus toward risks with greater potential risk, thus ensuring effective prevention and a focus on hazards that can cause potentially serious damages, enabling the implementation of better controls in activities with more risk.
Thanks to the RCE initiative, Broadspectrum eliminated 18 low-level controls and replaced them with new or updated controls. 59% fewer “first aid” controls were carried out and the critical controls on the highest risks increased by 45%.
This has led to a reduction in accident rates and breaches of the mandatory safety rules defined in Broadspectrum.
AMEY: Safety week
Campaign carried out by Amey in 2017 to reinforce safety messages and involve workers regarding the risks they are exposed to on a daily basis. Includes training on how to avoid or minimize risks. This initiative is part of a more extensive Health and Safety program aimed at Target Zero. It takes on the following challenges:
- Increase awareness and knowledge of the main risks.
- Reduce the number of incidents.
- Encourage close call reporting, enabling problems to be addressed before they become potential incidents.
- Commitment and involving workers.
The campaign included the creation and publication of videos and posters, talks with superiors and the launch of a new advice book.
PROMOTING HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
In recent years, Ferrovial has launched numerous initiatives aimed at improving the occupational health of its employees. The aim is to improve the working environment, reduce absenteeism, and increase productivity, among others. Numerous initiatives have been implemented to promote healthy habits, including:
- The HASAVI program, an innovative health and wellness project with the aim of promoting healthy habits and lifestyles among employees, based on three fundamental pillars (nutrition, physical activity and health – people), using the work environment as a lever.
- The Ferrovial Olympics, has an average of 1,200 participants per year.
- The Well-being Week, at the Construction headquarters.
- The Ferrovital initiative, at Corporation, which includes workshops, health talks and the physiotherapy service, among others.
- The mindfulness workshops taught at the Corporate University.
All these initiatives aim to help employees to achieve a better quality of life, which contributes not only to feeling better but to the development of their personal and social skills. They are also in line with the guidelines from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, which promotes healthy work at every age and diversity policies toward anti-aging in working life.
