Occupational safety

GRI 403-3

All employees are regularly instructed on occupational dangers and associated prevention measures. Instruction topics for operational employees in the regional centres are spread over six events per year. Employees in the administrative departments are instructed at least once per year.

For work requiring personal protective equipment against falls from a height (PPEaF), the respective employees complete practical exercises on how to use the PPEaF and on how to rescue others from heights and depths. The content of the annual training at the transmission tower and the transformer is determined on the basis of 50Hertz’s rescue concept, which promotes an equal level of knowledge amongst employees and the exchange of knowledge across locations.

Safety inspections

GRI 403-2

Occupational health and safety is not limited to our own employees. The stringent 50Hertz standards also apply to contracted companies working on 50Hertz construction sites. During the contracting process and later via IT-supported construction monitoring by specially trained 50Hertz employees, it is ensured that suppliers comply with 50Hertz’s strict safety requirements. Special instructions for guaranteeing occupational health and safety when contracting external companies for work in the scope of the 50Hertz transmission grid (OAFN) have been transparently and bindingly regulating this. All new contracts at 50Hertz contain an agreement for quality assurance on construction sites. This includes an unrestricted right for 50Hertz to carry out checks. In the reporting year, 933 construction site inspections (1,260 in 2019) were carried out. Incidents relating to occupational health and safety and the environment, which occur at external companies working on behalf of 50Hertz, were analysed in accordance with a regulated process together with the external companies affected. Managed by a central assessment commission, measures for the prevention of similar accidents and incidents are derived, implemented and documented. Pursuant to this process, a total of 32 environmental incidents, accidents, near misses and safety-related incidents were evaluated together with the contractors in the reporting year.

Accident statistics