Safety first!
Various departments gathered on 8 August for the first ever UPERIO Safety Day. After a short speech by Sven Vrancken, it was time to get down to business. On the agenda: 5 challenging workshops aimed at raising awareness of the importance of practising safety at all times and in every situation.
Prevention is always better than cure, which is why the “Last Minute Risk Analysis” workshop focused on estimating risks before accidents happen. What methods can you use to identify potential hazards before they even materialise? From now on, our employees know exactly what to look out for!
Anyone who does slip up in the future can think back to the “Falling and Stumbling” workshop. No matter how familiar the environment, when your attention slips for a moment, there is a chance your body will too. That's why we deliberately put our employees off balance and measured their reaction speed. Even the athletes among us were more than keen to use their speed to lunge for the handrail. Climbing the stairs backwards also proved to be a useful tip, and some of our colleagues immediately practiced the technique during a well-deserved break.
But what if something does go wrong? At UPERIO we are prepared for anything. In a challenging role-play during a workshop called “The Court”, our employees took on the role of both prosecution and defence. An exercise that proved memorable for many. Mustering compelling arguments, each did their best to persuade the judge of their point of view – although admittedly it was not always easy to take him seriously. To quote one of our Customer Service crew: “When he came in wearing a toga and a wig, everyone burst out laughing.” Yet many found it instructive to formulate arguments pro and contra focused on concrete safety issues.
The atmosphere at the event was relaxed and fun. We put our employees into mixed groups for Safety Day, and many commented how nice it was to meet up with people from different departments, each with their individual experiences. Safety also depends on teamwork. Based on real-life work situations, the “Shared Vigilance” workshop made it clear how we as colleagues can guarantee each other’s safety. As one participant said: “There are some hazards out there you just can’t spot on your own.”
For some, the “Safety Bingo” session, in which the lessons learned were tested, was a good round-up of the day’s events. For others, it was a welcome refresher of earlier courses. “It was good to see that I still knew some of things I covered in my VCA Basic Safety diploma", said one Customer Service colleague.
For UPERIO, safety is a collective goal that everyone contributes to, across our various departments. “I like the fact that people from all departments are here together for a common goal,” said one of our technicians. “It’s interesting to share different approaches to safety and learn from each other. It’s not just ‘orders from the top’, everyone’s experiences are valued.” As another employee said: “Safety plays a role at every level in a company.”
Safety Day was a worthwhile event in terms of helping to build a successful – and above all, safe – future.