BETTER Operations
Ensure the best health and safety
Our safety mindset means we prevent accidents and keep our people safe and sound, no matter where they are in the world.
Our promise
Electrolux will be the leader on health and safety in the appliance industry, wherever we operate in the world.
Read more about our progress on this Promise
Roadmap 2015 to 2020
- Continue to reduce our global injury rate (TCIR) by at least 5% every year.
- Attain safety certification for our operations around the world according to the new ISO 45001 standard.
- Integrate the Group's safety program into new acquisitions within three years of purchase.
The case for action
The wellbeing of our colleagues is of course extremely important. We have a duty of care toward every individual working for Electrolux, and we take this seriously. Our commitment applies wherever Electrolux operates in the world, and goes beyond local regulations.
Our approach
Health and safety has long been a fundamental part of our values and our sustainability agenda, with clear targets and processes in place to ensure real progress.
All employees and contractors in production are covered by a reporting system to track incidents and hours worked, and our ambition is to apply the same occupational, health and safety (OHS) management system throughout the Group and among our contractors. All manufacturing sites have Central Safety Committees that include managers, workers and worker representatives. All employees receive safety training when they start at Electrolux and annual training tailored to their function.
Our manufacturing site safety audits involve three activities: a behavioral audit carried out by line managers and team leaders on a monthly basis, a safety audit carried out by OHS engineers, and a Safety Management System Audit by Regional or Global Safety Leaders.
Incidents are reported daily to site management, and to sector heads on a monthly basis. Performance is disclosed in Group-wide data collection.
An annual Global Safety Day raises awareness among employees and demonstrates the management commitment to safety.
All activities are managed using the lean tools defined by our Electrolux Manufacturing System, which assures a continuation of cultural transformation while focusing on operational excellence.
Challenges
- The most significant health and safety risks occur in our warehouses and technical departments.
- In warehouses, we operate mainly with external contractors. In the last year, our updated contractor procedure has been applied at all our sites. This allows us to apply the same OHS management system throughout the Group and among all employees working within our sites, including contractors.
The progress on our promise
How we measure progress
- Global injury rate (TCIR)
- Lost days due to injury (LCIR)
- First Aid activities conducted by our nurses (FAIR)
Our safety performance
Since 2015, our injury rate has declined by 39% throughout the Group. First-class health and safety practices are an essential step for building trust among employees, their families and local communities. Our work with OHS (Occupational Health & Safety) focuses primarily on the safety of workers in production areas and also raises awareness of the health and wellbeing of office workers.
During 2019, the safety systems and processes within different business sectors have been aligned in a Group-wide approach – the Electrolux Safety Management System.
Our current global injury rate (TCIR) of 0.53 (0.57) compares favorably with other well-known benchmarks, as reported in publicly available sources. Even though our performance is already high, we have an ambitious target in place: to reduce our global injury rate (TCIR) by at least 5% every year
Regrettably, in early 2019 an employee passed away in one of our plants in Latin America. The accident happened despite active control measures in place. The employee’s family received full support and all relevant information was provided to local authorities. In late 2019, a tragic work-related death also occurred in our European service organization when a component was being replaced in an appliance that was on power mode. The fatality prompted reinforced efforts in awareness campaigns, training and follow-up inspections.
Electrolux is continuously improving its processes related to safety in all of its operations.
All units managed through our Global Industrial Operations have a safety program. During 2019, they focused on:
- Segregating pedestrians from forklifts in technical areas – Fences are installed at most of the factories and we are now working to improve pedestrian paths to assure people are segregated from vehicles in all technical areas.
- Lock Out Tag Out – A global procedure that has been applied to all sites. This has been followed up by an audit of all factories to verify its proper application.
- Contractors working at our sites – A global procedure focused on contractors working at Electrolux facilities has been applied and enforced at all our sites. In 2020, we will audit all our sites to verify its correct application.
- Warehouse safety – In 2019, a warehouse safety plan was applied to combat high TCIR with relevant improvements.
Injury rate
Next steps
| Roadmap 2015 to 2020 | Next steps | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Continue to reduce our global injury rate (TCIR) by at least 5% every year. | Ongoing work with health and safety. | dot2 |
| Attain safety certification for our operations around the world. | To be aligned with the new ISO 45001 standard. | dot2 |
| Integrate the Group's safety program into new acquisitions within three years of purchase. | An ongoing process. | dot2 |
The next steps towards 2030 will be announced in the 2020 report.
On track
Additional effort is required
Off track
Work has not yet begun
Electrolux
Electrolux is a leading global appliance company that has shaped living for the better for more than 100 years. We reinvent taste, care and wellbeing experiences for millions of people around the world, always striving to be at the forefront of sustainability in society through our solutions and operations. Under our brands, including Electrolux, AEG and Frigidaire, we sell approximately 60 million household products in approximately 120 markets every year. In 2019 Electrolux had sales of SEK 119 billion and employed 49,000 people around the world.
S:t Göransgatan 143
SE-105 45 Stockholm, Sweden