Sicherheit und Gesundheit
Our network of safety officers investigates and records all safety-related incidents at Messer. Information and training materials help to further improve the safe use of our products and applications and to promote safe behavior among employees in the various workplaces.
The number of reported occupational accidents with work impact at Messer decreased from 48 in 2021 to 47 in 2022. The loss of working hours rate per million hours worked (accident frequency rate) decreased slightly from 2.18 in 2021 to 2.05 in the reporting year. The number of lost workdays (occupational accident severity rate) per million hours worked increased from 69.15 in 2021 to 70.07 in 2022. A total of 96 notified occupational accidents were recorded in 2022, 15 more than in the previous year. The accident frequency rate of reportable occupational accidents per million hours worked increased from 3.67 to 4.20. Unfortunately, we suffered one fatality within Messer's workforce last year.
Safety Week 2022
From September 12 to 16, "Safety Week 2022" was held at Messer's international sites. They had the opportunity to make one day their "Safety Day 2022" within the "Safety Week". Under the guiding theme of "Behavioral Safety", the aim was to further raise awareness of safe behavior in the workplace. Among other things, communication between managers and employees was strengthened in safety talks. In addition, Messer's international teams found further ways to focus on safe behavior in the workplace in an interesting and convincing way.
At Messer in Spain and Portugal, a forum gave virtually connected employees the opportunity to ask questions about safety. Production and logistics teams took a "safety walk" around the plants in Vilaseca, El Morell and Alicante. In addition, all employees at the Vilaseca site had the opportunity to visit the Messer-V air separation plant, which is currently under construction. The function of the new app called "Assegurate" was presented to all employees. It enables, for example, malfunctions, incidents, or other safety-relevant aspects to be reported immediately to superiors or opportunities for improvement discovered in the working environment to be registered directly.
Messer in Switzerland presented the topic of accident prevention in a different way: with the help of the "Swiss cheese model", it was vividly demonstrated how little is enough to trigger an accident event and that one measure alone is not enough to prevent an accident. Safe riding on an e-bike was practiced on an "e-bike simulator" and the effectiveness of a bicycle helmet was also illustrated.
Bernd Eulitz, Deputy CEO of Messer SE & Co. KGaA, visited our filling plant in Siegen, Germany, on September 14, 2022 for a safety tour. "With my visit, I would like to show my personal commitment to this important topic and at the same time underline the high importance for the entire management of Messer," said Bernd Eulitz.
In order to get the team even more involved in Safety Week 2022 and to raise awareness of the issue of safety, Messer organized a campaign in China to which all employees were invited via social media platforms.
Americas: Launch of Safer Together behavior-based safety program
To intensify our commitment to making safety a company-wide priority and shared responsibility, Messer Americas launched a new behavior-based program called Safer Together in 2022. Safer Together is designed to improve workplace safety by encouraging all employees and contractors to discuss safety, address hazards and identify corrective actions to help prevent incidents and reduce injuries openly, proactively and positively. A corporate video reinforcing key messages from the program was shared internally and externally, and an additional video called “Messer – Day in the Life” demonstrated how employees commit to safety every day.
Messer is an active member of the EIGA (European Industrial Gases Association), the IOMA (International Oxygen Manufacturers Association), the AIGA (Asian Industrial Gases Association) and the CGA (Compressed Gas Association). Our experts regularly exchange experience and knowledge because the protection of our employees, the safe manufacture, use and handling of our products, and the responsible conduct are important parts of our corporate values.
Internally, we recognize outstanding achievements in the area of SHEQ with the “Messer SHEQ Award”. In 2022, it was presented at our international SHEQ meeting for the period 2020 to 2021. The “Best Performer” award went to Messer Croatia Plin d.o.o., Messer France S.A.S. won the “Best Improver” award. Dr. Udo Kohl, SVP Corporate SHEQ, and Stefan Messer, at that time CEO Messer SE & Co. KGaA, personally presented the awards to Hrvoje Rogic, Head of SHEQ Messer Croatia, and Olivier Bagel, Director SHEQ Messer France, who accepted the awards on behalf of their teams.
The safety of the people who work with our industrial gases is of paramount importance to Messer. That is why we are also raising awareness of the safe handling of gas cylinders among our customers. New video clips provide basic information on the contents, transport, handling and connection of gas cylinders. To accompany the videos, "Pocket Guides" bundle safety-relevant information in a compact print format.
In addition to complying with legal regulations, Messer uses a proven transport safety concept. In Europe, we are committed to paying particular attention to the safety of our vehicle fleet as part of the European Road Safety Charter. The safety measures we have developed for logistics at national and international level include a constant exchange of experience between logistics and safety personnel, with the aim of further improving safety in this area.
While Messer's American companies use their own personnel to transport gases, external companies are primarily entrusted with this task for other regions. They are also responsible for carrying out the legally required training of the driving personnel. We supplement this with a driver training program developed by Messer Corporate Logistics. It is supported by an on-board computer system, which has been in use since 2019 and records safety-relevant driving data. In addition, based on driving data and integrated sensor technology, it prompts drivers to adapt their driving style during the journey. This makes our transports even safer and helps consume less fuel.
The on-board computer system helps to reduce the absolute number of accidents and further improve the accident frequency rate, as do appropriate supplier management, training and manuals for driving personnel with individually tailored content for the operation of bulk, cylinder or service vehicles, and technical aids.
In 2022, the number of preventable accidents during the transport of our cylinder gases worldwide was 56, compared with 74 in the previous year. This improvement is reflected in the accident frequency rate per million kilometers driven, which fell from 2.13 in 2021 to 1.59 in the reporting year. The number of preventable accidents involving the transport of liquefied gases was 161 in 2021, compared with 193 in 2022. This trend is confirmed by the frequency rate per million kilometers driven: from 0.8 in the previous year, it increased to 0.96 in 2022.
Top performance at the wheel and in logistics
With the "Messer Logistic Awards", we honored exemplary behavior in transportation and logistics in 2022 with reference to the year 2021. The "Best Driver 2021" came from Romania. The "Best Performer 2021" logistics award went to Messer in Croatia. The "Most Improved 2021" logistics award for the greatest improvement over the previous year went to the Messer team in Slovakia. Various driving parameters, which are recorded using an on-board telemetry system, serve as the basis for evaluating driving performance.
Messer advises its customers from the medical sector, supplies gases as medicinal products or medical devices, plans, assembles and maintains supply systems and offers medical accessories and consumables as part of a complete service package in more than 20 countries.
Our activities in the pharmaceutical sector meet the relevant requirements at national, European and international level. This applies in particular to the requirements of European Good Manufacturing Practice (EU-GMP) and the specifications of the European Pharmacopoeia. As a medical device, our gases comply with the Medical Devices Regulation (EU 2017/745), the previously applicable Medical Devices Directives and the corresponding national laws.
We ensure continuous product and delivery quality through internal audits, a unified pharmacovigilance system, and validated workflows and computer systems.
Together with Medclair, a Swedish research and development company with expertise in nitrous oxide, Messer aims to reduce the environmental impact of medical gases while improving occupational safety for medical staff. Medclair has developed two systems for this purpose: one for parallel treatments in several rooms, and one for occasional treatments in different rooms. Both systems capture the medical gas emitted during patient treatment, break it down into its components, for example nitrogen and oxygen, and return these basic atmospheric components to the ambient air. The decomposition of gases and gas mixtures described above not only prevents the release of harmful substances into the environment. It also increases the safety of medical staff: simply by using one of Medclair's systems, the concentration of gases in the air is already significantly reduced.
In 2022, Messer presented itself at various medical congresses. In Paris and St. Malo, the focus was on the Serynox/Placynox gas mixture, which is used for sedation and analgesia. Particular emphasis was placed on the climate-friendly administration of nitrous oxide through collection and decomposition.
Messer's role as a solution provider for therapy with medical nitric oxide was highlighted at congresses for neonatal and adult medicine in Germany. In addition to supplying gases, Messer also provides the hardware, organizes service and maintenance, and trains hospital staff on equipment use, if required.
The highlight of our activities was the 'EAPS Congress' in Barcelona, where we were able to present our therapy approaches in the field of Nitric Oxide, as well as Serynox/Placynox. The exchange with medical and hospital staff was particularly interesting.
Overall, we intend to expand our marketing activities in the healthcare sector in order to further strengthen the positioning of the Messer brand as a solution provider.
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, Messer presented the design, infrastructure, and investment planning of a medical oxygen supply system at the "2022 American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) Annual Conference and Technical Exhibition" in Boston. Healthcare professionals learned more about the basics for a standards-compliant medical oxygen delivery system, tools for evaluating their existing systems and strategies for approving capital budgets. Messer also demonstrated at its booth how to improve the safety of medical oxygen supply.
In Hungary, the country's first laboratory for sleep diagnostics has been equipped with products from Messer. The laboratory, which is based at the Petz Aladár District Teaching Hospital, examines people with sleep disorders and provides them with therapeutic advice. A particular challenge is the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing stops repeatedly for short periods during sleep.
One in twelve babies is born with a low weight or as a premature baby. If these babies are born where specialized intensive care is not available, they must be transported as quickly and safely as possible to an appropriate facility. The Peter Cerny Foundation has been dedicated to this important task since 1988: it operates an emergency and transport service for newborns within a 140-kilometer radius of Budapest. Messer supplies the medical gases used to ventilate the babies and to set the incubator atmosphere.
Messer operates two plants in Zhejiang, China. They are located in areas that were hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to be able to actively help here, the relevant authorities were contacted to obtain entry permits. We minimized the risks for our transport team with a plan of action that included disinfecting the vehicles. As a result, a total of 60 tons of medical oxygen were delivered to five hospitals in Ningbo and Shaoxing within a very short time. Messer donated the oxygen, underlining its commitment to social responsibility.
Rope skipping is very popular in China. Accordingly, it was the focus of a sports day organized by Messer Xianggang for the third time in May 2022. In teams and in "group rope jumping", employees were able to show how good their fitness is and how well they coordinate with each other. The sports day is an integral part of Xianggang Messer's culture and strengthens cohesion within the company.