Ever larger machines and the use of robot technology increase the risk of accidents and the danger of injury, and make employee protection vital. It is even more important to take precautions against possible dangers at work. At BUTTING, safety at work is permanently monitored and enhanced. It is high time to reduce the number and seriousness of accidents at work through targeted prevention and to protect employees from injury.
For one of these prevention measures, BUTTING received an honorary award of the Prevention Prize from the Employers' Liability Insurance Association for Trade and Goods Logistics (BGHW). Every year BGHW searches for good ideas from employees, trainees and entrepreneurs – and gives awards for the best submissions. Specifically, BUTTING received the prize for rebuilding a changing station for bundles of compressed gas. The background is that bundles of compressed gas have been taken out by mistake without uncoupling the relevant tubes from the changing station, which causes the tubes to be broken off. In-house experience and damage reports from the industry made clear that there is a need for action here. In addition to the great material damage to the affected tubes, as has happened at BUTTING, breaking off the tubes could also have more serious consequences: Depending on the content of the bundles of compressed gas, there is a risk of dangerous explosions or fires, since the medium in the gas cylinders reacts with the oxygen in the air. True, such an event has not yet occurred in the Knesebeck family company, but accident reports in the industry make clear the dangers that exist in connection with the bundles of compressed gas.
Helge Manzke, the occupational safety specialist at BUTTING, makes clear: "Due to the cost of damaged pipes and the great potential danger that could be caused by the resultant chemical reactions, we decided to optimise the occupational safety process. After the reconstruction of the changing stations on our premises in Knesebeck, the pipes for the bundles of compressed gas are now much shorter, which means that the gases can only be taken out once the pipes have been uncoupled.
The safety of all our employees is the highest priority for our family company. Thus BUTTING works constantly to improve occupational health and safety.
BUTTING – Progress by Tradition