APM Terminals makes important step forward in safety performance

Stockholm, Sweden -APM Terminals Head of Health, Safety Security and Environment (HSSE) and CSR, Henrik Kristensen detailed APM Terminals' Safety Culture implementation and approach which have established new standards of safety performance for the container industry while addressing the 2nd ICHCA Safe Cargo Handling Seminar in Stockholm, Sweden.

In the broadest measure of workplace safety, the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network saw the Lost-Time Injury Frequency (LTIF) rate fall by 42% in 2009 to 4.1 LTIF per million man-hours worked- the lowest of any major terminal operating company.

Safety is becoming an integrated part of our DNA as a company said Kristensen, who pointed out that as recently as five years ago the LTIF rate for APM Terminals was 32.5. In absolute terms, injuries have declined from 890 recorded in 2006 (when the LTIF-rate had dropped to 15) to 330 reported in 2009. Conversely, near-miss incident reports, in which accidents or injury due to hazardous circumstances have been narrowly avoided are recorded so that steps can be taken to eliminate any potential dangers in the workplace, rose to 10,151 in 2009, up from 1,800 in 2006 and 2,600 in 2008. This statistic illustrates the aggressive new mind-set found throughout the workforce for identifying and addressing risk, and sharing Best Practices with other facilities both within and outside of APM Terminals.

Despite the fact that 2009 was a year of fighting the economic crisis the terminals managed to run an extensive Safety Culture training program. It emphasizes personal responsibility for safety in the workplace and was provided to 17,000 APM Terminals employees in 12 languages including Mandarin, Vietnamese, Arabic, Portuguese, Dutch and English.

The concept of individual ownership of Safety across the organization at every level of staff applies all the way up through the corporate ranks to the CEO, whose own performance rating is affected by the company's LTIF-rate.

We have made quite a bit of progress in reducing accidents and fatalities in our facilities noted Kristensen, but as far as we are concerned we are only just getting started and we invite our colleagues in the industry to participate in an industry-wide campaign, as for all of us the only acceptable accident rate is zero.