Deeply Rooted

With more than 20,000 employees the company Voith GmbH from Heidenheim is one of Europe’s biggest family businesses – and an international role model in the matter of occupational safety.

Every potential source of danger, reported via the app is instantly examined in regards to its relevance for other company sites. Picture: Voith GmbH

Photo: Norbert Böwing

When would you say that something isn’t safe? When may it also be a danger to others? The company Voith GmbH works with a user-friendly app on the basis of mobile smart devices to detect potential dangers at the workplace at source and to eliminate them before they can occur – also at other company sites. Thanks to the app, the information is available to all company facilities worldwide within a short period of time.

A central database for occupational safety collects and instantly analyses all incoming information. This makes it possible to not only remove them immediately but also to examine the relevance for other company sites. In this way, potential risks get instantly eliminated before they can become a danger for the health of employees. At the same time, the awareness of the workers increases – by recognizing the insecure situation, by discussing them within their team and by deriving and implementing the measures together.

Using the app in every-day routine is easy, thanks to easy thanks to symbols that are easy to understand. Every employee can report his observations and concerns at every moment and completely anonymous. The data is then available to the manager and can be evaluated instantly. The app is already well-established as a system “from the user for the user” and has been integrated in an overall concept. It is used in all different sectors of the company. Incoming information about potential accident risks and sources of disturbance is used for improving occupational safety and is exchanged between all branches of industry and company sites.

Due to the great success of the app, a further development for other relevant topics is planned. In general, the five different markets of the globally working company make it evident how big the safety potential really is. Since the business year 2006/2007, the accident rate has dropped by 93 per cent to 1.5 work accidents per 1 million working hours. It is an amazing proof that a dedication to occupational safety is deeply rooted in the company culture of Voith GmbH.