Today we talk to Sara Panzavolta, Head of the Safety and Prevention Service, about safety processes, CEPI’s approach and the innovations implemented in the last few months.
It is the culmination of a journey that started more than twenty years ago and was wanted by the whole company. We started out with a safety management that only took a few minutes a day, and was carried out by a single person with the support of an external consultant. I should obviously add that the workforce at that time consisted of only about twenty employees.
Today, however, the structure is complex, with a much larger time investment. The safety team is made up of three key figures (Davide Saputo, RSPP since 2000 and now HSE, myself as current RSPP and Michele Rinaldi in the role of ASPP) and twenty supervisors including business travelers, who together supervise the processes relating to 150 employees. My working day, in particular, is mainly dedicated to safety.
It makes CEPI a highly protective reality in the three areas of HSE (Health, Safety and Environment). Every day, we engage forces on these three axes, not only to comply with the terms of the law but above all to implement improvements and innovations.
The control function, in particular, is highly developed. Basically, the work of the safety team is divided into five moments applied to all aspects concerning safety, health and the environment:
The policy in CEPI is to make people grow, and it is clear to everyone that work safety is a fundamental value. The investment in safety procedures and training is considerable, and related issues are always addressed in a constructive and collaborative way.
We have recently taken new steps aimed at protecting psychophysical health, and the psychological support service and group sporting activity have certainly been well received.
In the context of manual-material actions, I would like to mention the acquisition of new machinery that significantly reduces the risks associated with certain operations, such as the new folding machine and the self-propelled wrapper that automatically packs the pallets. These are important investments that I think show how much we value the safety of workers.
The PPE vending machine is another achievement I’m proud of, as are the safety videos dispensed on the monitors of the beverage dispensers.
I think the decision to expand the role of RSPP was very important in this sense. When I arrived at CEPI in 2019, I had many ideas but initially held a support position. I have been a full-time RSPP (i.e. Head of the Prevention and Protection Service) since last year, and it’s because of this new maneuvering space that I achieved the developments I was talking about. I was able to focus my energies on training and above all organization, the secret to an effective tool.
I myself feel that I have grown up a lot, and I am especially satisfied with having finalized projects. Certainly research and feedback collection are fundamental, as is the ability to have ideas, but the execution is crucial, and the way to do it is to activate a figure with the time, the autonomy and support needed.
To work safely and in compliance with the regulations, constant awareness work is necessary. The foundation of safety is a deep awareness, which is not limited to the provision of knowledge but is achieved through the establishment of an authentic dialogue on the subject, which requires participation and feedback. For example, I’m always interested in knowing the opinion of the participants on the courses: how are the classrooms, if the teachers are professional and prepared, if the contents are dynamic and interesting in an engaging situation.
The two plans for safety training and professional development run in parallel. Since last year we have started doing some extra training drawing on Fondimpresa, selecting some strategic courses to increase the skills of the administrative, technical, quality and electrical departments. I hope over the years to be able to implement more and more of them, ranging from universal skills such as languages to specializing skills aimed at specific roles.
I believe that a cultured environment is an environment that tends to preserve itself. The growth of knowledge also increases the desire to participate and implement what has been learned: one’s work is experienced as more valued and is practiced not only by automatism, but with a concept.
Yes, that was very interesting. It is an annual event attended by industry experts and HSE suppliers. It included many round tables, seminars and moments of exchange on safety processes within various companes, where we discussed how the many elements were managed and where new ideas emerged on how to improve. We really enjoyed participating as a team rather than a single unit.
There were many meetings with suppliers (of PPE, software systems and so on) and consultants on specific risks, or engineers who told us about the Machinery Directive. They told us about their product and we presented our specific case, in order to understand the most suitable solution.
It’s difficult to choose just one, but if I really have to, then I was very impressed by the meeting with a mental coach who spoke to us about mindfulness in the workplace. I know that Davide really liked the part on team building and how to involve and value the people around you, also through tools such as the Japanese concept of ikigai, which refers to having a purpose in life and what makes it worth living.
Did you just transmit or also learn?
Both. Among other things, for me and Davide it was an opportunity to share the initiatives regarding mental health, which we think are working very well in CEPI. Even representatives of much more structured companies than ours were amazed at the richness of our program. At the same time, we have certainly received many interesting inputs on how to improve our procedures, for example as regards the part of the evaluations.
I think it is important to implement more and more digital systems. It is a process that has already started but must be developed to include the entire safety management, also incorporating registers, schedules, training and maintenance. I would also like to increase the provision of online training, for example through videos in pills, and implement further professional development paths.
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