Occupational health & safety
Our commitment to health and safety supports the company's people-centred culture, which helps attract employees and reduce staff turnover. Providing a safe and healthy working environment for employees is an integral part of our social responsibility.
By the end of 2010 the Novo Nordisk Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) Management System covered research and development and production facilities globally as well as headquarter operations. Implementation in our sales organisation will be completed by the end of 2013.
Global OH&S standards have been developed on relevant OH&S aspects. Further work will be conducted in the years to come to ensure social responsibility and the continuous improvment of working conditions.
Elements of a healthy workplace include the physical environment of the workplace as well as the measures taken to prevent occupational injuries. Psychological factors such as job stress, job security and employability, management practices, non-discrimination, empowerment and development opportunities also contribute to a healthy working environment.
Suppliers
In accordance with Danish legislation, the employer is required to keep records for their own employees. Construction contractors must undergo regular inspections, have extensive safety training in place, investigate all work-related injuries and submit plans to avoid future injuries. This means that it is Novo Nordisk's contractors who register/report for their own employees. Any occupational accidents affecting Novo Nordisk's contractors while at our premises are also reported to us.
Absence and occupational injuries
Preventive and corrective actions taken in connection with occupational accidents and near misses must be reported, dealt with and documented in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Management System.
In recording and reporting occupational injuries and illnesses, Novo Nordisk follows the International Lablour Organisation's (ILO) Code of Practice as well as local legislation. Novo Nordisk has adopted the ILO Protocol of 2002 to the Occupational Safety and Health Convention 1981.
In 2010, there were no fatal occupational injuries and Novo Nordisk has not had any fatal occupational injuries since 2004.
Performance on the OH&S indicator ‘frequency of occupational injuries with absence’ was not fully satisfactory, as the frequency increased from 4.3 in 2009 to 4.9 in 2010 not meeting the target of a continuous decrease. There has been a sligthly decrease in the production areas, and an increase in R&D and in the sales area. R&D has increased focus on prevention of injuries setting a goal for 2011 to reach a frequency below 4.
The frequency of occupational injuries is calculated based on the number of injuries reported for all employees per million working hours, excluding externals, employees on unpaid leave, interns, bachelor and master thesis employees and substitutes. An occupational injury is any work-related injury causing at least one day of absence in addition to the day of the injury.
The focus on preventive actions is emphasised as a part of the OH&S management system, which will be rolled out in the sales organisation between 2011 and 2013.
The rate of absence decreased in 2010 to 2.4% from 2.6% in 2009. The decrease is explained by fewer days of absence due to illness compared to 2009.
In 2010, implementation of Novo Nordisk’s occupational health & safety management system continued. The management system is certifiable according to OHSAS 18001. All sites in Denmark have implemented the system, and Product Supply is certified globally.
One global management system
Traditionally, the company's OH&S practices have been based on local standards and practices related to local legislation. As the business expands, with new employees working and residing outside Denmark, there is a greater need to have one uniform global OH&S management system.
Instead of having a system structured around different local laws, Novo Nordisk is working on establishing global governance on OH&S by developing global OH&S minimum benchmarks and processes and improving data collection to monitor global OH&S performance.
By 2010, the OH&S management system based on OHSAS 18001 includes all R&D and production facilities globally and headquarters operations. The plan calls for all Regions to have implemented the OH&S management system by end 2013. In addition, the production facilities including support functions have chosen to obtain an OHSAS 18001 certificate, meaning that Bureau Veritas Certification is conducting external OH&S audits on regular basis.
Novo Nordisk health and safety award
To encourage continued focus and motivate additional efforts on occupational health and safety, a Novo Nordisk Occupational Health & Safety Award is given each year.
In 2010, the award was given to the Site Service Department of the production facility in Clayton, USA, for developing a pail dumper, reducing the ergonomic strain for the operators. ensuring a safe handling of discharged cartridges and making the process leaner.
Internal and external audits
During 2010, internal OH&S audits have been performed in the part of the organisation which has implemented the OH&S management system. The overall performance is generally of a high standard. A few nonconformities were identified, setting in motion preventive and corrective actions as well as other improvements.
In Denmark, the Working Environment Authority has issued three improvement notices during inspections in 2010, resulting in immediate corrective actions.
Annual management review
The OH&S management system is reviewed and the OH&S performance is evaluated on an annual basis by the management. This includes an annual management review of the OH&S management system and an evaluation of the OH&S performance.
The conclusion from this year's review is that the OH&S management system is suitable and that the overall performance - in the part of Novo Nordisk covered by the system - is generally of a high standard.