The event offered participants an insight into the site's safety-at-work culture.
Axalta Coating Systems, a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, has been recognised for its continued support of the international safety workshop "Annual Course for Loss Prevention and Promotion of Safety in the Chemical Process Industries". During the five-day event, which took place between 3 and 7 November 2014 in Wuppertal, Germany, Axalta invited workshop participants to visit its site and gave them an insight into the safety culture to which it adheres.
The safety training, which has taken place every year since 2009, was organised by the Bergische Universität Wuppertal, financed by the German Foreign Office and held in cooperation with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. The event aimed to promote the development of a safety culture and, in so doing, to create the pre-conditions for the national implementation of chemical weapons conventions. The organisers thanked Axalta for its support for the last five years by presenting the company with an official certificate.
The backdrop to this year's event was the increasing industrial development of emerging markets and developing countries, and the need for restructuring the chemical industry's safety and security policy in those regions.
University Professor Dr.-Ing. Uli Barth, director of "Safety Engineering and Accident Investigation Methods" department at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal, moderated the event. He said: "The workshop's practice-based, scientific safety presentations provided information on topics such as environmental protection, safety regulations, hazard analysis, management of hazardous materials as well as safety and risk management".
The visit to Axalta's Wuppertal site allowed workshop participants, all of whom are responsible for safety in the chemical industry, and for the chemical safety management of their home countries, to see examples of best practices in Germany in these areas and to become acquainted with state-of-the-art European systems.
During the Axalta visit, Dr. Wolfgang Diener, environmental, health and safety expert at Axalta Coating Systems in Wuppertal, explained the company's safety concept and gave examples of the safety culture to which the company adheres. "At Axalta, we build safety into the way we do business. We believe every employee must be committed to excellence in health and safety. That also applies to all manufacturing procedures including, for example, the handling of chemicals", he said.
The delegates were able to gain real insight into the Axalta approach during the tour of its manufacturing facilities. Dr. Diener said: "They can pass on the knowledge and expertise gained in Wuppertal when they return to their home countries and can strive for general safe handling of hazardous materials and the safe operation of their industrial facilities".
This year's five-day workshop welcomed participants from Africa, and, for the first time, delegates from Asia, the Caribbean and South America were also in attendance.
For further information: www.axaltacs.com