One accident is one too many. Consistent standards are crucial in safety work when several hundred employees are spread across countries, factories and stores. To strengthen its efforts, Flügger has hired Maria Høgh Sunesen as its new Group QHSE Specialist.

The position of Quality, Health, Safety & Environment (QHSE) Specialist has been established to create common standards. Thereby the goal is to strengthen emergency preparedness and ensure a safer working environment across the organisation:

– “In a large, international organisation such as Flügger, we now want to further consolidate and strengthen our common standards and general preparedness. The recruitment of Maria will enable us to ensure that safety becomes even more flexible. And thus, a natural part of everyday life for all employees,” says Annelie Thunell, Flügger’s Head of the QHSE Department.

A stronger focus on emergency preparedness

Maria is tasked with working towards a more consistent approach to safety and emergency preparedness across the organisation. She will establish a common baseline, further develop procedures and strengthen coordination between factories and stores. By doing that, employees can respond quickly and safely in critical situations:

– “All employees – regardless of whether they work alone in a store or in a busy factory – should feel safe when they go to work, and procedures should feel natural. With contingency plans in place, you can avoid situations from developing unnecessarily. That is why we need to ensure more common solutions that make sense in practice,” says Maria Høgh Sunesen.

A solid background in high-risk industries

Maria has many years of experience with safety training in high-risk industries, where she has worked as an instructor, team leader and in QHSE functions. This background gives her both knowledge and practical experience of how safety can be embedded in everyday life at Flügger.

As part of her introduction to Flügger, Maria has already visited several of the group’s factories in Denmark, Sweden and Poland:

– “It is important to visit the various factories and stores across national borders, see how the employees work and how things are done. We need to see what works and what doesn’t – before we implement new measures,” says Maria Høgh Sunesen, adding:

– “I am a strong advocate of only introducing measures that create value. The measures must be useful and make sense to employees.”

Ergonomics and prevention: We must reduce wear and tear

Another focus area is ergonomics and working postures – especially in stores, where heavy lifting and strenuous working postures can quickly become part of everyday life. Maria and the QHSE team will therefore develop preventive tools to be included in the onboarding of new employees.

– “It is the employees who are in the best position to take care of themselves, but we can give them the tools to do so. Small changes in our working methods can make a big difference over time, both in terms of well-being and injury prevention,” concludes Maria Høgh Sunesen.