The safety of employees remains a top priority for the ORLEN Group. To build awareness on the protection of own health, not only at work but also outside it, we engage in the Corporate Health & Safety Week. ORLEN Upstream has been actively participating in the project since 2014.
The first ORLEN Upstream edition of this event was devoted to the safety at travels. As much as 80% of all business trips at the company involve the use of a company car. Therefore, the training participants were reminded on the basic principles of safety at business trips – starting from information on how to be visible at a road, through proper car equipment, and appropriate behavior at a gas station and risk reduction at a target place. Every participant of the meeting was provided with an ICE Stripe handband especially prepared for him, with engraved personal data and contact numbers to the relatives.
The 2015 trainings for the Health & Safety Week aimed to extend knowledge of the employees and encourage them to actively help the injured persons. The daily training on the use of firefighting equipment of different type raised the biggest emotions. Employees divided into units and crews had the opportunity to develop a firefighting skills using hydrants and to extinguish burning objects by themselves. At the office of ORLEN Upstream, emergency situations were also simulated. The injured persons simulated a heart attack, epilepsy, electric shock and injury with a burn. First aid provision and correct actions were then discussed at the summary training, which established appropriate behavior patterns. As part of the European Week for Safety and Health at Work campaign, the ORLEN Upstream team also familiarized with the presentation "Stress at work - no, thank you”. During the next days of the Health & Safety Week, an art competition for the employees' children was organized: "I know what protects me". It enhanced to discuss with children any issues related to safety. Voluntary action and the competition for schools "Where is a key to the first aid kit?" were also organized. The winning school received a practical course in wound dressing and first aid kits. As part of activities in the area of CSR, an educational institution was selected that was adjacent to the drilling works carried out at that time. The kindergarten in Pęclin thus received the first aid training as part of the "Little Rescuer" campaign.
The next edition of the event, in September 2016, was devoted to the potential terrorist threats that anyone can be exposed to in the office space, at work, on the street or in the crowd of passers-by. Professional instructors, GROM unit former soldiers, discussed desirable behaviors in case of such a situation. They also drew the listeners' attention to the events or unusual behavior of others that should arouse their suspicions. The second part of the training was practical and involved simulation of a terrorist attack on the office. During this realistic event, the employees had the opportunity to verify their previously acquired knowledge. As part of promoting the safety of the youngest at the Health & Safety Week, ORLEN Upstream also joined the campaign "Wise Dragon Advises" implemented in cooperation with the Chief Police Office and the Chief Office of State Fire Department. The project was developed by psychologists and teachers in order to teach children the basic safety principles in a manner that was natural to them - mainly through play. The project was addressed to 1,000 children undergoing pre-school education in communities in which ORLEN Upstream carried out operational activities. As part of the action, lessons on safety for the youngest were provided. "Laboratory of Care" Association was a partner and coordinator of the campaign.
The next fourth edition of the Health & Safety Week took place in September 2017 and was devoted to road safety. Employees were trained in the field of safe driving by the team of instructors from the Renault Safe Driving School. Classes were divided into three levels of proficiency, so that every participant could make the best use of the trainers' advice, depending on their level of driving skills. Some of the employees also took part in practical training in providing first aid to victims of traffic accidents. The participants learned, among others, how to perform resuscitation, safely position the injured, dress wounds and stiffen fractures. As part of the activities promoting the safety culture at ORLEN Upstream, a competition for the best innovation regarding the improvement of safety in the office and on a drilling site was also conducted. The authors of the winning initiatives received an exceptional award - a ride on the rally track with the rally driver, Kuba Przygoński.
The next edition of the Health & Safety Week, as a cyclical event that each year develops employees' awareness and knowledge on safety, will be held in September 2018.