Ence’s biofactories in Pontevedra and Navia (Asturias) have established themselves in the first half of the year as leading facilities in safety at European level within their sector. This has been confirmed by the Safety Commission of the European Pulp Industry Association (EPIS) in its latest quarterly report, which has determined that the company’s Pulp Business Unit is, among all of those on the continent, the one that has achieved the best safety results in the first six months of 2022, based on the information reported by the different associated firms.
Ence’s biofactories completed the first half of the year with zero accidents in their own personnel, as well as in personnel from auxiliary companies. Meanwhile, the industry average included in the report, which collects data from the 17 main paper pulp production companies, stands at a frequency rate of 3.9 for own personnel, and 3.1 for companies assistants, in this same period.
This result in safety is reinforced by the fact that within the first six months of the year the maintenance stops of both plants took place, operations that add complexity to the usual activity due to the greater volume of people in the biofactory and the development of own maintenance work. Both stops were made in a completely safe way, prioritizing the health of the people involved.
These results reflect the company’s commitment to consolidate its excellence in the field of Safety, aligned with the axis of its Strategic Sustainability Plan referring to Safe and Eco-efficient Operations. Thus, all Ence’s industrial facilities have certified their safety management systems in accordance with the ISO 45001 standard, and improvements are continuously developed to continue advancing in the protection of people. The Pulp Business Unit has a Process Safety Management (PSM) prevention system at its facilities. It has also formed and integrated an expert corporate team for the development of cross audits of Safety and Environment, with the aim of promoting the continuous improvement of management systems.
Ence’s goal is for all company activity to be safe and exemplary in terms of protecting the health of its employees and contractors. To do this, the company develops management systems and pioneering tools to guarantee safety in operations.
For Ence, security is a priority; a vision that goes beyond its employees and also extends to all contractors and other people who provide services to the company. Thus, Ence includes all external personnel when setting its objectives.
In the same way, Ence conceives security as a transversal tool, integrated throughout the chain of command; essential to improve the efficiency of the organization, as well as the climate and the pride of belonging of its workers and therefore, the competitiveness of the company.
