The safety officer

Accidents cannot be ruled out, even in the most exemplary companies. For this reason, the legislator specifies that first-aiders must be in every company – at HEROSE, at least 10 % of the workforce. "At our company, we even have 33 first-aiders and are therefore well situated", said Enrico Braun, one of the safety officers at HEROSE, and who is responsible for the organisation of the first aid.

Help until the doctor arrives – that is, casually spoken, the task of the first-aiders. They must, amongst others, be able to make an emergency call, cordon off the scene of the accident, carry out wound care or measures for keeping the patient warm and puting them in the recovery position. Enrico Braun: "These are all things that you get to learn in a completely normal first aid course." The doctor on call is Ms Dr Gabriele Hofmann from Bad Oldesloe. She is a so-called "passage doctor", a medical doctor that has been especially approved for assistance of work-related accidents and has been assigned to HEROSE by the State Association of the German Social Accident Insurance.

The main task of the safety officer is to identify risks of accidents at an early stage, and to authorise their elimination. This is naturally always in agreement with the person responsible for the department. Next to the organisation of further education of the first-aiders – these have to take place every two years for one day – Mr. Braun also monitors the plaster boxes and the first aid boxes at regular intervals that are distributed over the entire company.

These contain, e. g. plasters, cool packs and bandages, similar to a first aid kit in a car. Enrico Braun: "I check if the boxes are complete and if the use by date has expired." Furthermore he manages the accident log book that is prescribed for every company and works close with the external specialists for workplace safety that come from the B. A. D. (Health care and safety technology) from Lübeck once a week.

Enrico Braun, who works in quality assurance and has been active at HEROSE since 2007 took over the position of the safety officer in March 2013 after participating on a training course at the trade association for wood and metal (BGHM).