Sicherheit ist immer ein Thema

“The goal is clear: We aim to achieve zero accidents at work and have an unconditional commitment to occupational safety,” explains Felix Akeret. At the same time, Implenia’s top safety chief knows that putting this into practice remains a challenge, especially given the constant pressure on time and costs at construction sites.

“I worked as a project leader for a long time myself, so I know how tempting it is to take short cuts: Do we really need that safety railing? Can we quickly put up a ladder here and avoid using a lifting platform for the installation? We all sometimes think this way at home – it is a very human reaction,” says Felix Akeret. It means that he needs a clever approach if he is to counteract this dangerous complacency and addiction to optimisation. But how?

Who pays for the added safety?

It is worth not only following the rules and provisions conscientiously, but also working to achieve the safest possible solution wherever possible. Does that mean that all Implenia construction sites are about to introduce one-way systems and ban the use of ladders? “To meet requirements like that, the construction site has to be designed for it from the beginning. Otherwise, the space available makes it impossible,” notes Felix Akeret. “Sometimes additional measures also lead to higher costs. Someone has to pay for it – a tricky issue, especially where margins are as tight as they are in the construction industry. How much is added safety worth? And who pays for it?” He adds: “It would help if the clients demanded higher safety precautions from the start, as is already the norm in Scandinavia. That would mean that companies like Implenia, who want to do more than the minimum, were no longer at a disadvantage when bidding for tender.”

Maximum demands cannot always be pushed through in practice – nor are they always necessary. But Felix Akeret is certain that companies need to do more than the minimum. “Just referring to the statutory requirements is not a good idea. The law does not know the specific circumstances on the construction sites, nor does it exempt us from thinking for ourselves. At Implenia, any of us can say STOP if something feels unsafe, whatever the law or the regulations say. Not only that, but we want to constantly improve – and you can’t do that just by implementing minimum standards.”