safety
Workplace and transportation safety has been a priority for Colas over the last twenty years. Major efforts are undertaken in this area.Safety at the workplace
In France and abroad, subsidiaries are constantly researching and testing new approaches to workplace and transportation safety and modifying their accident prevention systems using risk evaluation, action plans, safety audits, toolbox safety talks on worksites, accident root-cause analysis, inter-company safety competitions, databasing of communication and management tools, safety induction for recently hired personnel, training courses dedicated to accident prevention, training days and awareness raising for road accident prevention, the Scope safe driving program (from which a total of 23,000 employees have benefited), etc. Other initiatives involve making improvements to equipment used by employees, e.g. installing front-view mirrors on trucks and reducing heavy handling maneuvers.
Colas has more than one thousand accident prevention coordinators, divided equally between France and international operations, while more than 14,000 of its employees have been certified to perform workplace first aid. Policy-making and initiatives were broadened to include an overall approach to workplace health covering topics relating to stress, substance abuse (alcohol, tobacco, drugs) and working conditions.
Road safety
Colas is strongly committed to the promotion of road safety. Apart from training in safe driving techniques and initiatives intended to raise awareness of road risks, Colas has developed and marketed products that help reduce the number of road traffic accidents. An upgraded version of the high-grip Colgrip surfacing, for instance, makes it possible to reduce braking distances by 40%. Similarly, Colmat HA has already proved its worth: after being in use for three years, a performance report on Colmat HA from the French Highway Association stated that “not a single vehicle had skidded off the road on the sections that were treated with Colmat HA”.
By the very nature of its business – installing and maintaining safety and signage equipment and manufacturing and applying road marking products, Group subsidiary Aximum is permanently focused on improving road safety. It recently developed new safety devices for the visually-impaired.
