Akkim Launches "3D" Project

A significant milestone has been passed in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to successful public health strategies, the normalization process has begun. In the period called the "new normal," which started within the framework of cautious social life rules, attention turned to production facilities. Thus, the importance of occupational health and safety (OHS) culture increased even further following the measures taken during the pandemic.

Akkim continues to improve its OHS performance day by day. With an application called the "Behavior-Based Occupational Health and Safety Project" launched in February 2020, safe and risky behaviors are being conveyed to employees in all dimensions. The project, which adopts the principles of "Stop, Think, Act (3D)," aims to develop a behavior-based organizational safety culture. Within the scope of the project, the entire value chain is addressed starting from production, and performance measurements are conducted regularly each month. All employees involved in the project, which aims to reduce work accidents caused by risky behaviors to a minimum, receive observer training. After the training, each employee observes all activities within the facility and reports risky situations. In this way, developments in employees avoiding threatening behaviors, moving in an ergonomic manner, selecting and using tools correctly, implementing necessary procedures, using personal protective equipment, and maintaining cleanliness and order are identified. At the same time, using statistical analysis methods, data is accumulated to implement technical and structural measures aimed at correcting behavioral errors. The "Barrier Removal" and "Guidance" committees, which are formed under the 3D Coordinator created within the project scope and relevant departments, work to guide observers, review observations made, analyze data, identify areas where employees are exposed to risk, and develop solutions to reduce risks. Akkim General Manager Onur Kipri said the following on the subject: "As Akkim, we are carrying out improvement activities aimed at eliminating hazards related to occupational health and safety. We believe that a shared sense of responsibility across all processes, from management to production, will reduce such threats. The project we have implemented has also provided very positive contributions to us navigating the process we are in without damage. In addition to the importance and value we place on our employees' health, their maximum compliance with the measures taken was effective in this success. With this awareness, in our project being conducted, we aim to identify safe and risky behaviors and increase our OHS performance day by day through the maximum efforts of our employees," he said.