AS VALMIERAS STIKLA ŠĶIEDRA has received the international ISO 45001:2018 management system certificate that serves as proof of its planned approach to management and implementation of proactive solutions at the company to improve employee health and occupational safety. The certificate demonstrates that the company takes great care to make its contribution so that all employees feel safe, protected and engaged at work to reduce the number of occupational accidents and diseases.
Learning from international experience
For several years, the company has planned to strengthen its management processes with the implementation of ISO 45001 quality requirements; we started the introduction of these requirements in April 2019 and completed it in October 2021.
“At AS VALMIERAS STIKLA ŠĶIEDRA, the implementation of ISO 45001 demonstrates to our partners that our occupation safety system is in line with good management practices. Moreover, a streamlined and improved occupational safety system contributes to employee awareness and willingness to participate in its implementation. That, in turn, contributes to better occupational safety processes and fewer potential health hazards, incl. occupational diseases,” underlines Pārsla Dance, Head of the Environment, Health and Safety Department.
“International experts were involved in developing the ISO 45001 standard, and it contains the best practices and experiences from many countries. By introducing and implementing its requirements, the company has gained a systematic understanding of important occupational safety aspects, and specific action that we need to take instead of starting from scratch,” explains Pārsla Dance.
The current experience of AS VALMIERAS STIKLA ŠĶIEDRA helped us to integrate the occupational safety system in our management processes. To prepare for the certification audit, we improved existing and drafted new documentation: an occupational safety management system manual, process descriptions and many other documents related to ISO. Better access to information about occupational risks and protection measures for company visitors and employees, significantly improved occupational safety communication at the company, better access to and quality of personal protective equipment, and many creative ideas were implemented to contribute to occupational safety processes.
Targeted investments to improve the working environment
Along with the ISO 45001 certificate, the company has made targeted investments to improve employee health and the working environment by providing the essentials (safe working conditions, work clothing, personal protective equipment and resources required for work, etc.), organising regular occupational safety training sessions and paying for employee health and accident insurance.
Company employees have access to a staff nurse who provides primary healthcare and ensures a smoother return of employees to work after lengthy absences or recovery periods. For convenience, the mandatory health checks also take place on company premises.
During the last year, we also focused on streamlining and improving the work environment by renovating the hygiene and daily work spaces.
For several years, AS VALMIERAS STIKLA ŠĶIEDRA has worked pursuant to the ISO 9001 quality management system certificate, ISO 50001:2018 energy management standard, ISO 14001:2015 environmental management standard and now also complies with the ISO 45001:2018 occupational health and safety management system standard.