We talk about what matters

Here are examples of people for whom the slogan Always Safe and Alwayds Ready are not empty words, but everyday life.

The Ferrovial Group’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing Awards are designed to identify and recognize the Leaders, Teams and Innovative solutions that have made our workplaces healthier and safer in a given year. We invite you to read an interview with one of the finalists of the HSW competition – Klaudia.

What turns you on in the work of an engineer? Why did you choose construction?

Klaudia: Passion for creation – this term is the perfect answer. The work of an engineer requires a lot of responsibility, creativity, patience, analytical skills and flexibility – this makes it both demanding and rewarding.

I have always been interested in the architecture of interiors and buildings, and most of all the germ of it all. You always have to start somewhere, hammering in the first shovel, and then day by day you can see the progress of work and the end result, just like on a piece of paper. Every day when entering the construction site you have to deal with various problems – diversity, changeability, difficulties, problems, solutions, quick decisions, successes, innovations, effects – that’s why I love what I do. You can’t talk about monotony here. This is what turns me on the most.

And coming back to the question “why construction?”. An ambitious, prestigious, promising direction, unprecedented for women, with the possibility of continuous development.

What is the biggest challenge in your daily work?

Klaudia: I believe that in addition to everyday duties, for which there is always no time anyway, it is concern for the safety of people working on the construction site. The goal of “ZERO ACCIDENTS” is a challenge we strive for as an organization, but it is also my personal priority.

Developing a culture of safety among employees – what is crucial from the point of view of a site manager?

Klaudia: Initially, the correct planning of the construction process, from the technology of execution of individual stages of construction, working methods to the selection of appropriate protective equipment. Due to the wide variety of work carried out simultaneously on the construction site, it is important to coordinate the individual tasks well. The aim of this coordination is to ensure that workers on the construction site who perform various jobs at the same time have safe workplaces and do not put each other at risk.

When it comes to the employees themselves, the key is the ability to reach each of them – to find the golden mean. Sometimes we laugh in the band that in some cases it is a “fight against windmills”. Although we often do the impossible on the spot, we sometimes have to wait a while for miracles. 😊

There are employees who immediately assimilate our safety standards, the rules of safe work immediately become part of their blood, but there are also those to whom I often tell that traffic regulations also exist and do we discuss with a policeman that a given sign should not be placed in this place? Safety knows no shortcuts. A way must be found for every employee or company. It is not about punishing with fines, from my point of view it is the last resort, but you have to be able to reach people in such a way that they understand that we are doing it for them, for their health and life. So that he can safely return home to his family.

A number of trainings for employees with a discussion panel, for owners of subcontractors organized by the supervision of our construction site, as well as in cooperation with the National Labor Inspectorate from Olsztyn, joining safety campaigns organized by our company, taking part in health and safety competitions, during the safety week, reminding of health and safety rules by playing with prizes for employees, daily briefings with each company, Daily sobriety checks, daily contact with each employee, these are things that we treat as normal, but listening to the feedback from the owners of subcontractors and their employees, it is a lot, because each of them feels important, “taken care of”, and not allowed to enter the construction site and left alone.

I believe that it is very important to plan the work properly, as well as to approach the employee, the company, and each individually. It is us as the Site Management who are responsible for the people. The staff on the construction site will not do anything on their own, we must have a team, employees who will do the physical work, so it is up to us to guide them safely, show them the right way.

Is there anything you would like to pay special attention to in terms of safety – do you observe something that is particularly common and dangerous on a daily basis? Or maybe you are just seeing good practices that should be used more widely?

Klaudia: First of all, my desire is for every employee to treat PPE like ordinary shoes or clothes that they wear every day. Awareness of the need to comply with safety rules is the most important and this is what we, as senior management, should pay attention to. A big problem among employees is personal protective equipment, especially when working at height, as well as free-standing scaffolding, which employees often modify to make it more comfortable and faster. On the contract, the companies on our initiative purchased the so-called pharaohs, which were perfect for installation works.

In fact, every activity performed on the construction site can pose a threat, but with the full awareness of each employee and us, we are able to prevent them. I have a few ideas related to health and safety. I started one of them 2 years ago at my construction site and it really brought and continues to bring the expected effect. I would like them to be implemented in the operating system as innovative solutions of our organization.

What does the distinction in the HSW competition mean to you?

Klaudia: I did not expect this distinction. I didn’t know that my Contract Manager, Grzegorz Chudzik, had entered me for the competition. I found out only when I read the message that I was in the top three nominees for the “Individual Leader” category out of 136 people from around the world, from the Ferrovial group. I am happy and thank Grzegorz very much for appreciating the contribution of my work.

What does this mean for me? This is not only my small success, it is also a victory for my team, which is involved in my ideas every time, as well as the entire organization. It is Budimex that instills in us that safety and health are the most important, it is a matter of ethics and social responsibility. As staff, while pursuing business goals, we must take all necessary actions to avoid accidents and reduce the risk to the health and life of employees.