In terms of occupational health, Bridgestone Costa Rica offers its employees access to medical services. In 2016, 4 types of medical services were offered:
Awareness Campaigns
Promoting health is not a simple task; it requires raising awareness among employees. During the year, Bridgestone Costa Rica coordinated the following campaigns.
Health and safety training
Health and safety training is aimed at all of Bridgestone Costa Rica’s value chain. Through these training sessions, the company ensures that its plants, employees, suppliers and contractors have the knowledge necessary to prevent accidents and promote health and safety.
In 2016, 224 employees received a total of 448 hours of training. New employees were offered safety onboarding training, encompassing a range of areas, such as: Bridgestone’s comprehensive policy, fundamental safety activities at the company, the Emergency Action Plan, evacuation routes, meeting points and activation of the alarm in the event of an emergency.
Experienced employees underwent recertification training in areas specific to their departments, including:
• Refresher courses in Fundamental Safety Activities and Bridgestone Safety Guidelines.
•Recertification Course for Working at Heights.
•Recertificación en LOTO (Lockout-tagout).
•Recertification Course for LOTO (Lock Out, Tag Out).
•Recertification Course for Working in Hot Environments
•Recertification Course for Working in Confined Spaces
•Recertification Course for Working with Electricity
Furthermore, 243 contractors received 729 hours of training in 2016. The areas covered by these training sessions for the value chain included:
243 contractors
recieved 729 training hours.
•Waste Classification and Management
•Safety Measures for Working in Con ned Spaces within Areas Designated by the Company for this Purpose
•Blocking and Carding of Mechanical, Hydraulic, Pneumatic and Gas Equipment
•Working in Hot Environments and Compliance with Corporate Fire Prevention Procedures
•Working at Heights in All Areas of the Plant and with the Right Equipment
As part of its health and safety training program, the company has other activities, not included in its training hours, that provide employees with comprehensive training in this area.
Bridgestone Costa Rica has Brigades as an alternate training modality for employees.
Brigades
Through its brigades, the company offers training about fire prevention and fighting, evacuation procedures, first aid, CPR, rescue procedures (at heights and in confined spaces), chemical spills and handling bees, among others. Furthermore, employees are offered courses in Hot Bach and the use of fire extinguishers and hoses, in addition to taking part in a Safety Simulator.
Refusal to Work
To help protect its workforce, the company’s employees have the right to refuse to work if they feel that proper safety conditions are not in place. They can exercise this right with no fear of retaliation. In these cases, safety measures are immediately evaluated and, if necessary, corrected.