Focus on Health and Safety
For Boehringer Ingelheim the health safety of all employees is of high priority. Tools for comprehensive analysis of workplaces improve the identification of risks at an early stage. Programmes are established to protect all our employees.
Handling (highly) potent compounds
Internal company exposure limits for highly potent active ingredients make an important contribution towards protecting the health of our employees. All sites determine their specific risks with respect to employee exposure. Based on the risk analysis afterwards, appropriate protective measures are defined.
To help guide personnel, a technical standard for solids processing was prepared for pharmaceutical production. In an innovative approach, this standard integrates multiple Environment Health Safety (EHS) aspects with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements to ensure protection of both people and product. Closed systems that allow highly potent compounds to be handled without respirators have already been installed at numerous locations.
Safety in the field
Safety at work is not just a matter of concern for production. Since 2004, all units are explicitly asked to implement a programme for safety of the field sales force. In 2008, we are working on a worldwide policy that reinforces and supplements the existing requirements. Obligatory elements are:
- policy on field force safety
- awareness-building
- standard-setting
- training
- accident investigation and reporting
- target-setting
