Occupational safety and health management
Systematic occupational and health protection makes a vital contribution to the physical and mental health of employees, as well as the long-term success of the business. Our workplace safety policy is therefore designed to continuously decrease the number of accidents and the severity of accidents. A special focus of these efforts is on serious accidents at work – including accidents involving contractors and, in particular, when working in the vicinity of tracks. In the year under review, DB Netze Track held, among other initiatives, job training and FIT classes (which stands for technical information and training), with over 1,100 participants from departments in charge of rail operations, whose task it is to draw up safety plans for working in the vicinity of the tracks.
Due to the increasing digitalization within DB Group, new occupational health and safety measures were created, such as the implementation of guidelines on the use of mobile devices. Promoting good workplace health focused on two key areas: demographic change and mental health.
While the health rate of older employees has stabilized well and was overall better than in the previous year, we see absenteeism increasing disproportionately among young and newly recruited employees. We introduced measures specifically for this group of employees on this matter, such as an improved onboarding process.
On the topic of mental health, we developed and introduced a larger pilot project for depression self-help in the workplace with the “Peers at work” program, allowing employees with depression to be better supported in this way, too. The German association for psychiatry DGPPN presented its 2019 anti-stigma award to this project. In the meantime, the medical and psychological requirements for employees in rail operations have been completely revised, both in terms of content and the employees concerned. This reflects the changes in the world of work and the organization of work as well as within the safety systems within DB Group. Together with the Bahn-Betriebskrankenkasse, several DB Group companies were certified with the German Seal for Corporate Health, receiving a good rating for their integrated corporate health management. The statutory accident insurance scheme for Federal agency and railway staff (Unfallversicherung Bund und Bahn; UVB) supported us in introducing a standardized procedure across the Group for conducting risk assessments on psychological stress. The German pension fund Knappschaft-Bahn-See (KBS) also offers special inpatient prevention services for DB employees.
Health rate (% based on hours) | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| DB Long-Distance | 93.3 | 93.2 | 93.4 |
DB Regional | 92.1 | 92.0 | 92.2 | |
DB Cargo | 92.9 | 92.6 | 92.7 | |
DB Netze Track | 94.4 | 94.3 | 94.5 | |
DB Netze Stations | 93.5 | 93.2 | 93.4 | |
DB Netze Energy | 95.8 | 95.7 | 95.6 | |
Other | 93.7 | 93.6 | 93.6 | |
DB Schenker | 93.3 | 93.4 | 93.3 | |
DB Group | 93.5 | 93.3 | 93.4 | |
Germany (companies with about 97% of domestic employees).
The health rate increased slightly compared to the previous year.
Occupational accidents and LTIF | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| Fatal accidents 1) | 7 | 6 | 8 |
thereof in Germany 2) | 5 | 4 | 7 | |
Lost Time Injury Frequency (LTIF) 2), 3) | 25.0 | 24.4 | 25.2 | |
1) Worldwide (companies with about 98% of employees).
2) Germany (companies with about 97% of domestic employees).
3) Non-attendance days due to occupational accidents per 1,000,000 insured work hours.
LTIF-related absences of more than one calendar day.
DB Group is aware of its responsibility with regard to occupational health and safety. Compliance with internal standards and national laws serve to protect employees. A safe work environment as well as healthy and motivated employees contribute to the Group’s success. Various qualification measures, such as Web conferences, workshops and specialist conferences on occupational health and safety, were introduced in each Group company by occupational health and safety specialists with the objective of further improving safety and awareness among executives and employees. The DB Netze Track poster campaign continued with two new designs to promote the use of personal protective equipment (persönliche Schutzausrüstung; PSA) and help prevent slips, trips and falls. In addition, in the year under review, there was substantial improvement in the quality standards for procuring PSA and in the process for selecting new PSA within Group companies thanks to effective optimization measures in procurement.
The LTIF workplace safety key figure in Germany lies slightly above the previous year’s level. Preparations for reporting worldwide LTIF were also further promoted. Group-wide and cross-functional cooperation on occupational health and safety will continue to be improved in 2020 to guarantee high-quality preventive measures in workplace health and safety
within DB Group.
Most employees represented by occupational safety committees
In Germany, companies with more than 20 employees are legally required to have an occupational health and safety committee (Arbeitsschutzausschuss) (section 11, German Occupational Safety Act – Arbeitssicherheitsgesetz). The key here is how the operation is defined (production facility, branch, “Wahlbetrieb” for works council election purposes). The majority of DB Group companies in Germany fall under this category with more than 20 employees, so the majority of all employees (more than 75%) are represented in occupational health and safety committees.
