DFDS is a major player in European and Scandinavian ports, operating 50 freight and passenger ships on 25 routes. Ports have proved to be areas of high risk in because of the volume of incoming and outgoing traffic and the dangerous plants and machinery.

DFDS noticed that many near-accidents and some actual accidents were going unreported and so to encourage employees to speak up, in-house training courses were done for management and for front-line colleagues. One of the main aims of these sessions was sensitizing employees to be able to identify potentially hazardous situations and determining ways to address them.

Taking the time to do this training positively impacted the business culture at DFDS as awareness was raised concerning the individual and collective responsibilities that the company seeks to comply with. On a more personal level, the personnel also felt as though the company sincerely valued their wellbeing and were taking steps to invest in it.

Andrew Hall, Health and Safety Advisor