Cooperation in the workplace was paid little attention until recently. We can tell by the many different practices between (and even within) plants, for example managing the shift teams, the shift handover, tackling problems or ideas by technologists, production staff, HSE and others. We also see that production uses paper, Word, Excel and Access as the principal means for communication.

This headline will strike a chord with just about everyone in the industry. And raise questions. How exactly do you reduce production disturbances and its root causes, and increase overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)? How do you make sure that these are not just ad-hoc solutions, but part of an ongoing process? And how do you make the most effective use of people and systems in that process?

A few years ago, chemicals manufacturer Akzo Nobel Ibbenbüren in Germany (part of Akzo Nobel Industrial Chemicals GmbH) installed the ShiftCliq™ electronic shift log system from iBanx. Site Manager Peter de Jong explains his view of safety in the industry, why the system was chosen and what plans he has for the future of the plant.

Safety is a hot item in industry. Everyone will have heard of the slogan: ‘We work safely or we don't work at all’. It sounds fantastic, but what does it actually mean? Is it possible to describe a situation in black-and-white terms? What exactly is working safely, what is the right thing to do and where are the boundaries? In reality, every company sets its own boundaries, because working safely is always defined in a specific context.