The accident frequency rate at Audi Hungaria is 2.2, or 10% of the 300 accidents per year (including every minor bruise) that cause lost working days at our company, which employs almost 12,000 people. Tamás Rozman, Head of Occupational Safety and Health/Chemical Safety, thinks the reasons for this benchmarking-worthy and outstandingly good statistics are the Group's culture, the transfer of experience, cooperation, discipline, proactivity and the dedication of the specialist area.

"I would like to point out that occupational safety and health cannot be ensured from behind a desk, although it involves a lot of administrative tasks. The people in our specialist area are deeply involved with the field they support; they provide genuine, practical assistance and are actively present." - begins Tamás Rozman, who joined Audi Hungaria in 1998 as an occupational health and safety specialist engineer and has been in his current position since 2010. In addition to his decades of knowledge, Tamás has a comprehensive, group-wide view of his profession, having coordinated the occupational safety and health activities of the Group's factories from Mexico to Germany for three years. He applies his experience not only at our company but also as a lecturer at the Budapest University of Technology, where he is involved in occupational safety and health training. Additionally, he is a speaker at the National Forum of Occupational Health and Safety Representatives.

As technology has evolved and the regulatory environment has become stricter, occupational health and safety at Audi Hungaria has been built on a solid foundation of strict German regulations, evolving into a department that now employs 17 people. Since 2022, chemical safety has also been part of their responsibilities, as they recognized the need to address the potential hazards of chemicals on the work environment and human health with increased awareness.

The team, mostly consisting of specialist engineers, carries out its tasks in accordance with the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which include education and awareness-raising, in addition to creating safe and healthy working conditions.

"We carry out a risk assessment to assess the hazards of each of our activities and calculate the probability of accidents occurring, i.e. the risk. We identify the types of hazards, ranging from mechanical hazards to environmental impacts such as noise, lighting, air pollution, but we also focus on transport safety. We support our processes from project planning to permitting procedures. Our complex task is to create and maintain motivation, and we use well-chosen communication tools to encourage the right behavior of employees. It's somewhat like parenting: just as children need guidance in a family, we also rely on the partnership of our colleagues here at the workplace. I am proud to say that Audi employees excel in this."

In addition to the works council and the trade union, there is also employee representation in the field of occupational safety and health, and the representatives of the Occupational Safety and Health Committee are elected by the employees. The Chairman of the Board is Ervin Németh, who joined the company in 1997 and works as a production support technical instructor in the vehicle factory assembly line. In recognition of Ervin's work and the company's occupational safety and health efforts, he was awarded the Főcze Lajos Prize by the Foundation for Occupational Safety and Health Representatives in 2024. This year, he was also invited to join the Foundation's Board of Trustees, which he respectfully accepted.

"I was first elected as a representative by the TT Vehicle Assembly staff in 2003. In 2009, I had the opportunity to complete a specialist technician training course, and since 2019 I have been chairing the Committee of Representatives. This is how I support the interests of employees in occupational safety and health matters. In this work, close cooperation between the occupational safety and health department and the employees of health management is very crucial. Without the support of my colleagues and my superior, I would not be able to perform this job to the required standard."

Here, in the vehicle factory, the nature of the work is different from the powertrain factory: there is more manual and overhead work.

"We must pay increased attention to the safety of our employees, which is why for several years now, we have not only taken measures for incidents that have already occurred but also invested more energy in accident prevention, as even one accident is one too many. Our aim is of course to prevent as many accidents as we can."

What measures are behind the good safety record of the vehicle factory?

"During inspections held 2-3 times a month, we check the condition of equipment and storages, participate in workshops, and are currently reviewing processes related to the ramp-up of the Q3 successor model. Here we look at whether anything – a tool, a process – needs to be changed to work optimally. This is also how we supported production during the ramp-up of CUPRA Terramar. I believe that the profit aspect of the Company goes hand in hand with the protection of employees and therefore accident prevention."

On the Occupational Safety and Health Committee, Ervin works closely with his 13 colleagues and his deputy, Norbert Güttel, a technician at the powertrain factory. There is a good division of labor, as Norbert has an excellent understanding of the field of powertrain production thanks to his almost 30 years of professional experience. He joined Audi Hungaria in 1997, and is now in his fourth term as an occupational safety and health representative, as he puts it.

"I was working as a team coordinator at the time, and I'm sure the respect and acceptance I shared with my colleagues was one of the reasons I was asked to be a representative. I was a conscript soldier in Hungary when it was mandatory, and I probably bring my sense of order and rule-abiding behavior from the military, especially when it’s for our own benefit."

The accident statistics for the powertrain factory are also excellent at Group level. What kind of work underpins this excellent result?

"We are constantly monitoring our work processes, looking for deviations from the regulations, compared to the regional risk assessment. We identify sources of danger, thoroughly investigate all accidents and place a strong emphasis on implementing good practices. In addition, the risk of pinching or cutting is lower in the powertrain factory, our core team has 20-25 years of experience, and the production lines are well known to us. Of course, we also face new challenges during the period of transformation. The manufacturing processes for electric drives and the new production lines all bring novelties, and the employees' willingness to cooperate is commendable."

Every year, Occupational Safety and Health runs a competition to encourage good practice based on the ideas from employees. Traditionally, many initiatives come from the powertrain factory, as you have also successfully participated in the competition.

"Ten years ago, my proposal to standardize the monthly occupational safety and health training topics was implemented. Since then, company-wide, the information has been delivered on the same topic every month, and today, it is provided in electronic form. I have now come up with the idea of mobile magnetic notice boards, which we use as attention-grabbers for accident prevention. The concept is quite simple: it's easy to overlook the constant, familiar information, but as the signs are moved around, they are easier to attract the attention of employees and warn them of the dangers of tripping, slipping, cutting, hitting their head and the use of appropriate protective equipment. Let's not rush; let's be cautious so that everyone can go home safely at the end of the day. That's the top priority."