Focus on odour problems With 30,000 different chemicals in the cupboards, odour is not an unknown phenomenon for the medicinal chemists in building G1. But the obnoxious odour from the chemicals room was getting to a point where many employees felt uncomfortable when going to the basement to collect chemicals, which is a daily recurring event. The problem became abundantly clear in the most recent workplace assessment and, consequently, DKK 1 million has been earmarked on the 2008 budget to fund the purchase of new custom-designed cupboards. The volume of chemicals has increased since we started using the building in 1991, and the arrangement of the rooms has not been changed. In addition to investing in new cupboards, we have begun to clear out our collection of chemicals. The Laboratory Head has already scrapped duplicates and bottles that were too old, says Divisional Director Ejner Moltzen. The next step is to clear out the chemicals database and assess whether we actually need 30,000 different chemicals. Maybe we do not need to carry such a large stock. Today, all chemicals end up in the basement, including small and often useless residuals. Today, chemicals are delivered efficiently from the suppliers, so in future we are going to let the chemicals suppliers handle the storage problem and only maintain a small, but necessary, in-house collection of chemicals, says Ejner. Smiles have become more frequent in Liquid & Sterile Production. Clean air in Liquid & Sterile Production Snarling, complaining and a negative tone characterised the working day of one of the teams in Liquid & Sterile Production until the spring of 2007. Today, the tone has significantly changed, employees help each other and smiles are often exchanged. A survey of the psychical working environment that we conducted at the beginning of the year showed that many employees felt a negative atmosphere. There was little cooperation among team members, a hostile tone and much complaining. The employees were also upset that the management accepted that some people would sit in the break room for three hours, while others were working hard to finish the days work. This was new to me as a leader because there was a lot of backstage gossip and nobody spoke badly to me, says Team Leader Torben Nielsen, Liquid & Sterile Production. The results of the survey were discussed at a department meeting with team work on the agenda. We put focus on the positive aspects of our work and on the importance of speaking your Head of section Morten Bang Nørgaard and Ejner Moltzen look forward to having all the chemicals well-arranged. mind both criticism and praise. It is difficult to criticise a colleague, so instead of telling it to his face you hope that the person himself will realise that he needs to behave differently. At the meeting things began to move and we talked about how important it is to give each other honest feedback, says Operator Bell Beckmann. To promote the positive spirit of the meeting, standing staff meetings have been introduced at which everybody receives a daily briefing. At the team meeting, which is held every two weeks, job satisfaction has become a standing item on the agenda, and week plans show who is to do what and which tasks need to be performed. Today, the negative atmosphere has been replaced by true team spirit. Now, we are an open and more honest team with members who do not always mind their own business, but help each other, says Bell. Torben Nielsen has also learned a lot. I fully realise how important it is to have a talk with employees who seem dissatisfied. And I believe that we can intervene more quickly in the case of similar problems in the future. Once you have experienced what it is like to have job satisfaction, a change of tone does not escape your attention, says Torben. www.lundbeck.com/sustainability Health, Safety & Environment Report 2007, Valby, Denmark Page 5 of 12
Health, Safety & Environment Report 2007 H. Lundbeck A/S, Valby, Denmark Lundbecks headquarters
The year 2007 in review We basically achieved our goals in 2007, making this another good year. All
2007 successes and challenges A good environment and a good working environment are crucial for L
2007 successes and challenges Telemetry guinea pigs move in together A simple solution has reduce
Focus on odour problems With 30,000 different chemicals in the cupboards, odour is not an unknown ph
2007 successes and challenges Quick solutions are costly, says Lars E. Mitens. Saving time and m
HS&E and Lean hit it off How do you best attract constant attention to both HS&E and Lean? A
2007 successes and challenges We have been extremely busy, says Kirsten Vej. Hectic start for ne
Initiatives at other sites Waste plan paid off Being a major producer of hazardous waste, Lundbeck
Accident prevention Reduction in number of accidents How does a focused effort help to prevent acci
2007 in numbers At the Valby site the most significant HS&E aspects relate to emission of organ
Focus areas and targets Lundbecks management has defined a global strategy with health, safety and 