Rijk Zwaan
A risk inventory and evaluation on a single page
Rijk Zwaan is an international vegetable breeding company with locations in the Netherlands. Its Quality Assurance, Safety & Environment (QASE) department outlines the main principles for a safe and healthy workplace. DEKRA Industrial Safety is helping with the implementation of these main principles. We conducted a Risk Inventory & Evaluation (RI&E, or RIE). The organisation shared the process in its own newsletter. Read the Rijk Zwaan story here.
A risk inventory and evaluation (RIE) is standard practice at the Rijk Zwaan locations in the Netherlands. And it's also required by law. Until recently, an independent consultancy did these RIEs. Marijn Goud from QASE says: "This resulted in a report for each location, with location-specific points for improvement. Prevention employees addressed these points and then that would be that until the next RIE. But safety isn't improved by a snapshot produced by an external organisation and 35 thick reports. We want to harness the knowledge and expertise that employees have so they can improve each other's safety and keep each other's eyes on the ball.”
The perfect solution
Rijk Zwaan developed a new approach. A trial with the field team in Fijnaart generated the answer to the million-dollar question: give us an RIE that fits on a single page. This resulted in a clear model, with risks per process step. There's a basic matrix for working in greenhouses, for open fields, and for laboratories. Rijk Zwaan chose DEKRA as its implementation partner.
Advisers Karin and Florian help each department to independently customise the RIE. A separate RIE will also be introduced for all subjects that are managed centrally. An RIE is a dynamic process. Periodic meetings between Rijk Zwaan and DEKRA advisers will be used to discuss good practices and lessons learned. Where necessary, both are immediately applied in the further rollout of the project. Collaborating on this RIE paves the way for support, a higher level of engagement and increased attention to safety.
45 pairs of eyes
The Seed Technology research department in De Lier, a mix of offices, labs, greenhouses and workspaces with equipment, was the first to test the new system. The department has been using it since October 2022.
Manager Carla Nijman says: "The one-page RIE matrix is super handy. It's easy to use in team meetings and when new employees join the company. We now have 45 pairs of eyes paying better attention to safety. This ensures that relevant risks from daily practice come to light sooner. The fact that questions now come from teams — like how safe is it to charge your electric bike battery on the windowsill of your office — shows that safety awareness is sinking in."
Carla continues: "Not every risk has the same priority, and not everything can or needs to be addressed at once. The beauty of the new approach is that also highlights how action-oriented we are. All our colleagues can now see what has already been improved and why it was prioritised over something else. That builds confidence”, Carla explains.
Ongoing process
"The new insights are beneficial for me," Carla says. "Before, I thought that I was done for a while after an RIE. Now I realise that safety is an ongoing process. And you have to adjust more frequently than I needed to before. Whenever a new machine arrives, the first thing that goes through my mind is: evaluate the matrix.” Karin's enthusiasm is clear: “That’s fantastic. That's what we want, not thinking about safety just once a year but every time a change happens."