Eni and FS Italiane to collaborate in the pursuit of workplace safety excellence

Venice, 7 May 2018 – The Mou aims to promote the sharing of experience, best practices and knowledge in the area of workplace safety, greater emphasis on virtuous, responsible and  behaviour by staff, across all professional and industrial areas, in addition to the involvement of the staff of sub-contractors.

These are some of the objectives laid out in the Memorandum of Understanding signed today in Venice by Eni and FS Italiane (the Italian state railway company), two of Italy’s biggest companies. The agreement, which will last three years, aims to raise the already high standards of safety in the sub-contracting sector, while also improving both management and processes. In the area of workplace safety, Eni has already achieved excellent results: in 2017 it confirmed its leading global position in the Oil & Gas sector with a Total Recordable Injury Rate (TRIR) of 0.33, which corresponds to one accident for every 5 million hours worked, a 7% improvement on the figure for 2016.

This is a result that the company achieved thanks to a significant cultural and industrial change that has made safety the priority in its system of values, confirmed in 2015 with the creation of a Safety Competence Centre (SCC), a centre of excellence for the management and improvement of workplace safety also for sub-contractors, based on prioritising the insourcing of local skills by means of a process of high-level re-qualification. After a long period of training, in the classroom and in the field, the staff of the SCC work at all of Eni’s sites, both in Italy and abroad, replacing third-party consultants and technicians that previously covered such roles, providing specialised services for the management and improvement of workplace safety on construction and operational sites. In addition, through the Safety Training Centre, the SCC provides a poly-functional training platform for fire prevention and course on health and safety.

On the basis of the agreement signed today at the Eni Biorefinery in Venice - which, during reconversion and construction work, recorded zero injuries in over 1.4 million hours worked - Eni’s best practices will be the subject of a study and possible adoption by FS Italiane.

The FS Italiane Group has achieved important results in promoting safety in the workplace and the health of its staff. In the 2012-2017 period, it recorded a significant reduction in the number of injuries (-41.7%) and their frequency (-34.4%). 

Such results go together with those achieved in safety on the rail network, with a Global Safety Index - calculated on the basis of type, number and severity of accidents -  that is among the lowest in Europe.

The roadmap followed to date has put the FS Group at the top of European league tables in terms of rail network safety. This leadership has been consolidated and strengthened over time by the targeted investments in technological and organisational innovation and staff training. 

In the railway sector, more than in others, the spread of a culture of risk prevention and the reduction of injuries is intrinsically linked to the achievement of long-term business objectives.

The Memorandum of Understanding is an important step towards the achievement of the objectives laid out in the 2017-2026 industrial plan of the FS Italiane regarding workplace safety. The plan aims to reach what it calls a “zero vision”  target, in other words, zero injuries in production processes for both the staff of the Group and sub-contractors'.

 With regard to individual opportunities that may be subject to evaluation, information concerning operations with related parties will be made available where appropriate.