National final of Dances with Pallets

The Dances with Pallets contest has been organized in all Raben Group warehouses since 2014. The event targets fork-lift operators and its aim is to emphasise two major aspects of everyday work of a warehouse worker. First of all, it is raising the awareness of safe work in the warehouse. Every year this awareness is getting higher in Raben Group and the contest plays a major role in this. Secondly, it is extremely important to acknowledge the competencies and raise the prestige of the position of the operator, which is connected with employer branding. Each year, qualifications for the contest consist of two parts: theory focused on presenting good practices and desired behaviours, and a practical component during which fork-lift operators navigate a route with obstacles. “We have two main objectives. The first is to build safety culture among our employees. The effects are visible in the number of days worked without any accidents or the satisfaction of employees who feel safe even in such big organizations like our logistics warehouses.” – says Janusz Anioł, General Director, Raben Logistics PolskaEach year the contest is more and more popular because it has already become a company tradition. This year's contest involved over 60 operators. In the finals, 16 employees competed for the title of the champion in two categories: the cross-dock obstacle course and the high-storage puzzle. The contestants had to perform several tasks, including some unusual ones, like throwing a ball into a basket, piercing balloons or bowling, and naturally everything with a fork-lift truck.Marek Grypczyński was the best in the cross-dock obstacle course and the second and third places went to: Tomasz Dębski and Krystian Kubasik accordingly. The champion of the high-storage puzzle was Krystian Pietras from Sosnowiec followed by: Marcin Połukard and Grzegorz Redo. This year's final was organized in the logistics centre in Robakowo near Poznań, in one of the warehouses of Raben Logistics Polska. Traditionally, the contestants were cheered by other company employees, representatives of Raben customers and the media. The prize-giving ceremony was very ceremonious; cheques and prizes were presented by Janusz Anioł, General Director, Raben Logistics Polska, and by Paweł Włuka, Marketing Director, Still Polska, which co-organized the contest. At the end there was also a photo shoot, confetti and the song “We are the champions”.Safety of work in the warehouse is of key importance for logistics companies. Studies show that the majority of accidents which occur during warehouse operations are caused by improper behaviours of workers[1]. “There are no statistics for accidents involving fork-lift trucks but, taking into account the leading position of Poland in the logistics sector, there is a lot of equipment, various types of fork-lifts, so unfortunately the number of accidents is high. The best solution is to prevent, i.e. make the operators aware of the risks connected with using fork-lift trucks.  That is why we focus 100% of raising their awareness.” – emphasises Paweł Włuka, Marketing Director, STILL Polska.That is why Raben is truly focused on education and raising employee awareness of the correct and safe behaviours of persons employed in the warehouse and in the office. “In Raben Group, CSR is part of our DNA. One of the goals of the responsible business in our company is caring for health and safety of employees. The is why we pay special attention to the SHE philosophy (Safety, Health, Environment), which builds robust safety culture among employees and subcontractors. The Dances with Pallets contest is just an example of the actions we carry out. – explains Jakub Krzewina, Group CSR Coordinator in Raben Group.

[1] http://mojafirma.infor.pl/moto/logistyka/magazynowanie/675098,Przyczyny-wypadkow-w-magazynach.html