Natalia Yakushenkova, a chemical engineer from Dorogobuzh (an Acron Group company), won the 2021 Best Occupational Safety Officer in Smolensk Region competition.
This was the second time that Ms Yakushenkova, a chemical engineer at Dorogobuzh’s Centre for Product Quality Control and Technology Research, has won the safety award.
Smolensk region Vice Governor Vita Khomutova presented Yakushenkova with a badge of honour and a letter of gratitude signed by Smolensk region Governor Alexey Ostrovsky in recognition of her significant contribution to improving working conditions and occupational safety.
‘The life and health of employees is a top priority of government labour safety policy’, Khomutova said. ‘During the pandemic, many employers realized that the health of their personnel is a valuable resource and investment, and that they have to protect their employees if they want to continue to grow. A proactive approach to reducing industrial accidents and the risk of occupational diseases helps companies streamline their labour protection systems. Employees’ health and even their lives depend on the professionalism and reliability of occupational safety officers’ the Vice Governor concluded.
Since 2007, occupational safety officers from leading companies and employers, public-sector entities, and municipal administrations in Smolensk region have competed annually to promote best practices and improve techniques with the goal of helping local companies better manage working conditions and occupational safety.