The German social accident insurance institution for the foodstuffs and catering industry, BGN, reports that in the beverage industry, pipes and pipe elbows are moved around on a daily basis and screwed together with grooved union nuts, using a hinged hook wrench. According to the BGN, however, this time and time again results in accidents, due to the tool slipping out of the groove and off the nut. Employees at Lübzer brewery have found the answer to this, in the form of a special wrench that grips the grooved nut like a jaw, designed to prevent any slipping or tilting. An invention that has won its parent company Carlsberg a prevention award from the BGN. You can see the invention at profi-werkstatt.net .

In general terms, the number of workplace accidents in Germany has not notably fallen any further over the last few years. The country’s occupational health and safety associations, accident insurance companies, and their umbrella organization, Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung (DGUV), have therefore initiated the national kommmitmensch campaign, which aims to make everyone aware of values such as health and safety, and thereby make prevention part of the corporate culture.