The demand and support in Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) were crucial for Kaffa, which could only be addressed when they began working with Centralmed in 2015. The relationship developed over time, and the services also expanded, always in a partnership that allows us to say today that Kaffa has a workplace safety culture.
The Portuguese coffee capsule. This is how Kaffa presents itself, showcasing the DNA of this company that supplies coffee capsules containing the unique aromas, flavors, and textures of what is the Portuguese people’s favorite social drink. It does not reveal its recipes, but openly acknowledges that one of the secrets behind Kaffa coffee capsules lies in the people who make up the company.
And it was precisely in one of the components of people management that Kaffa felt, even when working with a specialized company, a lack of support in the areas of occupational medicine, workplace safety, and training.
When they started the contract with Centralmed in 2015, the services were clearly insufficient, given the company’s size and demands. “We have a high level of demand and wanted more support, which the company could not provide. Although there was already a safety culture and documentation in this area — for example, written instructions, risk prevention sheets, etc. — these needed to be reviewed and adapted to the company’s size and changes,” explains Maria Gabriela Madeira, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Kaffa.
It became clear that it was necessary to find an Occupational Health and Safety company with the same level of demand, capable of working in partnership to build a safety culture and energize this area internally. This profile was found in Centralmed.
Together, Kaffa and Centralmed began working with the common goal of minimizing risks and maintaining worker safety, as well as raising awareness of the occupational risks they are exposed to. Several solutions were implemented:
Centralmed is a company that, in terms of OHS, keeps up with the complexity, business evolution, and work dynamics of the company. Furthermore, it has the know-how to address new challenges in this area."
After more than six years, the results are certainly visible. “As a result of this work, we achieved an increase in employee training, a decrease in accident rates, greater employee participation in this area, and a stronger safety culture at work, with the growing support of Safety Technician Cátia Figueiredo,” emphasizes the COO of Kaffa.
Between 2020 and 2021, the number of training sessions for employees increased by approximately 155.6%, work accidents decreased by 37.5%, and the number of days absent from work due to work accidents is 18 times lower.
This was the result of a relationship built over time, which allowed for the expansion of the scope, for example, of the prevention and control plan for Legionella, the measurement of vibrations and dust, the assessment of psychosocial risks, and the continued measurement of health risk factors, such as lighting, occupational noise, or worker consultation support.
“This allowed us to maintain control of risk factors and act accordingly, through the inputs from occupational safety, with advice on implementing preventive and corrective measures,” notes Maria Gabriela Madeira, ensuring that working with Centralmed makes all the difference.
“Centralmed is a company that, in terms of OHS, keeps up with the complexity, business evolution, and work dynamics of our organization. Furthermore, it has the know-how to address new challenges in this area,” also highlights the Kaffa representative, emphasizing the very positive relationship created between the company and Centralmed’s occupational safety technician. As such, she concludes, “we feel at ease in this area.”