DEKRA Accepting 2016 Award Applications
This year's award will recognize "safety champions" in three categories: safety in transport, safety at work, and safety at home,
The German safety service company DEKRA has begun accepting applications for this year's DEKRA Award, which will recognize "safety champions" in three categories: safety in transport, safety at work, and safety at home, with DEKRA partnering with WirtschaftsWoche, a German economics magazine. Companies and initiatives can apply until Sept. 16, 2016; more information and application forms are available at www.dekra-award.de.
"The digital transformation of the economy and society is well under way," said Stefan Kölbl, chairman of the Management Board of DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE. "This transformation also requires new concepts to ensure that machinery and products do not result in any hazards. As the global partner for a safe world, we are seeking outstanding ideas, initiatives, and processes that help prevent accidents and make the world a safer place."
Federal Minister of the Economy Sigmar Gabriel is the patron of the award this year. "DEKRA lays important foundations for the innovations that our economy urgently needs due to widespread digitalization. Under the heading of 'Industry 4.0,' virtually all key players are working together to shape the German economy in a future-proof way. The Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy supports the economy's efforts. I would like to thank DEKRA for contributing to the development of a modern economy," he said.
According to the company, which is based in Stuttgart, a panel of internal and external experts will identify best practice projects across the country that make a sustainable contribution to improving safety. The criteria for nomination focus on effectiveness, simplicity, efficiency, innovation, sustainability, transferability, and acceptance, and the award ceremony will take place Oct. 25 in Düsseldorf. The jurors selecting the award winners are:
- Dr. Miriam Meckel, chair, chief editor of WirtschaftsWoche.
- Dr. Annette Niederfranke, director of the International Labour Organization in Berlin
- Dr. Raimund Klinkner, CEO of Bundesvereinigung Logistik and Honorary Professor of Production Logistics at the Technical University of Berlin, Managing Director of the IMX Institute for Manufacturing Excellence
- Hatto Mattes, Ministerial Councilor in the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, head of the Department for Product and Plant Safety, International Technical Harmonization, and the Transport of Hazardous Goods
- Stefan Kölbl, chairman of DEKRA e.V. and DEKRA SE Management Board
Previous winners of the DEKRA Award have included companies such as Airbus, Eaton Industries, EBM-Papst, EnBW, Voith, and Volkswagen.