Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)

Carlex products can be found in the world’s finest automobiles. Manufacturers choose Carlex as a preferred partner for industry-leading technology, uncompromising quality and the unsurpassed value of the products we make. From the earliest design concepts through product launch and mass production, our customers can rely on Carlex to provide unparalleled customer service and world-class manufacturing support.

We proudly supply quality glass for: Audi – Bentley – BMW – Bugatti – Chrysler – Ford – General Motors (GM) – Honda – Hyundai – Jaguar – Kia – Lamborghini – Lincoln – Mercedes – Nissan – Peugeot (PSA group) – Porsche – Rolls-Royce – Subaru – Toyota – Volkswagen

Safety is of paramount importance at Carlex, and this can be seen in our company’s Mission – Vision – Values:

• Fostering employee responsibility for their own safety as well as that of others.
• Creating a work environment where every employee can work and feel safe.
• Modelling safe behaviour, correcting unsafe acts and conditions, and acting to improve working conditions.

Glass and automotive glass processing equipment:

By its’ nature, working with glass involves risks and presents danger, especially when processing 1.4 mm, 1.6 mm, 1.8 mm, 2.1 mm and 3.15 mm thicknesses which are standard for automotive glass. Glass breaks, cracks and chips easily and that results in sharp edges and incisive points which may hurt someone. To counter this risk of injury over the years more and more effective Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has been introduced, like cut and puncture-resistant
gloves and cut-resistant pullovers and trousers, in addition to the usual safety glasses and shoes and yellow jackets already used.

Not only the glass itself but also the equipment used for processing automotive glass presents risks for operators as they involve operations like cutting and grinding the glass and its thermal treatment. Such equipment typically runs at fast cycle times with moving elements like conveyors, rollers, shuttles, presses and robots. Very often this results in a
working environment with a high level of noise and high temperature thus creating a certain level of discomfort to operators. The glass processing equipment in the Carlex plant located in Grevenmacher can be divided into two families:

1. Laminated glass: laminated glass is a type of safety glass that holds together when shattered.
In the event of a break, it is held in place by an interlayer, typically of polyvinyl butyral (PVB), between its two or more layers of glass.

2. Tempered glass: tempered or toughened glass is a type of safety glass processed by controlled thermal or chemical treatments to increase its strength compared with normal glass. Tempering puts the outer surfaces into compression and the interior into tension.

For the operation of machines in a safe manner, most of the time technical solutions, both mechanical and electrical, are implemented. All equipment is subject to regulatory requirements and approved by an international service provider in the field of safety and quality.

However, wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and securing machines is not enough for Carlex!

Three lines on which to improve safety

1. Housekeeping: by keeping our plant and work areas clean and structured the risk of accidents or incidents occurring is reduced. Investments such as the recent extension of the warehouse for parts storage help in this direction as material fl ows are improved and a space inside the plant is created to allow improved circulation of both people and material.

2. 5S method: 5S are systematic actuation principles to maintain and improve the organisation, order, and cleanliness in the work place. 5S are applied to the work place to ensure integration in daily management by a step-by-step method (5 steps in total). It is based on attention to detail and the involvement of operators in implementation with a rigorous
and systematic approach. The 5S method has an impact on: Discipline – Housekeeping – Safety – Team Building.

3. Personal acceptance of risk: this is directly linked to the behaviour of individuals with respect to Safety! Carlex wants to develop and foster the responsibility of employees for their own Safety as well as that of others. Carlex wants to help employees to correct unsafe acts and conditions, and to act to improve working conditions. Each employee is
requested and challenged to observe, think, and report on dangerous situations or any «Near Miss» event. In this way, before an accident or incident can happen, the situation can be corrected on a preventive basis.

Target

Our Safety target is to reduce the number of work-related accidents, regardless of their origin. In all areas, we fi rstly ensure compliance with the applicable regulations and then we approach the topic along the di erent lines for improving Safety.

Training is an important part of our Safety Management. For example, we improved our fork lift driver training programme in 2017. This reduced incidents involving fork lifts by half between 2016 and 2018. We established a dedicated training area for fork lift drivers and improved training directly in the work place under actual conditions and the follow-up of newly hired drivers.

The awareness action “Awareness Day - Risks to fork lift drivers and pedestrians” organised today aims to raise the awareness of Carlex employees who are not fork lift drivers in order to:

• make them aware of how dangerous it can be - awareness, analysis and change of pedestrian behaviour, “put yourself in the shoes of others”
• exchange different points of view on circulation risks to fork lift drivers and those employees who are not driving a fork lift.

The risks to all those who move about the plant are everyone’s business and require the involvement of all!
- REDUCE INDIVIDUAL RISK ACCEPTANCE
- REDUCE CIRCULATION RISKS