We warmly welcome you to Kern GmbH. Health, safety, and environmental protection are our top priorities. Please observe the safety guidelines provided during your stay on our premises.

A designated contact person from Kern GmbH will accompany you throughout your visit. Their instructions regarding safety must be strictly followed. Please direct any questions or requests to your contact person.

Safety guidelines

Please sign in and out when entering or leaving the premises. Visitor or contractor badges must be worn visibly and returned upon departure.

Follow the instructions of your assigned contact person. In an emergency, instructions from fire wardens, evacuation assistants, and the fire department must be strictly followed.

Upon entering, please familiarize yourself with the nearest escape and rescue routes and the location of the assembly point. Observe the safety guidelines and all warning, mandatory, and prohibition signs.

Walking speed only applies throughout the premises.

Open flames, fire, or ignition sources are strictly prohibited.

Smoking is strictly limited to designated smoking areas.

For safety reasons, you must be accompanied by a Kern GmbH contact person in production areas.

Stay on the marked walkways. Entering production areas is only permitted with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Watch for other traffic and maintain a safe distance from forklifts and industrial trucks.

Data protection & privacy

Photography, filming, and audio recording on the company premises are strictly prohibited without prior authorization from Kern GmbH. The removal of any items from the premises requires consultation with your designated contact person. Please ensure you obtain written confirmation of the handover if required.

Emergency procedures

Remain calm! Immediately report any dangerous situations, accidents, or fires to your assigned contact person at Kern GmbH.

In the event of a fire or evacuation alarm, follow the marked escape routes to exit the building. Strictly follow the instructions of your contact person, the fire wardens, and the fire department.

Check in with your contact person at the assembly point at Hall 4 and do not leave the premises without prior consultation.

If necessary, use the provided emergency equipment, such as escape ladders, fire extinguishers, first aid kits, eye wash stations, or automated external defibrillators (AED). Their locations are clearly marked on the escape and rescue plans posted throughout the premises.

Waste segregation

Please segregate your waste and dispose of it only in the designated containers. Separate bins are provided throughout the operational areas for packaging waste (yellow), organic waste (green), and residual waste (red). Bins under the desks are for office paper only. For the disposal of any other types of waste, please contact your designated person at Kern GmbH.

Packaging Waste:
NO transparent films or industrial packaging!

Organic Waste:
NO ash, treated or contaminated wood!

Residual Waste:
NO electrical devices, batteries, energy-saving or fluorescent lamps!

Paper Waste:
Pure office paper ONLY – NO cardboard, NO corrugated board, NO dyed/colored paper!

Additional Instructions for External Staff & Contractors

During your stay, you are subject to the occupational health, safety, and environmental (HSE) regulations applicable in the Federal Republic of Germany, the rules of the relevant professional associations (BG), and these house rules. Please notify your supervisor and your Kern GmbH contact person immediately if the execution of your assignment appears to conflict with safety, fire protection, environmental, or energy efficiency standards.

Before starting work, familiarize yourself with the nearest escape routes, fire extinguishers, alarm points, and emergency procedures. In case of a workplace accident, our first aiders are available to assist you. Please record even minor injuries in the accident book/log located at the first aid station.

Resource-efficient behavior is expected at all times.

Safety induction

The following tasks require careful coordination with your company supervisor and a mandatory on-site safety induction by a Kern GmbH contact person:

1. Hot work: Welding, soldering, cutting, grinding, and abrasive cutting, as well as work involving open flames and the handling of flammable or oxidizing hazardous substances.
2. Work on fire extinguishing, alarm, and warning systems.
3. Use of hazardous substances (e.g., paints, coatings, solvents, cleaning agents).
4. Removal of safety guards or devices.
5. Work on tanks, vessels, and pipelines.
6. Work on electrical installations and in ATEX (explosion-hazard) areas.
7. Civil engineering: Excavation of pits, trenches, and shafts.

The induction must be documented on form FO 7.2-2 ("Anweisungen für externe Beschäftigte") and confirmed with signatures. For tasks listed under Point 1, a Hot Work Permit ("Erlaubnisschein für gefährliche Arbeiten", FO 8.1-2) is strictly mandatory.

Working safely

In your own interest, we ask you to pay special attention to the following instructions:

Access to rooms and operating machinery
Entering rooms and operating equipment is only permitted to fulfill your assigned task.

Work equipment (tools, devices, etc.)
Your work equipment must comply with relevant German regulations (Industrial Safety Ordinance / BetrSichV) and must be in a safe, inspected, and faultless condition.

Fire and explosion hazards
Observe all prohibition signs! Smoking is strictly prohibited inside all buildings and throughout the company premises. The use of open flames and spark-producing tools is prohibited on the premises.

Warning sign:
Hot surface

Warning sign:
Electrical voltage

Warning sign:
Flammable substances

Warning sign:
Counter-rotating rolls

Warning sign:
Hazard from battery charging

Warning sign:
Forklifts

Personal protective equipment (PPE)
Please note that in certain areas of our company, it is mandatory to wear specific personal protective equipment (PPE), such as safety glasses, hard hats, hearing protection, safety shoes, etc. These areas are clearly marked with the corresponding mandatory signs.

Mandatory sign:
Wear eye protection

Mandatory sign:
Wear hearing protection

Mandatory sign:
Wear foot protection

Mandatory sign:
Wear hand protection

No drugs or alcohol

The consumption of alcoholic beverages or other substances that impair workplace safety is strictly prohibited on the Kern GmbH premises. Persons found to be under the influence of alcohol or other drugs will be removed from the company premises immediately.

Smoking is only permitted in clearly designated areas.

Vehicles

Special conditions apply to the use of the following vehicles:

Forklifts

• Kern GmbH forklifts may only be operated by our own employees with the appropriate internal authorization.

Aerial Work Platforms

• Operator license according to BGG/GUV – G 966 (or equivalent international standard)
• Mandatory on-site briefing and formal assignment by a Kern GmbH contact person

Traffic rules
Driving and parking on Kern GmbH premises must comply with the German Road Traffic Regulations (StVO). Please pay special attention to pedestrians. A minimum clearance of 1 meter must be maintained when passing pallet trucks or forklifts. If this distance cannot be maintained, or if persons do not comply, the operator must stop the vehicle immediately until the person has passed.

Any incidents you are involved in—especially accidents, damage to parked vehicles, or other property damage—must be reported to your contact person immediately.

All emergency exits and safety equipment must be kept clear at all times when parking.

Maximum walking speed applies throughout the entire company premises.

Waste and residue disposal

The auxiliary materials delivered for the execution of work remain the property of your company until used as intended. Empty containers generated during the work, as well as all liquid, pasty, or solid residues, must be collected in suitable containers in a way that poses no risk to the environment and must be taken back immediately by you for disposal in accordance with applicable legal regulations.

Workplace Order
Keep your workplace clean and do not leave materials or tools lying around. Store tools, equipment, and materials only in the locations assigned to you by the Kern GmbH contact person. Traffic routes, escape routes, emergency exits, safety equipment (e.g., fire extinguishers, eye wash stations) and access to electrical installations must not be obstructed.

Environmental Protection and Energy Use
Use energy and materials sparingly and consciously. Do not leave workplace lighting on unnecessarily and keep doors and gates closed during winter.

Waste Separation
Small amounts of waste can be disposed of in the color-coded containers. Separate containers for packaging waste (yellow), organic waste (green), and residual waste (red) are provided in the individual organizational units.

Items brought into the company

Items, materials, and tools brought in by you for the execution of your assignment must be secured against unauthorized use and theft when leaving the workplace, in the interest of both parties.

Removal of items
If you need to remove items from the company premises that were not originally brought in by your company, you must have your contact person issue a written confirmation.

Confidentiality obligation

You are required to maintain confidentiality towards third parties regarding all business information of Kern GmbH and its business partners that becomes known to you during your assignment. This also applies to internal company information, such as technical and structural facilities, manufacturing methods and processes, operational procedures, and organizational measures.

Furthermore, you must keep the results of the services provided confidential. Third parties include employees of your own company (both domestic and abroad) as well as Kern GmbH employees who are not involved in the matter or have no authorized right to information.

Violations of the house rules

Serious violations of the house rules entitle the client to exclude non-compliant employees or agents of the contractor from further work for the company. In certain cases, this may result in the termination of the contractual relationship.

Additional information for freight drivers

 

Access to the logistics area is permitted exclusively for cargo inspection and the use of sanitary facilities. The building must be left immediately once the inspection is completed. Entry must be coordinated with the dispatch office or the goods receiving area.

Turn off the engine at the factory gate and the loading ramp – thank you. Maximum speed on company premises: 7 km/h. Please do not park on walkways. The driver of the transport vehicle is obliged to present these instructions to the recipient or the loader of the goods.

 

During your stay in the logistics building, safety shoes with a minimum requirement of class S1 must be worn.

The freight vehicle must be secured against rolling at the ramps using the wheel chocks provided on site during loading and unloading.

Handling of corrosive, harmful, toxic, water-hazardous, or flammable substances is strictly prohibited on the company premises.