A beer in the pub or at home in front of the telly
"Prevention is the
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Mario Lopergolo, Dreher company doctor in Massafra:
February 1988
Number 12
OWN PERSONNEL
DEPARTMENT
FOR EXPATRIATES
HEINEKENAND
PELFORTHPUSH
THE PEDALS
Contents:
Page
Interview Massafra
company doctor
Heineken's active role in
Holland Village
Popoli employees give
their views on shiftwork
New challenge for
F. van der Minne
Wastewater purification
2
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6
7
Heineken International
Magazine
Ambulance
"As a company doctor my main work is preventive. Ta
king precautions to ensure that people stay healthy." Sin
ce 1979 Mario Lopergolo has been attached to the Dre
her brewery in Massafra in the South of Italy. For two
hours each day Mr. Lopergolo can be found at his desk in
the medical department. He not only works there as a
doctor but also acts as a confidant for the employees.
INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
Published six times a year by
the Corporate Public Relations
Department of Heineken N. V.
P.O. Box 28,1000 AAAmsterdam.
Tel. 020/702268.
The doctor is the only person in the
business who can give permission for
an employee who feels ill to go home
But the doctor is only present for two
hours each day. So, what should be
done during the (many) other working
hours, for instance during the night
shift? For such eventualities an
ambulance is kept at the ready, so that
the patient can be taken to a nearby
hospital for diagnosis. If the hospital
doctors decide that the employee is at
that moment unable to work further,
he may then go home to recover.
Though these precautions may seem
at first to be rather over-cautious, they
have proved their usefulness on
repeated occasions in the past. "It has
occurred several times that an
employee was examined in the
hospital and was immediately kept
there for treatment", explains Mr.
Lopergolo.
One man drinks his beer solely
in his local pub, another
likes to sink a foaming pint at
home (in front of the telly)and the
third enjoys drinking in both places.
What in fact are the preferences in the
various European countries? The
table below, based on 1985 figures
from a survey carried out by an
independent consumer research
bureau, gives you an idea of the
percentage of beer that is supplied to
pubs, restaurants and hotels
compared to that purchased in shops
for home consumption. As you can
see, there are quite some differences
between the various countries.
A striking feature is the high
percentage of home consumption in
Sweden, which is due to a great many
factors.The enormous price
difference between beer bought in the
shop and a glass of beer in a pub or
restaurant is one of the reasons. Beer
is quite pricey even in the shops, but
licenced premises charge between
three and five times as much again for
a glass of beer. Besides this, the
population density plays an important
role. Sweden, just like Norway, is a
vast country with relatively few
inhabitants. One of the consequences
is that there are few possibilities for
people to go out for a drink in a pub.
The distances that have to be covered
are too big, especially during the
(often severe) winters.
In Spain, Ireland and the United
Kingdom drinking a glass of beer in a
pub or bar is preferred by the majority.
The bar trade also scores high points
in Italy. This is partly due to the small
differences between bar prices and
shop prices but, more so, it is part of
the culture in those countries to get
together and meet your friends for a
social drink "at the local".
I have a position of trust
here. People come to me to
talk about their problems,
and that by no means always involves
problems relating to their work.
Personal difficulties at home are
sometimes raised as well", says Mr.
Lopergolo.
The Dreher company doctor's work
can be divided into three main tasks.
First of all, the medical check-ups of
each personnel member for illnesses
such as typhus, tuberculosis and
laryngitis. These tests are compulsory
by law for every business in Italy
engaged in the production of
consumer goods. In most businesses
these examinations are carried out by
doctors employed by the government.
Mr. Lopergolo provides them with
assistance. Dreher Massafra goes one
step further than the legal obligations.
For each employee the the company
doctor keeps what is known as a
Mario Lopergolo
'libretti di rischio': a personal medical
history record containing all findings
of medical check-ups and all the
employee's physical and other
complaints. On the basis of this
medical record Mr. Lopergolo may
recommend to the company
management that an employee should
be transferred to another department
which will be better for his health.
The third element in Mr. Lopergolo's
duties is formed by the treatment of
minor injuries and ailments, such as
treating cuts (which represent 80% of
all industrial accidents within Dreher
Massafra) and supplying medicines.
