A safe working environment is a prerequisite for our business. Indeed, occupational safety and its improvement are Lemminkäinen Infra’s theme for 2008.
If work cannot be done safely, it should not be done at all. We aim to reduce the number of accidents by 10 per cent each year. Our personnel receive continuous training to improve the standard of occupational safety. Depending on the requirements of their work, employees are trained in areas such as general work safety, road safety, fire work and blasting. A safety video intended for Lemminkäinen Infra Oy’s personnel will be published in January 2009.
Common principles and goals ensure a safe work environment. Our goal is a safe, healthy and developing work environment. We identify the causes of risks, disruptions and material damages, and we prepare for them by making plans in advance. Safety management is a part of business management.
Our safety work is based on a safety policy and a safety programme approved by the company’s Board of Directors. Lemminkäinen’s operating and management systems are based on the ISO 9001 quality management standard. They cover the management of occupational safety issues in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 14001 environmental management standard and the OHSAS 18001 occupational health and safety standard.
We monitor and develop our employees’ fitness for work in accordance with the Group’s occupational health strategy. Lemminkäinen supports physical exercise by arranging events in the workplace and encouraging its personnel to take regular exercise in their own time.
Competitions and measurements
We are involved in the Zero Accident Forum as a part of Lemminkäinen Group. In 2007 the Group achieved Class III designation - ”Heading for the world’s forefront in safety”. Classifications are awarded to companies which have made good progress in their occupational safety.
We make weekly safety measurements on all of our work sites, using separate measuring tools for infrastructure construction, paving and mineral aggregate operations.
For example, the operational safety of our crushing plants is measured weekly and the plant with the highest points tally at the end of the year is awarded a prize. We also participate in nationwide safety competitions, and in 2007 we won the competition for mineral aggregate operations.
“Golden Helmet” is an internal safety competition among all the companies of Lemminkäinen Group. In 2007 Lemminkäinen Infra Oy’s civil engineering unit won the competition.