In terms of occupational safety, 2020 was a terrible year on Fingrid’s worksites – and I am not referring to the coronavirus epidemic. We were highly successful in minimising the adverse effects and health-related impacts of the coronavirus throughout the supply chain, and I would like to thank every operator for that.
In 2020, a total of 16 people did not leave Fingrid’s worksites healthy and safe. That is 16 too many. We have been thinking about why the level of occupational safety was statistically so poor on our worksites last year. Is it because of the Crystal-Clear Line concept that we introduced in early 2020? However, we came to the conclusion that this cannot be the reason. It is in everyone’s interests to have a safe, accident-free working environment.
What about the root causes of the accidents? Yes, there were a lot of slips and trips. Everyone who has walked, run or been orienteering in a forest knows how easy it is for the foot to slip or get stuck in soft ground. Some of the accidents can, therefore, be explained by challenging environmental conditions. All of the accidents that happened last year have another thing in common: they could all have been prevented by first thinking about how to do the work safely.
One positive factor last year was the 50-per-cent increase in the number of safety toolbox talks. Furthermore, the safety observation campaign at the end of the year generated excellent safety observations and ideas. People have the right attitude, and safety toolbox talks serve as a form of proactive occupational safety work as a part of normal operations. They provide a solid foundation on which to build an even better culture of safety.
Stop and think for a moment before you begin working. Take a couple of steps back and spend a couple of minutes thinking about what you are going to do before you get started. An occupational safety campaign will begin in 2021 with the aim of ingraining a “think before you act” mindset into everything we do.
Our objective remains the same – Zero Accidents – and we are not about to compromise on this.
Timo Kiiveri
Senior Vice President, Asset Management
Fingrid
