Final sprint
The Infra Contractors Association, INFRA, has been monitoring the frequency of accidents in its member companies for the last couple of years. The situation has remained staple, which means that around 15 occupational accidents happen per 1 million work hours. Ari Kähkönen, specialist for INFRA, says that this is below the average of the civil engineering industry as a whole.
“The number of accidents leading to deaths has declined, in particular. In 2017, there 4 cases in the construction industry. None of them were in infrastructure.”
There is a clear spike in work accidents during summer and right after vacations. During the vacation rotation, the management moving around sites is inexperienced and when people come back to work after lying on a beach all summer, occupational safety matters are not on the top of their minds. The construction boom is running hot, which makes things more challenging as well.”
Making sure occupational safety is a visible part of every work day is just as important as the campaigns and competitions organised surrounding it. Appropriate orientation, regularly held safety briefings and safety observations from employees are great methods for preventing accidents at work.
A new mobile application, that makes reporting observations on safety, quality and environment easier, was taken into use at Destia in 2017 and it will eventually be installed on every work phone at Destia.
“The application is still under development and the goal is that subcontractors would use it as well,” says Janne Pekkarinen, Safety and Environmental Manager at Destia.
Authors: Ari Rytsy
Photos: IStock