Safety induction helps in recognising the risks at your workplace

In 2012, UPM was far behind the industry standard in safety performance. That is why we initiated a programme called The Step Change in Safety. We set ambitious targets for it and got on with it.

After three years, we have improved our performance considerably: not just reached our target of LTAF* 5 but exceeded it. The newly announced results can be seen here. Safety induction lays the foundation for a safe workday
Safety begins with becoming conscious of risks. Thorough induction helps employees recognize the most important risks related to their own tasks and work environment.

We are in the process of renewing our induction processes. A new general induction procedure has already been introduced, and separate induction measures for each business area, site and task are being currently renewed.

From now on, induction will be repeated on a regular basis in order to keep everyone’s skills and knowledge up to date.
Simple things matter

We believe that safety is improved through small changes in everyday behaviour: stop glancing at your phone while working, pick up what you’ve dropped before someone else trips on it, handle equipment and vehicles with care, and focus properly on what you are doing. Simple choices can have a life-changing impact!

To highlight this and the fact that accidents don’t just affect individuals – they can have a huge effect on one’s work community and family as well – we have produced a short safety video to inspire thoughts and discussion. The video is available on UPM’s YouTube channel and we hope that not only UPM employees but others as well take advantage of it and start thinking about the small steps they can take to make a big difference in workplace safety.

Going forward
We’ve had a good start and we’re enthusiastic about the results achieved. We believe that we’ve managed to adopt an entirely new safety culture in our company and we are very proud of that. Inspired by our achievement we have set the bar even higher ‒ our new target for safety efforts is to reach LTAF 3 within the next three years.

Safety work is never complete – a safe workplace is done one day at a time. Safety starts with each of us!
* Number of lost time accidents per one million hours of work.   "ALTO"

BIOFORE .  FINLANDIA -  10 febrero 2015