Improving occupational safety in the construction industry is about daily actions, attitude, and concrete choices. Our safety is at a good level because every one of our employees chooses to work safely every day.
A few years ago, we at Anfra set a clear goal to move our safety culture towards a zero-accident mindset. Words were turned into actions, and the results are now visible in our everyday operations.
Top-level occupational safety is built on countless small and large everyday actions. In this article, we have compiled three examples of our concrete support measures that helped turn the tide on our occupational safety. The goal of these and many other actions is to make safe operations an easier decision for every Anfra employee.
1. Proactive occupational safety and the development of HSE functions
Proactive occupational safety is the foundation of safety on a construction site. We identified the making and communicating of safety observations as a key area for development. When near-miss situations and potential hazards are identified early, we minimize risks before any damage occurs. Systematically reviewing and learning from these observations is now a central part of the everyday life on our sites.
Our Development Director, Marko Liukko, emphasizes collaboration and highly values the employees' contribution:
“We encourage our staff to be active, and we made submitting an observation report as easy as possible. A low threshold ensures the flow of information and a quick response to anomalies. I want to express my deep gratitude to our employees, who have contributed magnificently and made safety a shared priority for all of us. The occupational safety and health committee has also played a significant role in raising and maintaining our safety level.”
2. ISO 45001 certificate and external auditing
It is easy to become blind to one's own operations. We opened our occupational health and safety management system to external review. As a result of this work, our management system was awarded the international ISO 45001 certificate.
The certificate guides and develops our everyday operations. Mr. Liukko explains the significance of the certification:
“We know we are doing things right and well. We want to demonstrate this transparently to our stakeholders. Achieving certain standards challenges our organization and develops what we do.”
3. The role of management in building an occupational safety culture
Changing a safety culture requires the management to show the way and put a face to it. The management strongly threw its weight behind this issue. Our founder and CEO, Tomi Puoskari, reminds employees daily about proper site equipment.
We abandoned generic basic signs on our construction sites. We created our own instructional images and signs, featuring the CEO dressed in appropriate protective equipment. A personal touch makes safety communication more approachable and demonstrates the importance of the issue.
The change from the past is huge. CEO Tomi Puoskari summarizes the journey:
“Initially, our accident frequency was so high that even clients had a hard time believing it was real. We made a complete turnaround. The current low frequency is sometimes hard to believe even for ourselves! A good level of safety directly supports the growth and development of our company. Every one of our employees took ownership of safety and made it a part of their everyday work.”
What does LTIF 0 actually mean?
Thanks to systematic work and, above all, committed personnel, our LTIF figure, which measures the accident frequency on our sites, is currently 0.
LTIF (Lost Time Injury Frequency) measures the number of occupational accidents leading to an absence in relation to one million hours worked. It is the most common metric in the construction industry for evaluating the level of occupational safety. LTIF 0 means zero accidents. Throughout the entire year, not a single occupational accident has occurred on our sites that would have resulted in more than one day's absence from work.
This is an achievement of which we are deservedly proud. The work to maintain this zero continues daily.
