Safety starts with attitude

Technical means alone will not make workplaces completely safe. What matters is how people work. The willingness and attitude of each individual worker to act in a way that promotes safety. In particular, top management and line managers play a key role. They must show by example that safety comes first.

This is how Antti Rentola, Head of Occupational Safety and Health at Atria Corporation, summed up his views on occupational safety at a mini-seminar on safety management organised by Protect in Kokkola.

Rentola wants to increase the culture of intervention in Finnish workplaces.

-If you notice someone acting incorrectly or another safety risk, intervene. And make sure that the necessary change is put into practice," he stressed.

In 2007, Atria suffered a serious accident at work that resulted in the death of a subcontractor employee. Rentola, who was working as a maintenance engineer at the time, was one of three Atria employees convicted in court of manslaughter.

Rentola told the participants of the mini-seminar what the case taught him personally.

-The event concretises the responsibilities of the line manager, supervisor and management. The responsibility for job delineation must be clear to all. What each employee does and with what mandate. The mandate must be clear and no going outside the mandate.

- There is no escaping the legal liability of a manager. When you are a supervisor, do what the law says. In an investigation, it is important for the manager to find out for himself what really happened and to tell it in the investigation.

Rentola pointed out the importance of documentation in general. Recording things such as possible deviations is particularly important in situations where you have to operate within a controlled risk framework.

-You can sort out the legal side but you just have to learn to live with the moral side, because the human guilt is hard. There is no way to ignore the pain of losing a loved one to an accident.

In Atria's case, he says, the way the incident was dealt with in the workplace made the situation easier.

-We had a lot of discussions and things were discussed in a good spirit. When an accident happens, it's best to avoid blame and instead try to have a constructive dialogue. Personally, I've decided that if I can talk my way out of one serious accident, I'm happy to do so.