Occupational safety focused on protection against COVID-19
In 2020, the Port of Helsinki continued its systematic occupational safety work, the aim of which is to maintain the staff’s occupational abilities and promote the safety of workplaces and work methods.
The Port of Helsinki’s occupational health and safety operations have been certified and meet the requirements of the ISO 45001 standard.
The goals for 2020 in occupational safety work included:
- zero occupational accidents
- reduction of absences due to sickness or accidents
- development of the occupational safety culture.
Frequency of occupational accidents decreased
During 2020, one severe occupational accident occurred among the Port’s employees.
- The frequency of occupational accidents* was 8.1. The decrease from the previous two years was significant: in 2019 the frequency of occupational accidents was 20.9, and in 2018 it was 36.
* Frequency of occupational accidents = the number of occupational accidents that have led to at least one day of sick leave per one million working hours.
- The average sick-leave percentage of the Port’s employees in 2020 was 2.4. The sick-leave percentage was half a percentage point lower than the previous year (2.9). However, the figures are not directly comparable, because in 2020 the Port’s staff worked remotely as much as possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 also affected occupational safety issues
Protection against the coronavirus was emphasised in the 2020 occupational safety measures.
- In addition to the remote work recommendation, the Port provided its employees with the protective equipment necessary, and more attention was paid to occupational safety challenges related to remote work than in previous years.
- In March, the Port of Helsinki’s preparedness group was established, which keeps the Port’s management up to date on the COVID-19 crisis, assesses the effects of the crisis on operations, manages the procurement of personal protective equipment and communicates on the challenges brought on by the crisis and the solutions of the Port of Helsinki. The work of the preparedness group also includes active communication with the authorities and interest groups, compiling status reports and resolving operational issues.
Safety measures in passenger traffic during the coronavirus period are described in Chapter 4.
Systematic development of the occupational safety culture continued
Although the focus of occupational safety activities changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, systematic
work to develop the occupational safety culture continued.
- In 2020, the Port of Helsinki implemented both the company’s occupational health and safety action programme and the zero accidents programme. Occupational safety was actively promoted in staff briefings, supervisor forums and internal communications, among other channels. Furthermore, staff safety training was updated and employees attended the necessary courses.
- Joint meetings on safety issues were also held with other actors operating at the Port. The cargo traffic safety committee, which includes the key operators and authorities in the field, met in December. A discussion event was held in April for the operators in the western area of Vuosaari Harbour, where the Port of Helsinki presented its draft guidelines on the prohibition of crosswise carrying. A common solution was discussed on the basis of the response of the container operators.
- A disaster training exercise was held in Vuosaari in October to practice the management of a leak of dangerous substances resulting from a train collision. The development of the Port’s notification and monitoring system for dangerous goods continued.
- The increase in container trains has caused anomalies at some level crossings, and cooperation with VR and other logistics operators was intensified to improve this situation.