Jaakkoo-Taara held its annual Safety Day for employees in February. The purpose of the day is to provide guidance and review matters related to occupational safety.
– The aim of the Safety Day was to strengthen the safety culture and increase practical competence for everyday situations. We wanted to combine traditional occupational safety topics (HSE, first aid, internal traffic) with themes related to well-being at work, such as recovery and psychosocial workload. The purpose was also to encourage staff to engage in discussions about safety and to bring safety closer to everyday work, says Jari Louhi, one of the organizers of the Safety Day.
The Safety Day included seven different stations. Each station lasted about 20 minutes and featured a short briefing on the key points of the topic. The stations covered general rules of conduct, psychosocial workload, hearing protection, creating safety observations in the Toyme app, working in the warehouse near forklifts, as well as first aid cabinets, safety wristbands, defibrillator locations, and the responsibilities of occupational safety representatives.
– Participants were left with concrete tools: for example, the location and use of first aid equipment were reviewed, the correct selection of hearing protection became clearer, and the Toyme system was practiced hands-on. In addition, forklift handling brought an important human perspective to safety, Louhi explains.
The Safety Day committee was allowed to design and implement a day that reflected their own vision, and the staff provided positive feedback.
– We believe everyone got lots of positive things from the day. We want to make occupational safety a natural part of everyone’s workday, as occupational safety is a shared responsibility, says Marjaana Ginström, who was part of the Safety Day committee.
In addition to occupational safety, the Safety Day also included relaxation
Occupational safety was, of course, the most essential topic, but for example, staff could also enjoy the sound bowl relaxation, which turned out to be very successful and well-received.
– From the organizer’s perspective, it was great to see how the different themes came together as a cohesive whole. Safety is not only about rules and instructions, but also about attitude, cooperation, and everyday choices. The Safety Day showed that safety can be developed systematically, but also in an inclusive and positive spirit, Louhi concludes.
This year, the Safety Day committee consisted of Janita Virtanen, Jesse Salminen, Jari Louhi, and Marjaana Ginström.
