Jaakkoo-Taara has received the international occupational health and safety management certificate ISO 45001. The certification is a natural continuation of the previous ISO 9001 and 14001 certificates, and it supports one of our key goals, our focus on occupational safety. The certificate provides a good structure and even clearer goals for safety work.
Participation and expertise on an everyday level
One of the key requirements of the ISO 45001 standard is the participation of personnel, which has always been important at Jaakkoo-Taara. Work supervisors have been actively involved in the preparation and development of safety instructions as experts in their own areas of responsibility.
Since 2020, we have been collecting safety observations, the number of which has grown steadily. At the same time, the number of safety initiatives taken by employees has increased, and the deficiencies observed increasingly lead to concrete improvements.
– We always have employees from the areas in question in our risk assessments. We have a system in place that makes it easy to record and monitor safety observations, says Jaakkoo-Taara’s Quality Engineer Irmeli Saarinen.
The certificate did not change everyday life, as the practices have been in place for a long time. Still, celebrating the achievement together with coffee and cake was a moment when the entire staff stopped to realize the significance of the achievement.
Attention paid also to the safety of partners
An important area of development was identified during the certification work. Several representatives of other companies work at Jaakkoo-Taara’s premises, such as cleaners, maintenance personnel and equipment service personnel. They had not reported any occupational accidents. However, when asked more closely, it became clear that accidents had occurred, but that they had not reached Jaakkoo-Taara.
– These were not serious incidents, as similar injuries could also happen to our own employees. Now external operators know how to report incidents to us, and we immediately made a concrete improvement: there are instructions on the stairs to always use the handrail, Saarinen emphasizes.
Training and joint development
In the future, we will focus more actively on occupational safety through joint workshops. Foremen, occupational safety representatives, shop stewards and work supervisors have participated in the workshops led by external trainers.
– The idea is that occupational safety belongs to all of us – not just occupational safety professionals. The workshops will continue in the future.
Certification proceeded smoothly based on previous systems
Since Jaakkoo-Taara already had systems in place that comply with the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards, the basis for 45001 certification was largely in place. The process started with a battery of questions that practically included the entire standard. Then we went through which of the requirements were already implemented and which were still needed.
– We did not reinvent the wheel, but utilized existing practices. We held a management review and requested a pre-audit, which was carried out via Teams. Six deviations were detected. About four months later, the actual audit gave us a clean bill of health.
Zero accidents as the goal
Jaakkoo-Taara is involved in the national Nollis forum, and the goal is clear: zero accidents at work.
– We are constantly moving in a better direction. More attention is paid to work ergonomics than before, and an occupational physiotherapist visits regularly to provide advice and monitor the ergonomics of work positions. This is how we hope to reduce absenteeism due to musculoskeletal disorders in particular.
What is ISO 45001?
ISO 45001 is an international standard that provides a framework for occupational health and safety management. It was published in 2018 and replaced the previous OHSAS 18001 standard. The standard emphasizes management commitment, employee involvement, and the shared responsibility of the entire organization for occupational health and safety.
Its aim is to help organizations identify and manage work-related risks, improve employee well-being, and reduce accidents and absence whilst ill. ISO 45001 is compatible with other ISO standards, such as 9001 and 14001, making it easier to coordinate management systems.