Thursday, October 9, 2025
“At Koskisen, we have strived to create a culture where people dare to make and report safety observations and boldly highlight safety-related shortcomings,” says Mari Sutinen, Safety and Environment Manager for the Panel Industry. According to Kovero, employees know the risks of their work best, which is why it is important to make observations in everyday life. This allows us to address safety deficiencies as early as possible before they become accidents.
“We monitor these observations closely,” says Logistics and Safety Manager Mikko Kivimäki. “We check daily whether there are new entries and how many observations have been made. We also monitor how the measures in near-miss incidents or accidents are progressing.” Mikko added further.
Kivimäki states that regular monitoring of safety incident entries ensures the progress of these development measures. “A good thing doesn’t freeze when we move from observations to concrete measures.”
Aki Maaranen, who works as a production manager at Thin Plywood industry in Hirvensalmi, is responsible for both production and maintenance and acts as the Occupational Safety Manager. According to Maaranen, regular monitoring and joint processing of observations help to make safety a part of everyday life.
“I make observations myself every time I visit the factory,” says Maaranen. “I check that protective equipment is available to both personnel and visitors. I must be an example myself, by using the required protective equipment. We are a bit under a magnifying glass here.” Maaranen concluded.
Attitude is key – even in safety matters
A large part of our time is spent at the workplace, and occupational safety is a significant part of employees’ well-being and enjoyment. According to Kivimäki, taking care of safety also shows that employees and visitors are cared about.
“It is important that everyone can come to work with a sense of security and also get home safe. We don’t need anyone to worry about their safety or that of a colleague,” Aki Maaranen continues.
The employer’s obligations and responsibilities cannot be forgotten either.
“When people come to our site, they are our responsibility, and the responsibility is not to be taken lightly. If even a small accident happens here, the effects can be great for the person for the rest of their life,” says Mari Sutinen.
Many safety observations at Koskisen are related to clearing up jams. Instructions are given on how to act in the event of a disruption and the machines are tried to be as efficient as possible, but ultimately everything depends on the attitude with which the situation is handled.
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Tags: Koskisen, koskisen panel, koskisen panel industry, Koskisen plywood, koskisen plywood industry, plywood, Wood Processing, woodworking industry
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