Rooting out risk: the strategy of health and safety

The role of Health & Safety Project Leader is a new one for Södra, and reflects that Health & Safety is one of the Group’s five strategic areas.

“We have identified 18 tactics which can contribute to our target of bringing lost-time injuries (those which result in absence from work) to zero and now need to prioritize,” says Liljesson. “Between now and the end of the year we will formulate our plan to implement these tactics over the next 10 years to ensure we have an exemplary safety record.”

Any business like Södra’s, which involves large-scale processes, presents risk which has to be managed and minimized. These processes are not inherently safe, therefore they have to be made safe. And the sites can change from day to day, with contractors introducing equipment and activities which can alter the risk landscape. Södra always works closely with contractors, particularly during maintenance shutdowns, when hundreds of external staff and their equipment can descend on a plant in a short space of time.

“The key is to be coordinated, to work closely with employees and make sure they are on board. They need to be alert to anything they perceive as sub-optimal from a health and safety perspective and take appropriate action and inform us,” says Liljesson. “There are known risks, but we have to seek out the unknown ones and always imagine the worst that could happen,” she adds.

“The bottom line is that we want everyone to get home safely: their mental and physical health in the workplace is our absolute priority.”