Committing to safety is key to world-class customer service

Pasi Svinhufvud, Services’ HSE Director, describes safety as a huge umbrella that protects every Valmeteer by providing a healthy workplace whether it is in the office, workshop, production unit or at a customer site.

“However, safety is also an important part of the customer experience Valmet offers and even something that distinguishes from competition,” Svinhufvud says.

“Safety actually runs through our entire value chain and becomes visible to our customers in many ways – we build safety into our spare parts, consumables and fabrics, we take safety into account in sales negotiations and agreements, we plan and schedule projects with safety in mind, and last but not least, we definitely make decisions about safety when providing maintenance or shutdown services to our customers”, he continues.

Focus on hand safety, working at height and mechanical lifting

Valmet’s aim is zero harm to people and environment. It is achieved by investing in a positive safety culture, collaborating with customers and partners, and constantly improving processes and practices. In 2022, special focus will be put on hand safety, working at height and mechanical lifting.

“When talking about safety, mediocrity is not an option and being good is not enough. To achieve our goal of zero harm, we need constant education and communication on safety issues. Repetition is the key”, Svinhufvud says.

“I’m sure we all know and understand the safety standards and are able to follow them. But it is extremely important to reflect the standards to each task we are about to perform – and always remember not to hurry. When it comes to safety at work, there is always enough time to “Think about!”. When doing high risk work or work for the first time, it’s important to ensure that there is a risk assessment in place”, Svinhufvud reminds.

“Besides, when we prioritize safety in our work, we simultaneously add quality into our products and services. Professionally designed and manufactured spare parts and carefully executed maintenance jobs result in trouble-free and safe operations of customer machines and production lines – a central part of world-class customer experience”, he concludes.