During Safety Week, students from vocational schools have filled the Rudus Safety Park during the spring Safety Week for over ten years, and this year will be no different. The Safety Park and its educational institution days are a good example of how safety is promoted together in the construction industry. This year, Safety Week will be celebrated from 12 to 16 May.
Buses full of students from vocational schools arrive at the Rudus safety park at a steady pace. RT member companies and partners have built their own checkpoints on the safety park's training course and are also providing guidance at the checkpoints.
By going around the checkpoints, students gain information about important topics in construction safety. Eight park safety checkpoints were selected for the tour during the Spring Safety Week Student Day at vocational schools. The groups go through all the checkpoints, which takes a couple of hours.
This spring, over 500 students visited the park on two separate days. At least for the fresh interior design student, the day was useful.
"I only started studying at the Helsinki Painting Vocational School a couple of weeks ago, so everything here was new to me. The fact that my work environment is also safe is really important to me, that I can take care of myself but also my colleagues. I thought all the checkpoints were important and interesting, this was a good start to my studies," said the student who had just completed the safety tour. Antonina Prudnikova.
Below, company representatives tell us what topics were covered at the checkpoint, and what they hoped the students would remember from the visit to the safety checkpoint.
Skanska
“Safe working during the frame work phase, that’s what our checkpoint is all about in short. We talk about safe railings, fall protection, harnesses, scaffolding and access towers. The frame work phase is one of the most dangerous phases of construction, and it involves working with harnesses and anchors. It’s important to tell students about the topic, because frame work usually involves working at height, and the risk of falling and serious accidents is high. In the worst case, the result can be the death of the worker. We hope that the checkpoint will at least remind students of the importance of fall protection. And if there are any shortcomings in the protection of railings or vaults, the matter must always be fixed immediately.” This is what Skanska said at this year’s checkpoint Pasi Karvola, Mia Nieminen ja Jari Renlund.
Hartela
“Our checkpoint introduces construction site occupational safety management, especially local management, where the management’s own example of action is emphasized. We tell you about the very concrete things, how to act and especially to students about what the lack of a construction site level is and what the right way to act would be. Safety management always starts from top management and the company’s safety culture, but it flows down from there in a good way to the workplace. It is important for a person to understand this already during their studies, that is the essence of the matter, without management involvement and systematic management, safety simply cannot develop in a company. We hope that after visiting the checkpoint, students will remember at least how and why incorrect practices are addressed, and what respecting and caring for other employees means,” said Hartela at the checkpoint. Petri Kääriäinen, Sirpa Ek ja Janne Rehn.
GRK Oy
“The topic of the checkpoint is the safety of the bridge’s formwork and scaffolding. Safe formwork and scaffolding are the core of safety, and it’s good to tell future professionals in the field about them already during their studies. Things can be done in many ways, and that’s why you need to know the right way to do it, but it’s equally important to recognize when things have been done wrong. That’s why we have two signs here, for what’s wrong and what’s right. Site layout, openings, guardrails are typical items here. It’s good for students to remember when they leave this checkpoint that not only what’s being built, but also the equipment, such as formwork and scaffolding, must all be in good condition,” said Mikko Vihermaki At the GRK checkpoint.
PEAB
"Risk management on construction sites, how to manage sites so that risks are minimized, that's the core message of this test. It's good for young students to feel that they will be taken care of on construction sites when they arrive there, that they are truly cared for. And that if for some reason you don't feel that way, it's worth raising the matter with your supervisor. At the test, we will show the students a video clip about the conditions on construction sites, how risks are eliminated on construction sites. I hope that the message of this video clip will stay in the student's mind at least from this test," said PEAB's Toomas Huttorin.
Consti
“Fall protection, especially in vaults, and a couple of real-life accidents are told as a bit of a warning example. There are also the dangers of clogging drains, chemical safety and the use of protective equipment, for example epoxy causes a lot of occupational diseases. We emphasize that you yourself must be alert and aware of these things, that it is not worth making corrections for safety. On the middle floor we have scaffolding and work ergonomics. It is especially important to tell students that it is always worth thinking twice, that is, planning and weighing up before starting a work phase, especially if there is a faster solution in mind. Or is it more appropriate to ask the supervisor. And that an employee has the right to refuse work, which may involve risks. We hope that at least the fact remains in mind that in work tasks, corrections can often be the worst solution, especially for your own health.” This is what they said Venla Vehmaa and Juhana Leinonen Consti at the checkpoint.
Regional Administration Office
"What is included in the job description of an occupational safety inspector, what occupational safety supervision in construction involves, and what permits are related to construction, that is the content of this check for students in brief. It is good for students to know the authority that supervises construction and understand what role it plays in the overall picture of construction. If a student needs information, we will tell them where to get it and how. We hope that the student will at least remember from the visit that it is worth asking for help and information at a low threshold," they said. Manu Kivisaari ja Kari Härkönen With the AVI tick.
SRV
“The safety of lifting work as a whole is a big package, here it is condensed into ten minutes for the student. If something happens in lifting work, the damage can be truly fatal. Lifting work is a risky work phase, and SRV has created its own safety practices and tailored training to prevent accidents. We hope that at least the lesson will remind you that when moving around on a construction site, a person also remembers to look up and never walk under a lift,” they said. Tommi Pöysti, Reija Liuhanen ja Sami Tenhonen At SRV's safety checkpoint.
Fira
"Personal protective equipment used on construction sites, that's what our test was about. There are a lot of misconceptions about protective equipment, for example, some of the students who toured here thought they had cut-resistant gloves on their hands, even though they weren't. Glove issues are more important than often thought, because there are a lot of accidents to the fingers and hand area in construction. That's why you need to know how to ensure that your fingers are protected by cut-resistant gloves that are also the right ones for the job in question," said Firan at the test. Teemu Latva.
The Construction Industry Association (RT) has produced a teaching material package for teachers on Occupational Safety in the Construction Industry.