Vaisala Corporate Responsibility Report 2011

Safety at Work
Vaisala is responsible for the health and safety of
its staff. We believe that accidents are avoidable
if necessary precautions have been made. Vaisala
has trained health and safety supervisors in all its
production and service facilities, and we strictly
follow local regulations on health and safety issues.
Furthermore, all supervisors are trained in Health
& Safety legislation and responsibilities. In 2010
and 2011, we carried out a major training initiative
throughout all our North American offices.
Regular health & safety training is provided for
all employees that require it in their work. Both
employees and managers are required to pay close
attention to identifying potential hazards in the
workplace.
Injury and accident statistics are prudently
monitored and work at Vaisala is generally low-risk
work. Activities that have a higher level of risk
include work near live traffic, work on construction
sites, railways or airports, working at height, working
at night or in poor visibility, and working with
ladders, drills, saws, solders and other tools. Risk
assessments have been carried out for all working
environments at Vaisala and we provide training for
employees that need to carry out work that involves
a higher rate of risk.
Injuries recorded in 2011 totaled 36 (30 in Finland,
6 in the U.S.). We define workplace injury as an
incident after which an employee needs medical
attention, whether or not it will result in sick leave.
Most work related injuries sustained in the Vantaa
office are strains, small wounds, bumps and bruises.
About half of the injuries are recorded on trips either
to or from work and are caused mostly by slips due
to icy pathways in the winter. There were no work
related fatalities in 2011.
Vaisala recognizes the importance of preventive
work for both accidents and illnesses. Therefore,
the company promotes healthy and active lifestyles
by subsidizing sports and exercise expenses for a
multitude of Vaisala sports clubs and events, offering
onsite fitness facilities and encouraging people to
cycle to work.
Vaisala discourages smoking and organizes events
that raise awareness about healthy lifestyle. In 2011,
Vaisala Head office arranged two blood donation
campaigns together with the Finnish Red Cross Blood
Service. Dozens of employees volunteered to donate
blood to the Blood Service.
Health and Safety Committee
at the Head Office
A health and safety committee convenes every
quarter at the Head Office. This committee is
formed by nine representatives including five
workers, three clerical staff representatives and
one employer representative. The committee’s
Absentee rates throughout
Vaisala Group 2011
Office/Region
Head Office 2.20%
UK 1.60%
France 0.40%
Germany 1.80%
Australia 0.80%
China 1.00%
Japan 1.00%
Occupational Safety and Health Awareness Training Becomes
Embedded into all North American Offices
More than 2,400 Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) training hours were delivered in 2011 through a
combination of onsite classroom as well as remote e-learning training sessions. The majority of these training
hours occurred within a formal e-learning effort that saw a total of 112 employees working in manufacturing,
service depots and field services in North America successfully complete federally approved 10-hour and
30-hour safety related training courses. In addition, another e-learning effort involved Workplace Hazardous
Materials Information System (WHMIS) training for field service personnel working in Canada. Classroom
instruction included fall protection training for some field service personnel, lockout/tagout training for
some engineering related personnel, as well as distracted driving awareness training for all onsite personnel.
Comprehensive internal OSH audits were once again executed at all eight North American sites by our risk
management organization.
48 Vaisala Oyj Corporate Responsibility Report 2011