Nokian reports workplace safety set-back

Nokia, Finland - Nokian Tyres has noted a set-back to its workplace safety record last year with a significant rise in 'accidents leading to employee absences', the group’s Corporate  Sustainability Report 2021 shows.

The lost-time incident frequency (LTIF) increased to 4.1 incidents per 1,000,000 hours worked in 2021 from 3.7 in 2020, according to the report compiled before the crisis in Ukraine arose.

The report, issued 14 March by the Finnish tire maker, shows that compared to 2020, the LTIF trebled to 3.0 at Nokian’s Russian plant and more than doubled, from 1.7 to 3.5 at its US plant.

By contrast, at Nokian’s tire production operations in Finland, the equivalent accident frequency figure fell from 3.4 last year to 3.1 in 2021.

The latest safety-incident data reverses a positive trend at Nokian over the last three years in which the company reduced its LTIF figures by around 50% from 8.3 in 2018.

Describing the issue as a “challenge”, president & CEO Jukka Moisio said: “Safety is our top priority, and the vigorous work to reduce the number of workplace injuries leading to absence continues.”

Nokian’s report did not provide further details about safety incidents or an explanation for the increased frequency of accidents last year.

Nokian diid note that its "diverse safety cultures" meant that ownership of safety varied according to operating countries.

Safety policy at Nokian's factory locations in Finland and Russia is managed by the local HR teams. In the US, it is led by an EHS team with the support of HR.

The company has, therefore, invested in communicating safety ‘thinking’ globally and has trained managers to train their own teams in safe working practices.

Nokian is also encouraging employees to make safety observations and carry out safety actions with the goal of three safety actions per employee on average.

This approach, it said, resulted in over 17,600 safety actions in 2020, amounting to 3.5 actions per employee.