Article
We make the world safer: Safety must start with us
Kaisa Pulakka, Global Safety Manager, has a crucial job: creating safety-related operating guidelines, models and policies for Nokian Tyres in order to lead and develop safety. She works with local safety managers sharing learnings, best practices, and policies to improve safety within the company. What’s most important to her at work?
“Safety is at the core of Nokian Tyres’ purpose, and my work centers around the safety of our own employees. The goal is to keep each other safe so that we can all get home healthy at the end of the workday. It is a simple but very important target.
“Of late, lots of effort has gone to ramping up safety measures at the new Romania factory, and on developing Vianor's safety. We are a responsible company, so our priority must be to ensure a safe working environment for our own employees. Safety must start with us. Of course, no one can do this alone, so we need each other and the whole team to be responsible for safety together.”
The core of what we do
“Safety, innovation, and sustainability have long been at the core of what we do. It’s clear that the safety of our employees is a priority for us, but we also think beyond it. We invest heavily in consumer safety with high-quality products and support. Environmental and sustainability issues are also a priority.
“Traditionally, safety work has focused a lot on mechanical issues, safety devices and protective equipment, which are concrete things. Now that they are familiar, we need to develop safety further. For example, we can focus more on safety management and safety ownership.”
Development never stops
“New issues are constantly emerging in safety work, so development must be active. One crucial safety topic is psychological safety: a good example of how the concept of safety has expanded beyond just the physical. New perspectives aren’t replacing traditional safety measures and protective equipment, but through them, safety will become even more comprehensive.
“Additionally, the thinking related to safety ownership is evolving. We are all jointly responsible, and we all have ownership. That way, everyone stays more committed to safety actions. To develop safety together, we must be open to new ideas and dare to do safety work in new ways.”
