Leva, Kirsi

TUKES – Safety Technology Authority in Finland

SEVESO II in Finland -  the basic situation in companies and future challenges in safety management

Summary

The aim of this study is to find out what kind of impact the SEVESO II Directive has had in Finland, and what kind of effect it has had on companies’ general safety level, procedures, awareness of risks, attitudes towards safety and accidents as well as near-misses. Data has been collected both from target companies and from authorities as their opinions may differ in this respect. The study began in 1999 and will be completed by the end of 2001.

First and foremost, both the companies and the authorities think that the new focus of the Directive on safety management issues is having a positive effect on companies’ general safety level. On the other hand, the results of the first inspections show that systematic safety management is still in its infancy. Companies need to improve their analysis of processes and activities to prevent nonconformities and to ensure high production safety in the long run. Ensuring high production quality and safety-correcting actions is not enough, however. The authorities’ inspections have been viewed positively and future challenges companies mentioned placing more emphasis on the personnel’s qualifications and abilities in hazardous situations, information about handling hazardous chemicals, and the control of changes. To sum up, law reforms are regarded positively and pose a definite challenge for the further improvement of safety procedures.

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