Developing occupational safety in an international group of companies

Algol Oy is a diversified group with six subsidiary companies. Algol Oy was founded in 1894. The family enterprise is active in eleven countries and imports and sells products to the health sector and industry. The Algol Group’s annual turnover is 165 MEUR and it employs 400 persons on average through its global network of partners.

Reliability and a capability to develop are key factors for Algol’s operations. In a company in which the belief in constant improvement plays an important part, also the operational models and tools that enable development are seen as important resources.

The systematic development of business within the modern market must be supported by systems that enable transition. Algol’s long tradition and strong value basis have made the development of occupational safety a part of everyday work.

The willingness to develop occupational safety is one of the most important elements, but without the right tools reaching the goals is usually inefficient and frustrating.

Already before 2015, Algol used systems that supported the development of occupational safety, but as the goals grew more comprehensive the possibilities offered by those systems proved to be insufficient.

A major part of the close call reports that influence occupational safety were recorded based on varying principles in a haphazard manner and into different tools and databases, which did not make it easy to look at the situation as a whole, or enable development. Various matters were indeed recorded into the then used data system, but it did not produce any kind of reports about the progression of development measures.

Easily made reports and the easy following of them are absolutely necessary in order to develop occupational safety, but the best possible way to develop occupational safety is prevention. In order to improve its operations, Algol chose Granite and its comprehensive selection of occupational safety services.

Algol’s goal was to take into use for the entire group a unified and open system by which everyone could take part in furthering occupational safety.

Openness and the possibility to learn from other people’s examples are among the most efficient tools for furthering company culture. Both the easy introduction and usability were key factors for choosing Granite, but also the easy modifiability of the services made Granite the right occupational safety solution for Algol.

In order for occupational safety to develop, the measures intended to develop it must be handled by people responsible for them. Granite’s features support also this goal.

In Algol’s service entirety, the occupational safety services created onto Granite’s platform are very widely represented. On the group level, the safety observations and close call reports, among others, are followed, but there are also various tailored safety level services and accident reports that are made directly to the insurance company. Also the risk management service, meant for assessing work risks and dangers, has been taken into use.

The measuring of the success of occupational safety is not necessarily the easiest calculation, but it is much easier to verify the change in the culture.

Granite’s reports open up a clear and understandable view into the company’s general situation. After taking Granite into use, the number of occupational accidents within Algol’s organization has reduced hand in hand with the increased number of reports.

The development of occupational safety is markedly influenced by the fact that the entire organization is made to take part in safety observations and reports. Granite’s features have significantly lowered the reporting threshold.

The more the employees make reports and the more they are processed have a direct connection to reducing accidents at work. By using Granite, the employees who make occupational safety reports learn to look at their own work and work surroundings from the viewpoint of occupational safety. This creates an excellent environment for developing a safety-oriented culture.

A participating occupational safety service effectively produces a general view of the situation within the organization. When a lot of reports are made within a certain area, then that is a clear signal of the need for more training. Targeting this training with the help of Granite is invaluable.

By using Granite’s reporting tools, it has been easy for Algol to open up a view into the past, and this has much helped to locate points of development and to assess development measures. It is also easy to monitor both investigation and processing times. Granite’s simple user rights management has made it possible to maintain an open system with which it has been possible to take full advantage of learning through examples.

The real time status view makes systematical development possible. A closer look at the Granite occupational safety reports brings into light the root reasons for the development challenges, so that they can be answered.

The automatic email reminders sent by the Granite services keep those responsible for occupational safety up to date about their areas of responsibility. This means that corrective measures are not only left for the employee to take care of, instead they are supported from beginning to end. In every organization, the situation with occupational safety varies from month to month, which is why a modern system that supports development is so important.

Granite’s safety services also encourage those that make reports to follow how the situation develops. The informant gets from Granite an automatic message when the responsible person or supervisor has started to process the report, or has processed it.

All in all, Algol’s cooperation with Granite has been straightforward and productive. With the help of Granite’s occupational safety services, unifying the group’s operational models has succeeded excellently and the development of a company culture for occupational safety advances continuously and according to Algol’s values.