FEATURE
A NEW LEAF
Sometimes it’s a good idea to buck the trend. UPM Tilhill explains how it defied expectations to turn its health and safety record around.
It may be surprising to learn that the forestry sector has the highest accident rate per employee out of any industry – including construction.
In 2010/11 there were 15.2 fatalities per 100,000 forestry workers compared to 2.5 in the construction industry. Some of this disparity can be attributed to the fact that at times forestry work has to be carried out in difficult conditions, such as on steep slopes and in all weathers.
Due to the nature of the work, there are also health issues to consider, such as diseases caused by contact with ticks and rats, injuries caused by toxic plants as well as less visible injuries like those to hands and arms due to machinery vibration.
UPM Tilhill, the forestry management and timber harvesting company, has always been safety conscious. However, there was a ‘near miss’ in 2001, followed by an HSE investigation, which triggered investment in health and safety to create a good safety culture throughout the company.
Many building blocks were put in place as a result. The company became accredited to OHSAS 18001, a monthly
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safety bulletin was launched and health and safety became the first item on Board and all other company meeting agendas.
In 2005, the first annual UPM Tilhill Health & Safety Report was published and a full-time, in-house safety advisor was appointed. Then, in 2009, a most significant stepping stone was taken when the company launched its Insist on Safety campaign encompassing all staff and contractors.
UPM Tilhill was awarded its first trophy for health and safety in 2006 – a Highly Commended RoSPA award in the Forestry Sector. This was an important milestone and encouraged the company to invest even more resources.
The following year saw the appointment of Chris Pike, an occupational health and safety graduate who had been working in the manufacturing industry for 11 years. This appointment marked the start of the journey to improve safety even further for UPM Tilhill.
Chris commented: “UPM Tilhill decided they wanted a safety professional who could bring in expertise from other industries. Forestry interested me because I
really like the outdoors and I was actually attracted by the need to improve the safety record – viewing it as a real challenge.”
One of the first things Chris did when he joined was to look at the statistics and he spotted the separation of employee and contractor stats. He took the view that whether staff were directly employed or contractors, they were all working for UPM Tilhill and he recommended that the figures should be combined.
Chris explained: “One of the most important issues for us was to try to improve the reporting of near misses as well as actual accidents at UPM Tilhill managed sites. In addition, we wanted to encourage other companies to improve reporting so we could see whether the industry as a whole was improving.”
However, just three months after Chris joined a chainsaw operator was killed. The investigation revealed that although the chainsaw operator was experienced, his cutting technique was poor.
Research into similar accidents revealed that they usually involved either recently qualified staff or those
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