UPM announced this week that it has significantly reduced work-related accidents with a three year program called "Step Change in Safety 2012-2014". UPM's lost time accident frequency (LTAF) has decreased by 70% from 15.2 in 2012 to 4.4 in 2014.

The Step Change in Safety 2012-2014 initiative engaged all UPM employees in a joint mission to improve the company's safety culture and safety performance. The pervasive program renewed the foundations of safety work by shifting focus to preventative measures, such as proactive risk identification and management. Strong management commitment and active participation of employees and contractors have been the keys to success.

As a result, UPM's global LTAF decreased by a total of 70% from 15.2 in the beginning of 2012 to 4.4 by the end of 2014. The total number of lost time accidents globally decreased from over 550 in 2011 to 155 in 2014.

"We have achieved excellent results and they clearly show that a new safety culture has been adopted throughout the company. All UPMers have contributed to the result and we can all be proud of the achievement," says Jussi Pesonen, CEO of UPM.

One cornerstone for safety work are UPM safety standards, which were put in place during the Step Change in Safety initiative. The standards define the minimum requirements for safety performance and operations, and they are common to all UPM units around the world. For the next three years, the focus will be in perfecting the local implementation practices.