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KONE 2016 | SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
SAFETY
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KONE employs over 52,000 people and works
with thousands of subcontractors globally. Our
20,000 service technicians around the world
take pride in maintaining the safety of elevators,
escalators and automatic building door
equipment 24/7. The safety of the millions of
people who use them is our first priority.
It is our strong belief that all accidents are
preventable, and we want everyone to return
home safe at the end of each day.
A proactive approach
At KONE, safety is embedded in everything
we do. We are committed to developing a
culture where people actively promote safe
practices and colleagues look after each other.
We improve our processes and promote a
safety mind-set among our own employees,
our partners, and the general public. By shifting
from a reactive to proactive safety approach, we
have successfully reduced workplace and end
user injuries.
Safety is an integral part of our strategy. We
have policies, processes, and tools in place to
enable all our business activities to be organized
and conducted in a structured and globally
harmonized way. In 2016, KONE developed
a safety tool for collecting and analyzing
workplace and end user incidents and near
misses. The tool will be rolled out globally
during 2017.
All this supports our ultimate goal of zero
accidents – for all our employees, partners, and
the people using our equipment. Read more
about workplace safety on page 36.
Working closely with customers and the
general public
Safety is a joint effort that involves everyone, from
technology and maintenance service providers
to building owners and equipment users. We
actively communicate about safety with our
customers and with the users of our equipment.
We organize activities in different parts of the
world and provide educational material to
our customers and the general public to help
equipment users stay safe. Our safety mascots,
Bob and Max, help teach children about the safe
use of equipment through events, leaflets, and an
animated video and computer game.
SAFETY IS IN OUR CULTURE
We work closely with our customers to help
them recognize and deal with situations that
could lead to safety risks. Building owners and
maintenance service providers are responsible
for making sure equipment is professionally
maintained and kept in good condition. Building
owners should, for example, inform service
providers if they identify any recognizable
hazards, such as abnormal noises or debris on
the equipment.
Everyone who uses an elevator or escalator
needs to be conscious of their own behavior, for
example, by making sure to hold children by
the hand when riding escalators, refraining from
blocking closing elevator doors, and stepping
away from the doors when they are opening or
closing.
An active contributor in standard
development
The safety requirements of elevators, escalators,
and automatic building doors are largely
determined by national and international
safety codes and standards. KONE is a strong
contributor to the development of codes
and standards that aim to further improve
equipment safety. We also promote safety
through our involvement in industry trade
associations. Our experts have, for example,
been involved in the planning and development
of the extensively revised main European safety
standards for elevators, EN 81-20 and EN 81-50,
introduced in 2014; and the new European Lifts
Directive 2014/33/EU, enforced from April 20,
2016.
The aging of urban infrastructure systems in
cities around the world is a major concern for
our industry. Several countries in Europe have
adopted strict standards for improving safety
through modernization. Elevator modernization
enhances safety, for example, by improving
leveling accuracy, adding electronic sensors to
doors, and providing a voice link to the service
center. We work with customers to find the
modernization solutions that best meet the
requirements of their buildings.
As a technology provider, KONE manufactures
equipment that meets applicable codes and
standards, and often includes additional safety
features that exceed the minimum requirements.
Read more
about KONE’s workplace safety on p. 36.