The port environment is a demanding workplace, and traffic differs in many ways from what we encounter in everyday settings. During Safety Week, we want to highlight the importance of situational awareness and staying focused on traffic movements.

Pay particular attention to intersections between railway tracks and traffic lanes. Ports contain areas where visibility is limited, and the risk of collision is real unless traffic is carefully monitored.

Remember that you are not alone in the port. Several different operators are moving around the area simultaneously, and those other road users are often large and heavy.

Also keep the significance of blind spots in mind. Vehicles, especially heavy equipment, have areas around them that the operator cannot see directly or through mirrors. Entering these blind spots can create a serious safety hazard.

An old piece of advice is especially relevant in a port: the wise person gives way.

It is never worth challenging a train, a straddle carrier, or a truck and trailer combination. In any encounter, the lighter party will always come off second best.

Stop, look, listen, and stay focused. Safety is created through the choices each of us makes. Our industry’s accident frequency has developed in a positive direction, and the next step is to make proactive safety work part of everyone’s daily routine. Every safety observation is a step toward a safer working environment. When you identify a risk and bring it to attention, you protect yourself, your colleagues, and the entire workplace community. That is what caring is all about.

This year, Port Occupational Safety Week will take place from 5–9 October 2026. The week’s theme, “Will You Notice It Before It Happens?”, concerns all of us who work and move within the port area.

The main organiser of the theme week is The Finnish Port Operators Association with partners The Finnish Port Association and The Transport Workers’ Union AKT and Trade Union PRO.