COURAGE

Annual maintenance at the Harjavalta plant was originally planned for the spring 2020. As a result of Covid-19, the activities were moved to the fall, and planning was revised with the aim of minimizing the risk of contagion.

Maintenance at Harjavalta was postponed until fall due to Covid-19. Later, August proved to be the ideal time for a shutdown, as the spread of infection in Finland was very low at that time. Precautionary measures to prevent the spread of infection were planned in close collaboration with occupational healthcare experts from Boliden and other companies in the industrial area. The guidelines of the Finnish government and the health authorities were strictly adhered to. The measures included arrangements to limit the number of people in different types

of premises. Crowds and close contacts were avoided, e.g. by staggering working hours and organizing digital safety training instead of classroom training. The on-site work permit policy was also changed so that no physical meetings took place. Canteens and other social spaces were given specific instructions as they

were considered critical areas for the possible spread of the virus.

In addition to intensified cleaning, everyone was urged to adopt preventive measures such as social distancing, good hand hygiene and staying at home if displaying common-cold symptoms. People arriving from abroad were also tested for Covid-19. Although the maintenance shutdown was extended and the Covid-19 situation required managing, the Harjavalta shutdown was carried out successfully, safely and without any spread of infection. This was all due to good collaboration and flexible methods.