World's largest workplace safety initiative - Skanska Safety Week - to start on Monday, September 13

World's largest workplace safety initiative - Skanska Safety Week - to
start on Monday, September 13

Monday, September 13 marks the start of Skanska Safety Week 2010. This
is the sixth consecutive year for the world's largest workplace safety
initiative, organized by a company. At more than 10,000 worksites
worldwide, Skanska's 49,000 employees and thousands of customers,
subcontractors, suppliers and business partners will be involved in
activities focused on safety.

Skanska Safety Week will extend from September 13 to 19. The objective
is to increase the focus on safety at worksites in order to prevent
accidents and realize Skanska's vision of zero worksite injuries among
employees, subcontractors and the general public.
“It is completely unacceptable that people in our industry risk their
lives in performing their daily work. Working safely is everyone's
right. Safety is Skanska's highest priority, and Skanska Safety Week is
therefore an important initiative to show that accidents can and must be
avoided,” says Johan Karlström, President and CEO of Skanska.
The construction industry has traditionally been one of the most
dangerous sectors in which to work. Some 40 percent of all fatal
accidents in workplaces occur in this industry. However, experience from
Skanska's Safety Week, shows that the number of accidents can be greatly
reduced. During Safety Week 2009, the percentage of accidents that
resulted in absence from work in the entire Skanska Group was more than
50 percent lower than during an average week, when about 20 accidents
were reported. Restated for a full year, this would correspond to
approximately 650 fewer accidents among Skanska employees and
subcontractors worldwide.
Activities to be conducted during the week include hundreds of safety
visits to worksites by senior Skanska managers, including extensive
training programs for employees, subcontractors and business partners
relating to safety, such as work planning to avoid risks, work at great
heights and fire training, as well as many other activities at Skanska's
construction projects and offices worldwide. There will also be
activities focusing on health, such as training in first aid and blood
testing. Further information about the activities will be available as
of Monday at
www.skanska.com/safetyweek (http://www.skanska.com/safetyweek).
“Safety is one of the core values at Skanska and our very highest
priority, every day, for all people and in all of the places where we
work. It is therefore of the utmost importance that everyone -
employees, subcontractors and business partners alike - participates in
planning to prevent accidents. This is the only way to achieve our
long-term goal of zero accidents. We still have some way to go, but I am
convinced that we will succeed,” says Johan Karlström.
Since Skanska started its Safety Week in 2005, the lost-time accidents
among employees has declined by more than 50 percent. The company is
taking extensive measures to further reduce the number of accidents.
Stringent rules for personal safety equipment at worksites have been
introduced, and extensive training programs have been conducted.
Analyses of safety risks are now mandatory in all construction projects.
Skanska has also taken the initiative to increase the focus on accidents
that could have been serious but in which no one was injured.
Safety efforts are measured and carefully followed up, and results
regularly are compared between Skanska business units to spread
knowledge and lessons learned between the units. The accident frequency
also affects the variable salary of many Skanska managers. As of 2009, a
Global Safety Stand Down was introduced during which all work is stopped
on a special occasion in conjunction with a tragic fatal accident
occurring at one of Skanska's worksites. The focus is on encouraging all
employees, subcontractors and business partners to learn from the
tragedies that have occurred and how they could have been prevented.
For further information, contact:
Noel Morrin, SVP Sustainability and Green Construction, Skanska AB,
tel +46 (0) 10 448 88 98
Peter Gimbe, Press Officer, Skanska AB, tel +46 (0)10-448 88 38
Direct line for media: +46 (0)10-448 88 99
This and previous releases can also be found at
www.skanska.com (http://www.skanska.com)
Skanska AB may be required to disclose the information provided herein
pursuant to the Securities Markets Act.
Skanska is one of the world's leading project development and
construction groups with expertise in construction, development of
commercial and residential projects and public-private partnerships.
Based on the company's global environmental expertise, Skanska aims to
be the customer's first choice for green projects. The Group currently
has 49,000 employees in selected home markets in Europe, the U.S. and
Latin America. Skanska's sales in 2009 totaled SEK 137 billion.