Safe cooperation at timber loading sites

Several operators work at timber loading sites at the same time. They are not necessarily familiar with the content of each other’s work and do not have the capacity to take into account the impacts of their own work on the activities of other parties or overall safety. There is no jointly agreed communication mechanism between the operators or a method for notifying of shunting in progress.
At a site with several operators but no jointly agreed cooperation procedures or communication methods, employees are more prone to make decisions that are not necessarily safe from the perspective of other operators.
The role of the party responsible for coordinating the operations is highlighted at timber loading sites. There is currently no actor at these sites that would coordinate different functions and be responsible for overall safety. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, which owns the sites, is currently responsible for the maintenance of the sites and overall guidance.

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency should, in its capacity as the owner of the timber loading sites, assume responsibility for developing the overall safety of the sites, especially the coordination of operators’ work practices and definition of communication practices.

It is important to ensure the coordination of operators’ work practices and uniform communication and warning practices at timber loading sites.

According to the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, working conditions and cooperation in timber loading areas have developed considerably over the past ten years. During 2025, it carried out numerous inspections of timber loading terminals and updated risk assessments related to them. FTIA has also published the updated guideline User and safety guidelines for timber loading sites in the state-owned railway network. The guideline entered into force on 1 March 2026. The purpose of the update was to enhance the safety of loading sites. In 2025, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency published an updated guideline The planning of timber loading sites in the railway network (VO 7/2025). It entered into force on 1 March 2025. The guideline was revised to include a more comprehensive introduction of the key issues to be taken into account in the planning of timber loading sites. The guideline specified, for example, the instructions for the placement of the loading site, recommended track models and the dimensioning of the loading area as well as the sections concerning the overpasses at the loading sites. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency published an online training package Safety of timber loading sites that is open to everyone. It raises the operators’ awareness of mutual hazards and risks and the means for managing them. By the end of 2025, 2,213 people had completed the training. In 2026, the course was updated to correspond to the guideline Use and safety guidelines for timber loading sites in the state-owned railway network. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency notes that loading sites are workplaces posing mutual hazards as referred to in section 54 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, where each operator is responsible for informing the other parties involved, eliminating risk factors and hazards, and coordinating operations. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency has land lease and concession contracts with operators using timber loading areas, agreeing upon, for example, the division of responsibilities.