Safety

Everyday safety and resiliense

The core of our safety work is Community-Centered Safety Thinking. It is an approach that emphasizes the role of the community in promoting and maintaining safety. In this thinking, safety is seen as a shared responsibility of the community, where every member actively participates in improving safety. It is being developed as part of well-being, and it has a strong connection to competence development, work and study well-being, DEIA efforts, and strengthening a sustainable higher education culture.

Read more about community-based safety thinking at the bottom of the page.

Did you notice something? Report a Safety Issue!

Immediately report a safety issue when, for example

if you notice a safety deficiency in a study or work situation
if you experience a near-miss or threatening situation
if you experience harassment or inappropriate behaviour

Report Safety issue here

The form is secured and also allows anonymous reporting.

Notifications and suggestions are received by a HAMK safety expert, who handles them confidentially together with the relevant actors, such as campus safety teams, property services or student wellbeing services, as soon as possible.

Any matters related to property or maintenance must be reported to KipiNet Service (link).

Safer Space Principles

At HAMK, we are committed to following the principles of a safer space in all our activities. These principles are designed to help ensure that every event is a positive and rewarding experience for all participants.

We acknowledge that a space or event cannot always be entirely safe for everyone, and we encourage all members of our community and guests to actively contribute to an atmosphere that promotes safety and well-being. Let’s take care of one another.

Our core principles include:

We respect each individual’s personal physical and psychological boundaries and do not cross them without consent.
We avoid assumptions and generalisations, and we honour each person’s individuality and identity.
We engage in constructive dialogue and ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate. We respect each other’s opinions, experiences, and perspectives. We remain open to new ideas and ask questions with a willingness to learn.
We listen to feedback and adjust our behaviour if someone expresses discomfort caused by our actions.
We take responsibility for our own actions and apologise if we unintentionally or intentionally cause harm.
We always address any observed or experienced harassment, inappropriate behaviour, or threats to safety immediately and offer support in resolving the situation.

If you experience or witness harassment or other inappropriate behaviour during an event that continues despite expressing discomfort, you can contact one of the following:

For students:

Your degree programme manager
HAMKO’s harassment contact persons
Student wellbeing services (study psychologist or student welfare officer)
HAMK Safety Officer

For staff:

Your line manager
Occupational safety representatives
HAMK Safety Officer

You may also report your experiences or observations confidentially via the Safety Report (link).

HAMK University rules

The HAMK University Rules guide behaviour, use of facilities, and safety practices across both campus and digital environments.

Get to know the University Rules

Emergency and safety plans for campuses

The campus emergency and safety plans provide instructions for various emergency and exceptional situations. Familiarize yourself carefully and regularly with your campus’s emergency plan.

Safety instructions

Emergency number 112

If you become aware of an incident that threatens life, health, property or the environment, call the public emergency number 112.

Call the emergency number in urgent emergencies when emergency services such as the emergency services, rescue services, police, paramedics or social services are needed. The emergency number is answered by “Hätäkeskus – Nödcentralen”.

During an emergency call, it is important to listen and answer the dispatcher’s questions as carefully as possible.

When should I call emergency number 112?

when you face an emergency or need urgent assistance from the authorities
when you know or have reason to believe that your life, health, property or the environment is threatened or endangered

Don’t call emergency number

for the sole purposes of making enquiries or surveys
in emergency situations where no one is at risk: power cuts
in non-urgent situations

If you are in doubt about the urgency of the situation, call 112. Call yourself if you can. A call from an intermediary can, in the worst case, delay help arriving.

After alerting assistance, report your sighting to a member of HAMK or HAMI staff or your supervisor.

After alerting assistance, report your sighting to a member of HAMK or HAMI staff or your supervisor.

First aid

Make a quick assessment of the situation – find out what has happened:

Is the person awake? If awake, ask what happened. If necessary, call 112 for help. If the person is not awake, call 112 and follow the instructions given by the emergency services.
Is the person you are helping breathing? If breathing, turn to the side. If the person is not breathing, call 112 (or call for help) and start CPR as instructed by the emergency services.

Fire

Save

Save yourself and others in danger. Warn others.
Be careful not to breathe smoke.
Direct those in the building to the nearest exit.
Do not use the lift.
Move to the assembly area and wait for further instructions.
In the event of a fire or gas hazard, close doors and windows behind you.

Notify

Take the nearest fire extinguisher and start the extinguishing work immediately, but do not risk your own life.
Do not use water on live electrical objects or liquid fires.
Start in front of the flames, work your way back. Apply the agent from the bottom up, in a back and forth motion to the root of the flames.
When the flames disappear, stop extinguishing.

Put the fire out

Take the nearest fire extinguisher and start the extinguishing work immediately, but do not risk your own life.
Do not use water on live electrical objects or liquid fires.
Start in front of the flames, work your way back. Apply the agent from the bottom up, in a back and forth motion to the root of the flames.
When the flames disappear, stop extinguishing.

Limit the spread of fire by closing doors and windows
Remove nearby flammable objects and flammable substances.

Prevent

Limit the spread of fire by closing doors and windows
Remove nearby flammable objects and flammable substances.

Guide

Guide the fire fighters to the scene of the fire.

Leave the building

Report the threat immediately, either to a member of staff or your supervisor, or directly to 112 if necessary.
Follow exit or shelter-in-place instructions.
When moving around in different parts of the building, already look where your nearest exit route is and where you can find an emergency exit.
When you leave, take the necessary clothing with you.

If it is not possible to leave the building:

Call the emergency number and tell them who you are, where you are and what has happened.
Get to a sheltered area.
Close the doors and windows.
Block the door frames, e.g. with clothes, to prevent smoke from getting in.

Bullying and harrasment

At HAMK, there is zero tolerance for all harassment, bullying, and other inappropriate behavior.

In cases of bullying or harassment, students should contact their head of degree programme, HAMKO anti-harassment contact persons, or wellfare officer Leena-Maija Storbjörk.

Don’t face it alone—reach out with confidence!

Community-Centered Safety Thinking

The key principles of the Community-Centered Safety Thinking are:

Everybody’s Business

Shared Responsibility: Everyone has the duty and right to contribute to the safety of our community.
Active Participation: Encourage all members to actively engage in safety initiatives and practices.
Empowerment: Provide individuals with the knowledge and tools they need to contribute to a safe environment.

Community and Inclusion

Well-being and Togetherness: Safety work supports the well-being of the community and promotes a sense of togetherness.
Inclusive Safety Efforts: Every member of the community has the right and duty to promote safety.
Skill Development: Community safety skills are developed through activities like safety walks and drills.

Proactive Action

Risk Identification and Mitigation: The goal of safety work is to identify, prevent, and mitigate safety risks to the community and its members.
Risk Management: Proactive safety includes risk management and understanding the operational environment.
Crisis Preparedness: Preparedness for various disruptions and crisis situations is emphasized.

Safety Culture

Everyday Safety: Building a strong safety culture where safety is part of everyday life.
Continuous Improvement: Continuous learning and improvement are integral to the safety culture.
Metrics and Reporting: Safety culture metrics include incident and observation reports, as well as safety walks.

Training and Competence Development

Ongoing Training: Strengthening the safety competence of the staff and students through continuous training and practicing.
Comprehensive Skills: Staffs’ safety competence includes general and task-specific orientation, risk management, information and cyber security, as well as first aid, basic fire extinguishing, and evacuation skills.
Role-Specific Training: The competence of supervisors and campus safety groups is developed through role-specific training.

Resilience

Recovery Ability: The community’s ability to recover from disruptions and crises is a key part of safety thinking.
Strengthening Measures: Resilience is strengthened through protective and proactive measures.
Comprehensive Capabilities: Safety capabilities include professional skills, risk management competence, safety competence, collaboration skills, and resilience.

Safety work at HAMK is constructed and implemented with three focus areas: Participatory, Predictive, and Protective safety. These focuses are used as perspectives to solve safety and security issues, making them more sustainable, adaptable, and flexible for both the systems and the people of the community. The core of the safety work lies in occupational risk management, and the main outcome is a genuine sense of safety.

Community-Centered Safety Framework at HAMK

Another key aspect of our safety work is concentrating on enforcing safety competencies. The previous model with three core focus areas acts as a sort of engine that is then used to create competencies that strengthen everyday safety, risk management, emergency capabilities, and the resilience of individual staff members and the whole community. This also provides a basis for a strong safety culture and a positive safety attitude, ensuring a safe environment for our students, cooperative partners, and guests.

Safety Competences Across the Safety Spectrum

Contact us

Each of our campuses has its own security team. HAMK’s security work is planned and developed by the Group Security and Preparedness Group, which consists of the chairs of the campus security groups.