Region West put HSE at the top – named HSE Role Model of the Year

When Regional Manager Henrik Eikanger and the leadership teams in Region West recently took to the stage at Håndverksgruppen’s leadership conference, Craft, in Oslo to receive the award “HSE Role Model of the Year,” it was a clear recognition of long-term work that has delivered strong results.

Region West in Norway consists of 13 companies and has worked in a focused and systematic way on health, safety and environment over the past few years. From January 2024 to July 2026, lost-time workplace accidents fell by around 80 percent.

– This award means a great deal to us, because first and foremost it is about our people. HSE is not something we do alongside operations – it is part of operations, every single day, says Regional Manager Henrik Eikanger.

From follow-up to cultural change

Behind this development lies long-term work in which HSE has been placed high on the agenda in all the companies. The goal has been to reduce injuries, keep sick leave low and strengthen the safety culture among the tradespeople out in the field.

Safety is discussed more often, followed up more closely and has become more visible in everyday work. At the same time, collaboration across the companies has had an impact.

– We have worked hard to make HSE concrete and relevant in everyday work. When leaders follow up closely, share experiences and talk regularly about risk and learning, something happens to the culture, says Henrik.

The development is also reflected in the LTIFR figures, which measure lost-time workplace accidents per million hours worked. Since September 2025, LTIFR has been reduced from 13.1 to 4.4, and the region has also been below 3.

Henrik Eikanger, Regional Manager for Region West in Norway

Made HSE visible – every day

One important initiative has been the region’s project with HSE information screens. All 13 companies installed screens in central meeting points such as offices, meeting rooms and warehouses.

These display, among other things, ethical guidelines, HSE and safety films, training, the number of days since the last lost-time injury, sharing of accidents and near misses, as well as campaigns and statistics.

The goal has been to make HSE visible and relevant as a natural part of everyday work.

– When HSE is visible all the time, it becomes easier to keep awareness high. The screens are a simple measure, but in combination with clear leadership and consistent follow-up, they have had a major effect, says Henrik.

The initiative is followed up regularly at the regional meetings held every 14 days, where the general managers share experiences, challenges and best practice.

Part of Håndverksgruppen’s strategy

The HSE effort in Region West is closely linked to Håndverksgruppen’s strategy for sustainability, safety and well-being across the group, which has around 5,000 employees. In the group, employee safety is one of the most fundamental responsibilities.

The ambition is clear: everyone should return home safely from work every day, and the group has a long-term goal of reducing LTIFR to 6 by 2030.

To achieve this, HSE work has been anchored more systematically in ongoing operations across the countries. Safety is increasingly integrated into the monthly operating meetings, where accidents are reviewed in detail and both corrective and preventive measures are discussed.

This is precisely the structure that Region West has successfully translated into practice.

– It is important for us to contribute to the group’s ambition through concrete local measures. When we succeed in the region, it is because we are able to turn strategy into action out in the companies, says Henrik.

First aid at Industrigulvspesialisten

The targeted HSE work is also clearly visible in practice in each individual company. One example is Industrigulvspesialisten in Bergen, which recently conducted a first-aid course for all employees together with the occupational health service Salutis.

The course had a clear purpose: to make employees more confident about what to do if a colleague is seriously injured or suddenly becomes ill.

First-aid course for Industrigulvspesialisten

Stronger together

The fact that the award “HSE Role Model of the Year” went to an entire region also says something about how Region West has worked: with clear leadership anchoring, active sharing between companies and a joint effort to create safer workplaces.

– We are 13 companies, but we are stronger when we learn from one another and advance HSE together. This award is a recognition of the efforts made across all the companies and by everyone who contributes every day to a safer working environment, concludes Henrik Eikanger.