Finnish Institute of Occupational Health

The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) is an independent research, development and specialist organization in the field of occupational health and safety. The institute functions at the administrative sector of The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The vision is that work creates well-being at workplaces, at both the individual level, and in society at large. We build and make use of European co-operation networks and are involved in strengthening Nordic co-operation. We act as a developer of occupational safety and health in co-operation with government ministries and international organizations and an expert in WHO and the ILO. Our objective is to become a strong participant in the co-operative network and ensure that the structures and operating methods of Arctic work are sustainable, also from the perspective of well-being at work.

FIOH has been active with the Northern aspects of working life for a long time and especially when its Northernmost regional office in Oulu was founded in 1973. FIOH has supported the Northern working life by means of research and services in a wide field of occupational health and safety. Work in the cold has been an important topic of research from 1976. Nowadays cold research includes components such as working capacity, recovery, health effects, protection against cold and use and compatibility of personal protective equipment. The research is carried out in working places and in experimental set-ups. For that purpose, internationally unique climatic laboratories were constructed in 1993 in FIOH’s facilities in Oulu. Until now, the research has focused on the general features of work in the cold and on the sectors like e.g. tourism, reindeer herding, mining, mast and pole work, search and rescue and safety and security professions.