A new company initiative aims to use near misses to help further push the company’s safety goals.
A pilot program kicked off in August that focuses on identifying and correcting near misses and reinforcing why safety procedures need to be followed. The program is expected to help improve safety, especially with peer interaction.
After several accidents in one year, Eddie Fowler, a utility, asked to attend a training course with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration – more commonly known as OSHA. He is now leading the pilot program as a safety captain in his department.
He will take safety courses on Roger’s Learning System and present one safety topic per month at the communication meeting. He will report concerns, successes, and action items to his supervisor and Daphne Grimm, Environmental and Safety Coordinator.
“Employees in each department have been open to the concept and having a peer talk about a near miss and the rationale behind why finding and correcting a near miss is so important helps with employee teamwork,” said Grimm. Several near misses have already been identified, and she anticipates seeing safety changes start to roll out in about three to six months.
Grimm is in discussion with Aaron Schweitzer in Edge Prep and Redonna Siefer in Composite Strip about becoming safety captains in their areas, which are deemed high risk.
“We are trying to get all employees involved in the safety program, giving them a voice on safety concerns and implementing ideas to improve safety,” Grimm said. “It is important for me, the supervisors, and engineers to incorporate safety as a value, but it is also up to the employees as well. They do the job every day and having their peers as safety captains can help identify the daily struggles and successes each employee faces when it comes to safety.”
At Morse, safety is always our No. 1 goal. We encourage all employees to follow the following guidelines in their day-to-day routine:
- Don’t rush; it does not get the job down quicker.
- Follow procedures, and don’t take shortcuts.
- Be aware of your surroundings.
- Report all near misses or safety concerns to your supervisor.
- If you are unclear on how to do something safely, ask!