Find Out What It Takes to Make It to the Top

Among the seven winners of the 2012 Governor’s Award for Safety Excellence are Dutchland, Inc. and Vanalt Electrical Construction, Inc. The winners were chosen from among 70 competitors, so they truly represent workplace safety at its best.

Both companies share an approach that includes:

• A core belief that safety is the right thing to do and is good business
• A willingness to pay attention to employees, the people who know their jobs best
• An ability to innovate, abandoning outdated ideas for newer ones

Today, we’ll take a brief look behind the scenes at Dutchland and Vanalt Electrical to see just how these companies have achieved safety excellence.

Dutchland, Inc.

Dutchland is a manufacturing and construction business that specializes in precast concrete tanks, custom-designed wastewater treatment plants, and other products. Employee hazards include heavy lifting, chemical exposures, forklifts, aerial lifts, and loading and driving tractor trailers.

Safety Director/Training and Education Manager Ruth Soto says that support from corporate leaders, an engrained safety culture, and employee involvement are the hallmarks of Dutchland’s safety program.

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Examples of safety in action include:

• An employee who wrote the company’s emergency response plan and continues to maintain it
• Employees trainers who teach forklift safety, fall protection, and welding safety
• Requirements for construction crew members to take the OSHA 10-hour construction course and supervisors and key managers to complete the general OSHA 30-hour course.
• Monthly toolbox talks and daily prework 5-minute safety meetings covering hazards expected at the jobsite that day and required PPE.
• New hire orientation that is heavily weighted toward safety and featuring a series of site-based safety videos (developed by the safety committee working with video professionals) that reflect the actual workplace and hazards that new workers are likely to encounter
• An instant recognition program for people who go above and beyond in safety
• Disciplinary action plan (conceived by the safety committee and approved by company leaders) to deal with incidents involving negligence or carelessness

In consistent, daily ways, Dutchland management and employees keep the focus on staying safe and healthy as well. Here are a few examples:

• Large digital signboards throughout the plant reflect the current number of days employees have worked without a lost-time incident. It once reached 836.
• The shop is maintained meticulously, and housekeeping is a priority.
• After being trained by the company’s insurance carrier, Dutchland employees wrote their own job safety analyses.
• An in-house graphic artist produces an original safety poster each month.
• A wellness committee sponsors activities like a Biggest Winner weight-loss competition, and employees take advantage of an on-site fitness center.

Vanalt Electrical Construction, Inc.

According to Anthony Lauro, vice president of safety and quality assurance, Vanalt Electrical Construction is “a small company with a big company outlook.” Even though their workforce only numbers 20, they do a lot for worker safety.

Vanalt’s certified safety committee is the engine driving the company’s safety success. The committee provides an important way for employees to become personally involved in safety.

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One of the committee’s chief accomplishments was developing a comprehensive health, safety, and environmental manual in digital and paper formats. Lauro says the document has become a go-to source for employees.

A related project was developing a foreman’s manual. This is a task- and risk-specific document created for each job. It includes everything a foreman needs to ensure that the job proceeds safety—copies of job hazard analyses, relevant safety talks, and specific requirements, such as confined space permits.

Each day before work begins, the foreman and crew meet to discuss the day’s work and safety requirements. Employees must review and sign off on job hazard analyses, which describe procedures and PPE requirements. During the day the process is repeated if the nature or conditions of the work change.

Other safety strategies include the following:

• The company has changed its weekly project scheduling meeting to become a scheduling and safety meeting, which opens new opportunities to focus on risk.
• Vanalt Electrical has implemented a training database, which indicates who id due for training and when.
• A lunchtime learning program addresses training needs of Vanalt Electrical’s managers.
• Accident and near miss investigations are conducted and all employees are informed about the incident and corrective action taken. Near misses are treated with the same gravity as accidents.
• Management and hourly employees conduct job safety inspections. Any hazards observed are promptly corrected.
• The company retrofits equipment, including new machines, to eliminate ergonomic and other risks.
• All employees complete the OSHA 10- and 30-hour safety course.

These and other practices have contributed to an enviable workplace safety record. Vanalt Electrical has gone 7 years without a reportable injury.

“We know we are in a business in which it’s difficult to keep people safe,” says VP of safety Anthony Lauro. “So we set out to have a managed approach to safety that would help us be more competitive, keep people safe, and reduce costs.”

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