Engage Employees In The Safety Process

Sometimes, a very safe workplace can hold hidden dangers. That’s what became apparent at the Embraco North America (ENA) facility in Suwanee, Georgia. In operation since 1991, this sales, R&D, and distribution center for Embraco—a world leader in the manufacture of refrigeration compressors— enjoyed a perfect safety record until an unusual, but preventable event occurred.

“Many years ago a forklift operator drove off of a loading dock while unloading trucks. As the truck was pulling away from the dock, the forklift operator, who had been unloading the truck, did not feel the truck leaving the dock because he was also moving. He was driving back to the dock but the truck had already pulled away, so he fell between the truck and the dock,” explains Terrence Burks, warehouse supervisor. Fortunately, the forklift operator survived, but suffered serious injury.

by Grainne A. Matthews, Ph.D.

“How can we keep people interested in our process?” is a question frequently asked by those dedicated souls working long and hard to maintain their behavioral safety process but whose colleagues may ask, “Why should I keep participating?”

by Grainne A. Matthews, Ph.D.

Isn’t the real question “How few observations can we get away with?” After all, conducting behavioral safety observations is a means to an end—doing our job without getting hurt. The more time we can spend doing our job, the better. 

by Angelica Grindle, Ph.D.

The Goal—Develop a World-Class Safety Culture

Novinium® provides cable rejuvenation services to the aging infrastructures of large industrial and utility companies. Due to their patented process for extending the life of underground cables, they have experienced phenomenal growth—expanding eight-fold in the last six years. The majority of Novinium employees are electrical linemen who work in the field delivering cable rejuvenation services.