Construction Builds a Winning Safety Culture

  • Posted: Tuesday, January 8, 2019, 12:17 pm

Construction and Projects Management received an award active participation in safety and injury-free work. Monica Lewis, Construction, accepts the award on behalf of the organization from Y-12 Site Manager Bill Tindal.Construction and Projects Management received an award active participation in safety and injury-free work. Monica Lewis, Construction, accepts the award on behalf of the organization from Y-12 Site Manager Bill Tindal.

Construction recently celebrated more than two million work hours without a lost-time injury. That’s a pretty impressive achievement for the more than three hundred people representing 11 crafts.

“We have very good craftspeople in Construction, professionals who know their jobs, know how to do dangerous work safely, and how to help others do that work safely. Those who are more senior take care of the newer ones. It’s a requirement of all our crafts: we all look out for each other,” said Monica Lewis, Craft Safety Team Lead.

Lewis indicated the four-person team’s work begins at 6:30 a.m. as they make the rounds of active projects. They deliver personal protective equipment and walk down the sites looking for hazards. “We interact with the craft on the job to see if they have any issues we can help get resolved, and, if there are concerns, we take them to management if we cannot resolve the issues. Management is very supportive of the craft safety team.”

The team credits a sense of family among crews, good safety practices and programs and a strong Y-12 Construction safety culture for the impressive safety record. The workers concur, noting that there are no stupid questions and crediting the safety tem with helping them work safely.

The continuous focus on safety can be a bit of an adjustment for some. “It’s just a different culture,” said Lewis. “Then they work here and it becomes natural.”

That “natural culture” produced more than two million hours of safe work for Construction. Lewis concluded, “We did it ‘cause we care about each other. No one wants to see someone get hurt.”

For more information about how Construction works safely, watch this brief video.

Construction celebrates more than two million work hours without a lost-time injury.Construction celebrates more than two million work hours without a lost-time injury.