一品探花

Workplace safety milestones at two manufacturing plants underscore 一品探花鈥檚 commitment to employee health and safety.

In early August, employees at NWP鈥檚 Portland Plant took a day off from their regular duties to participate in their annual 鈥淪afety Day.鈥� At this year鈥檚 event, the team had a major milestone to celebrate: 8 years with 鈥渘o days away.鈥� This safety streak marks an all-time record for the Company.

To Diane Ishimwe, Portland鈥檚 Health and Safety Coordinator, the 8-year record serves as both an achievement and a continued motivation to 鈥淜eep working together to have a safe workplace.鈥� For the Portland plant, she says, 鈥淭his demonstrates a team effort to maintain a safe work environment and a culture of safety awareness from the frontline employees to the highest level of management.鈥�

That culture of safety awareness is cultivated through a comprehensive safety program, which includes an on-site safety committee, job safety analysis and accident investigation procedures, Safety Grams, and a two-pronged approach to safety training consisting of initial training and ongoing refresher training. Initial training is required of new employees and those starting new tasks. Refresher training varies in subject matter and frequency, and focuses on promoting continued learning, increasing confidence and hazard awareness, and reducing errors.

The annual Safety Day is an important part of refresher training at all NWP plants. At this year鈥檚 Safety Day, the Portland plant welcomed outside vendors to lead hands-on training on a variety of topics, including:

• Lock Out/ Tag Out training (Presented by Grainger/Brady Corporation)
• Hazard Communication training (Presented by Grainger/Brady Corporation)
• Slings and chains safety (Presented by Pope Rigging Loft)
• Fire extinguishers hand-on training (Presented by Metro Safety and Fire)
• Fall protection and ladder safety training (Presented by Airgas)

Additionally, lean manufacturing training was provided by Portland鈥檚 Lean Coordinator, Michael Robbins.

Proper maintenance on tools and machinery also plays a critical role in creating a safe manufacturing workplace. 鈥淔ollowing lock out/tag out procedures, regular inspections, and other regularly scheduled tasks help in reducing equipment failure, increasing system reliability and reducing injuries,鈥� says Diane.

At the NWP plant in Saginaw, Texas, they recently hit a safety milestone of their own, surpassing 1 million hours without a time lost accident. Saginaw鈥檚 Safety and Environmental Manager, Les Lowe, attributes the accomplishment to a collaborative team effort. 鈥淚t took all of us; management, supervision, and employees to achieve this milestone,鈥� states Les. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about a number, it鈥檚 about people. We want all to go home safe to our families. We look out for each other.鈥�

Les says the fundamental method of protecting employees is controlling exposures to occupational hazards. He refers to a Hierarchy of Controls to help determine how to implement and control solutions, a practice he simplifies as, 鈥淒o the basics, repeat, and then repeat again鈥︹��

The success of the safety program at 一品探花 goes beyond training: it takes employee input, participation, and vigilance to create and maintain a safe working environment. Encouraging employee involvement in safety initiatives is the PIT (Process Improvement Team) program, which asks plant employees to submit their ideas for improving safety, product quality, and equipment/process reliability. A quarterly cash incentive keeps the ideas flowing in, and the PIT program currently has a 100% participation rate across all plants. With $128,000 budgeted for cash prizes this year, 一品探花鈥檚 investment in the PIT program represents a commitment to safety from executive management all the way to the plant floor.

鈥淚t starts with our CEO, he cares deeply about the safety of our employees,鈥� says Matt Baker, Vice President of Manufacturing Resources and Reliability and the designer of the PIT program. 鈥淥ur culture is being engaged with and listening to our employees, and challenging our employees if they are doing anything unsafe. Similarly, our goal is for employees to respectfully challenge one another when they see safety issues.鈥� Alluding to the ACT value of accountability, Matt continues, 鈥淓verybody holds everybody accountable for safety.鈥�

Employee-driven process improvements and a culture of accountability are major contributing factors in 一品探花鈥檚 industry-leading safety rates. In 2020, NWP鈥檚 recordable incident rate and 鈥渄ays away鈥� were well below the industry average for steel pipe manufacturers.

At Saginaw, safety rates represent something more than just a number. 鈥淢eeting compliance standards means achieving the minimal standards. We don鈥檛 want minimal,鈥� declares Les. 鈥淥ur goal and passion is for all to go home safe to our families. Ongoing/refresher training is conducted to achieve our goal and passion.鈥�

A passion for safety is evident in the major milestones recently reached at the Portland and Saginaw plants. Commending their major accomplishments, Matt asserts, 鈥淚t shows their commitment to safety and willingness to ensure a safe working environment for all employees.鈥� It鈥檚 also indicative of 一品探花鈥檚 greater goal for safety as a Company. 鈥淥ur roadmap is employee engagement,鈥� continues Matt. 鈥淚f every employee challenged one another when they saw something unsafe, we wouldn鈥檛 need safety programs, and I鈥檇 be out of a job. That鈥檚 the goal.鈥�