Safety Survey: Success Stories

Safety leaders tout communication, recognition for greater engagement

Safe grain handling operations require a commitment to best practices and innovation where appropriate. Grain Journal asked five grain industry safety professionals for examples of how they’ve accomplished their facility’s goals.

Lee Clark | Safety Manager | Pearl City Elevator Inc. | Lena, IL

“As a smaller cooperative, we wanted to dig deeper into how we could spread the safety message to our producers.

“The training programs we use work great. We make sure our staff is 10-hour certified with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

“Internally, we do well, but we wanted to do more to reach out to those in our community who mean just as much to us as those on the job at the elevator.

“Our concept is reaching outside our company, because our members and our growers are just as much a part of our family at Pearl City Elevator. We’re a small town, and we’ve known most everyone here our whole lives. We want strong relationships, because we wouldn’t have a business without them. Safety affects everyone.

“We utilize all the free available content out there. I will be the lead, so to speak, for those who might not have easy access to this content and funnel it to them.

“As part of this strategy, we offered two screenings of the movie Silo. We invited the entire community and hosted an entrapment survivor and representative from Nationwide Insurance after each showing to answer questions.

“I spoke about safety in areas such as lockout/tagout, bin sweep requirements, and permit-required confined space entry.

“I think our proudest moment right now is going out and engaging our growers and customers about safety and taking that message beyond our elevator.”

Larisa Vandeloo | EHS Manager | Top Ag Coop Inc. | Okawville, IL

“We implemented a new, behavior-based safety incentive program in October 2019. It encourages and rewards all employees for doing the right thing and going the extra mile for safety.

“Our managers and safety committee members carry blue ‘thank you for working safely today’ tickets, and any time they see someone doing the right thing (e.g., wearing proper personal protective equipment), they give them one of these tickets as recognition for their attention to safety. Tickets can be turned in for quarterly drawings from which two $50 gift cards are awarded.

“Another way to be entered into our drawing is a card system within each department. Cards are out and readily available to report a near-miss or unsafe condition or act. If a worker sees one of these three things, they can fill out a card to let us know what they saw, what they did about it, and what the coop can do to prevent it from happening again.

“These cards make it easier for employees to report the hazards present in their work area because they can quickly fill out a card and give it to their manager. With unsafe acts cards, we always remind our employees it’s not about getting someone in trouble: It’s about addressing an unsafe act with their colleague and suggesting a safer way to perform the task.

“The ticket and card programs have raised morale and gotten everyone involved in our safety program. Safety is not just my job as the safety manager; it’s everyone’s job and this behavioral-based program has created a more positive way to accomplish our goals.”

Val Christensen | Safety and Compliance Officer | Legacy Cooperative | Bisbee, ND

“About a year ago, our safety committee began a wristband program.

“The idea was presented at a North Dakota Safety Council conference a couple of years ago, and we brought it back to our committee to consider.

“When a committee member notices fellow employees going out of their way to do something safely, they present them with a wristband that says ‘Safety: Pass It On.’ It comes from a peer, not a supervisor, which reinforces the message.

“The safety committee member then lets the board know when a wristband has been awarded to someone. We then share their name and their safety action with everyone through our company bulletin. We have 20 sites throughout our company, and the wristband program is used at all of them.

“While it’s still a new program, you can tell employees appreciate they are being recognized for doing their work safely.”

Nick Steinbach | Safety Coordinator | Two Rivers Coop | Pella IA

“I try to be hands-on and available to everyone who has questions. I want to empower employees to be creative and find ways to allow them to do their jobs safely.

“As part of this, we have monthly safety committee meetings from our grain, agronomy, LP gas, feed, and business departments. We have four locations with 45 employees, and we like to have a mix of committee members from each area. We discuss timely topics, department-specific needs, and review near misses.

“We’re a smaller company, so I also will visit the majority of our locations daily to make myself visible and facilitate communication. If employees have a problem to share, it’s a two-way discussion. The employee has brought a problem or situation to my attention, and instead of me just fixing it, they help provide a solution. When it’s implemented, that’s empowering for them and their peers. The fix came from them and was adopted for everyone’s benefit.

“Our employees are encouraged to take ownership of our safety culture and be part of its success. We achieve that through active, hands-on communication.”

Ryan Janssen | EHS Director | Key Cooperative | Roland, IA

“For the past several years, we have been focusing on employee proficiencies as it pertains to safe work practices.

“We have developed a rubric for safety training topics. Employees must demonstrate to myself, their location manager, or a safety lead (a lead employee at their location who has additional OSHA 10- or 30-hour training), their proficiency toward the specific work practice.

“For example, operational staff would be asked to demonstrate their proficiency in lockout/tagout by actually locking out a specific piece of equipment. An office employee would be asked to demonstrate their proficiency in hazard communication, globally harmonized system (GHS) classification, and labeling of chemicals by identifying a hazard-specific chemical.

“While the traditional classroom setting allows information to be disseminated to employees, the true test of knowledge retention is through demonstrating the skill in the workplace.”

Reprinted from Grain Journal July/August 2020 Issue