Safety Survey: Unbreakable Tenets

Trevor Keating
Safety Director
Prairie Ag Partners
Lake Preston, SD

“We practice two big unbreakable safety tenets for management. The first is to practice safety policies yourself by getting out of the office and bringing those policies to life by doing the job. This shows you how employees live out your safety policies. See if they’re spot on and well written or need adjustment because people don’t understand them. You’ll also score points with frontline workers by being more approachable and seen as someone who can work side by side with employees.

“The second thing is that you hear a lot of people say, ‘safety first’ but sometimes things get pushed aside for pressing business needs, and it’s more like what Mike Rowe said, ‘safety third.’ I say, ‘safety always.’ Do things the right way all the time. No matter what it is – putting things down on a staircase or in the wrong place just for a minute – there’s no excuse for cutting corners and not doing things the right way. It’s got to be ‘safety always.’”

You hear a lot of people say “safety first,” but sometimes things get pushed aside for pressing business needs, and it’s more like what Mike Rowe said,“safety third.” -Trevor Keating, Prairie Ag Partners

Max Mobley
Formerly General Manager
The Arthur Companies
Rigby, ID

“Lockout/tagout is attached to lots of things we do around maintenance and inspections. Equipment needs to be locked out to avoid entanglements and accidental start. Employees need to be sure the right breakers are locked out and that interlocks are placed on the right breakers and equipment. Employees also need to be authorized to do this, be familiar with the site, and file the proper paperwork. They also need to be reminded of what they need to do.

“Effort needs to be put into hiring people with good common sense who demonstrate a belief in safety programs in general. Good people can elevate your safety program. Take time to ensure you’re hiring the right people to do the work, and ask during interviews about safety and show you care about safety, programs up front. You can’t have a strong safety program without strong employees. We put a lot of work into putting the right people into the right spots.

“Personal protective equipment (PPE) is the last line of defense, and it protects employees from lots of things. Eye and foot protection is necessary at all times, and wearing the right PPE is critical. I’d rather have preventive measures in place to avoid injuries, but PPE also is very important.”

Effort needs to be put into hiring people with good common sense who demonstrate a belief in safety programs in general.
-Max Mobley, The Arthur Companies

Jared Roth
Assistant Safety Director
Bartlett Grain Company
Kansas City, MO

“Bartlett Grain is owned by Savage, so we utilize our Savage Hazard Analysis and Prevention System (SHAPS). We expect team members to ask themselves three questions prior to starting every task:

• ‘What am I doing?’

• ‘What could go wrong?’

• ‘What will I do about it?’

“We preach that this philosophy can help ensure that team members go home safely every day.

“We encourage all team members to utilize Stop Work Obligation (SWO). This was previously known as Stop Work Authority, but we want team members to know how to do things safely and that they are obligated to stop work if they deem something is unsafe. From my experience, anytime we’ve seen SWO used, team members have been supported and praised by senior leadership.

“Finally, we continue to drive team members’ engagement with leadership’s help, so team members understand what’s involved in operations. We have quarterly communication meetings at each location and present safety topics and address any safety concerns. Once a year, a top management leader will attend one of these meetings at each location. We also have quarterly one-on-ones to build trust between individual team members and leadership.”

We have quarterly communication meetings at each location and present safety topics and address any safety concerns.
-Jared Roth, Bartlett Grain Company

Marc Mears
Chief Operating Officer
AgState
Cherokee, IA

“Our four values are respect, integrity, safety, and excellence. We respect our team members, customers, and communities. Where there’s a culture of respect and trust, people will share ideas and report incidents. Compliance and regulatory are important, but values and culture are what ultimately create a safe workplace. The wrong kind of fear has a negative impact when creating a safety culture. We want people to think, ‘If I do or don’t do something, I could be injured or killed,’ rather than, ‘If I do or don’t do something, I could be fired.’

“Integrity is about doing the right thing, and that means acknowledging our systems and processes can always be improved. We want to ensure a culture of open and candid discussions with all team members to create a values-driven rather than compliance-driven safety culture.

“We work to break down barriers between management and frontline employees and together continuously strive for excellence in safety.”

“We work to break down barriers between management and frontline employees and together continuously strive for excellence in safety.” -Marc Mears, AgState

Kevin Frye
Safety Services Manager
Growmark, Inc.
Bloomington, IL

“We ask employees to not only watch out for their own safety but also the safety of co-workers and customers. As the harvest season gets busy with long hours, we become more prone to make errors from getting in a hurry and tired, and this is true for our customers as well. It is essential we are comfortable pointing out when things can be done better, knowing it is okay to take a break, and ensuring we don’t make decisions while distracted.

“Another tenet is ensuring the safety of our customers. Having defined traffic patterns keeps customers inside vehicles and makes sure workers are clearly visible to provide direction. This not only improves efficiency but safety as well. Another area of focus is being prepared well before the busy season begins.

“When the facility is clean and equipment is well maintained and running smoothly, it eliminates complications and the human factors that can lead to accidents. It is much easier to be in a good safety mindset when problems are eliminated before they can occur.”

When the facility is clean and equipment is well maintained and running smoothly, it eliminates complications and the human factors that can lead to accidents. -Kevin Frye, Growmark, Inc.