Connections

Issue 2 • Volume 3 • April 10

SAFETY

Northwest Division Embraces Oldcastle Care Safety Values by Tracking Streaks

"STREAKS" is the name given to the way we focus on safety in the Northwest Division. In February 2009, the Northwest Division safety coordinators were assigned the task of identifying safe behaviors to track, enabling co-workers, supervisors and managers to provide positive reinforcement for catching front-line workers doing things the "right," and safe, way.

Operations tracks their lines of business that haven't had an incident. This can be accomplished in multiple ways -- days without an injury, deliveries without a preventable incident or tons produced without incident. Once the STREAK is started, the results are shared with everyone involved in the process. This approach allows us to proactively communicate safety -- rather than discuss past safety results. The statistical information is reviewed and celebrated, including a discussion of the safe behaviors attributing to the "streak." All meetings in the Northwest Division, from executive level to area operations, begin with STREAKS.

A few of the STREAKS being tracked include:

River Bend Sand & Gravel – QC – 495 days without a back injury

Central Pre-Mix Concrete Co. – Yakima Branch – 10,000 hours of safe work

River Bend Sand & Gravel – 782 days without stockpile truck/loader incident

Valley Concrete – 492,344 tons produced without an eye injury

Central Washington Concrete – Othello, Wash. – 712 days without a PVIR

Eugene Sand & Gravel – shop – 13,366 incident-free days

River Bend Sand & Gravel – Turner Pit – 708 days without ankle injuries

River Bend Sand & Gravel – AC Plant – 689 days without soft tissue injury

Discussion of safe work behaviors gives us a means to proactively discuss safety and to naturally weave safe production in with business results. The goal is zero fatalities, zero incidents and a strong, employee-driven safety culture.

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