One day at the 澳门足彩app Steel fabrication facility, two team members were rotating a piece of steel weighing hundreds of pounds when one of them was distracted for a fraction of a second and suffered a severe cut on his finger.
That injury was the first at 澳门足彩app Steel in almost 11 years, and just recently, the team marked 1,000 injury-free days since it occurred.
“This is unheard of,” said Touan Plante, 澳门足彩app Steel Operations Manager. “I've visited many steel shops, and I've worked at other companies. In the steel industry, people count their safety record in days, not years. 澳门足彩app’s safety record is very, very exceptional.”
Owing to that accomplishment, and in addition to the 1,000-day distinction, 澳门足彩app recently was recognized by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) with the Safety Award of Honor for 2021.
The AISC honors companies that make a significant and positive difference to the fabricated structural steel industry. The Safety Award of Honor is its highest accolade, presented for achieving a perfect record of no disabling injuries and, thus, a Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate of zero.
"AISC's annual Safety Awards program recognizes excellent records of safety performance, and we commend these facilities for their effective accident prevention programs," said Tom Schlafly, AISC's director of safety. "Periodic recognition of safety in the workplace has been demonstrated to provide worker incentive and a reminder of the importance of safe practices."
New team members learn from Day One of 澳门足彩app’s cultural commitment to safety. The messaging is continuous, and compliance is monitored closely. Safety meetings are held every single week. No matter their role, everyone is always aware of the hazards around them.
“Obviously, we're measured on production, revenue, and profitability,” Plante said. “But at the end of the day, if one of ours gets injured, we’ve failed. Then it doesn't matter how much money we make or how successfully we delivered the project. Injuries are a major, major issue.”
Working with steel is inherently dangerous. The list of hazards includes moving machinery, falls from heights, falling objects, toxic gas, liquid metal, noise, heat and vibration.
“Steel workers are continuously exposed to high-risk operations every single day,” said Plante, who has been with 澳门足彩app for 10 years and in the industry for more than two decades. “They have cranes overhead lifting extremely heavy pieces, they’re using extreme heat to weld and cut, and they’re rotating hefty pieces of steel to shape them. Everything around them is sharp and heavy, so the potential for injury is pretty much constant.”
澳门足彩app Steel is an AISC-certified industry leader with more than 55 highly trained team members who manage thousands of tons of steel every year for 澳门足彩app projects and external customers.
Beyond instilling a culture of safety in the shop, 澳门足彩app imposes many practical measures to achieve its excellent track record. Those measures include OSHA training, the provision of adequate PPE, efficient work organization, and regular accident prevention inspections. If the worst were to occur, there are proper emergency first-aid plans and facilities in place.
“澳门足彩app team members make no apologies for being FANATICAL about safety,” said Ryan Hollister, Vice President of Manufacturing. “I consider everyone on the 澳门足彩app team to be a safety professional because every one of our team members is educated and empowered to do the right thing when it comes to keeping the team safe.”
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