Putting Employee Safety First

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey

 

Can a CEO who puts employee safety first still operate a sustainable and profitable organization? The National Safety Council says absolutely!

"When leaders value safety, engage with employees, and implement best practices, they are able to produce successful and profitable workplaces," says Janet Froetscher, President and CEO of the National Safety Council, which recognizes executives who understand "the significance of safety to their operations and corporate sustainability." These CEOs "realize that engaging employees in a company culture of safety builds a strong network of people who care about one another and their performance on the job."

Robert McGough, CEO of DynMcDermott Petroleum Operations, has been named to the council's 2010 list of CEOs who have made distinguished contributions to the safety and health of their employees, their employees' families, and their corporate communities. DynMcDermott, which is the longest-running management and operations contractor of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), received the Baldrige Award in 2005. As part of its application, DynMcDermott responded to the Criteria for Performance Excellence regarding the safety requirements of its workforce, safety regulations, safety as an indicator to improve workforce engagement, and workforce-related occupational health and safety results.

More than just words on paper, DynMcDermott demonstrated its safety management and operational readiness when both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita crashed into its sites in 2005. When the first hurricane struck, DynMcDermott relocated its operations from New Orleans to Beaumont, Texas. Just one month later, the second hurricane forced another evacuation and relocation to a second planned alternate site.

Yet, less than five days after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, DynMcDermott restored its operations. During this period, President George W. Bush declared a drawdown from the SPR, an action that has occurred only twice in 30 years. Although the Emergency Operation Center had to be relocated over 200 miles away, DynMcDermott made its first drawdown oil delivery just three days after Hurricane Rita.

Congratulations, Mr. McGough, for demonstrating that a successful, sustainable organization can make safety (and agility!) a top priority.

Comments

[Bryan Zak]

There is a lesson here for small business owners. Planning for severe weather should be a consideration in a business plan. Most business plans for small businesses only go as far as identifying the cost of insurance. Realistically, a business plan would be more useful and actionable if it included sections on emergency planning, contingency operations, and workforce safety and heath. A business plan should be a document that is regularly referred to, unfortunately however many business owners use the business plan to obtain financial capital and do not continue to refer and use them throughout the life cycle of the business. Perhaps, integrating the Baldrige criteria into a business-planning tool would be a breakthrough improvement in business planning.

[Larry Potterfield]

Everything in perspective, of course.
It's important to understand the Key Requirements of the Employees.
If safety is a key requirement, then cerainly this would be a great opportunity for engagement.
If leadership will then invest in and deliver safer working conditions, everyone wins - however, just creating a safety committee will not deliver safety, it still requires leadership.

Go Baldrige!

[health and safety]

This is excellent post regarding the health and safety of your employees! Way to go.