Safety is and will always be our Company’s top priority. Thanks to all of you, 2020 was our best year ever in safety – with some of our teams achieving ZERO serious safety events for the entire year! “I can’t stress enough the importance of safety. You don’t have to be on the frontline for safety to matter. Together, let’s make every day a safe day,” said Jim O., Vice President of Safety.
Recently, General Managers made a safety commitment to hold themselves and their teams accountable for executing the many aspects of the Safety Amplified pillars:
- Focus Together
- Lead Together
- Partner Together
- Innovate Together
- Analyze Together
- Celebrate Together
Below are a few of the specific actions that leaders are committing to in 2021 to make the new year a safe one.
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General Manager David H., North Phoenix, Arizona
Congratulations to David and his team for achieving zero safety frequency occurrences in 2020! Awesome performance!
“Although we had a great year, that can change if we don’t stay focused,” David says. “I look forward to 2021 and keeping the focus on safety to maintain another perfect year.” One of the aspects of the Safety Amplified program that David is committing to is celebrating small safety victories with his team to keep the momentum going strong.
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General Manager Cody H., Environmental Services, Houston, Texas
“I take my responsibility of leading safety very seriously and feel the weight of being part of a team that provides close to 24/7 service. I am holding myself and my team accountable to do everything in our power and span of influence to get our employees home safely each night,” Cody says.
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General Manager Anthony G., Central Georgia Post Collections
The Focus Together program is the foundational training program developed to prevent crashes and injuries using videos, 1:1 discussions, visual aids and skills activities. While it’s been a challenge for leaders to travel to sites in person during COVID-19, Anthony is committed to the Focus Together program and is using digital roundtables to deliver the safety videos each month.
“We’re ensuring that the right messages are getting to the frontline to prevent crashes and injuries. When social distancing requirements are mitigated, I’m committed to make a big effort to see everyone in person again.”
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General Manager Dan C., Anaheim, California
Along with the Focus Together training, Dan and his leadership team emphasize four themes to reduce risk and stay safe:
- Wear a seatbelt any time the wheels are moving, regardless of your speed or the location.
- Practice being present in the moment; remain focused on what you are doing and don’t let your mind wander off thinking about something else.
- Never multi-task (while driving, servicing a container, etc.). You cannot be focused on the task at hand if you are trying to accomplish two things at the same time.
- Follow our backing protocol 100 percent. (Backing incidents are the most frequent safety occurrence and can be prevented by simply following the protocol.)
To maintain safety communications, Dan augments monthly Focus Together training with safety huddles to emphasize safety themes to reduce risk. Keep up the great work, Dan!
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General Manager Jocelyn K., Crestwood, Illinois
“The Focus Together program has definitely made us stronger together! We have 100% safety buy-in from the entire BU. This is a result of continuous engagement with the team, recognition, monthly review of the safety results, and all leaders having an open-door policy,” Jocelyn says.
In 2021, Jocelyn and her leadership team are committed to continuing to execute creative ideas for celebrating safety and for recognizing the team. An example of this creativity is at the 2021 Safety Kick-off, providing the team with an individually packaged breakfast with fresh fruit and granola to promote a healthy start to the day.
“We also took the time to remind the team that even though we have a great safety trend, we must not forget that what we do is dangerous. We are committed to remain focused and comply with the safety policies and procedures in order to bring the team home safely.”
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General Manager Josh M., Chicago/NWI Post Collections
Congratulations to Josh and his employees for achieving zero safety frequency occurrences in 2020! Way to go!
“I am excited to share that we accomplished our 2020 goal of achieving zero safety frequency incidents thanks to the dedication and collaboration of the entire BU. We accomplished this through sharing Focus Together safety videos and posters; and engaging the team in skills activities and discussions. In addition, the creativity of our supervisors and managers to connect and drive home our safety program was an intracule part of our success. The entire BU Team is 100% committed and dedicated to having the zero frequency incidents for the remainder of 2021.”
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