County Commission | The Magazine April 2017 | Page 13

FROM THE COVER
Converting ‘safety committee’ into an action verb
B
rilliant ideas can come in all
their own incidents. The water
county employees. That led the
shapes and sizes, and some
department had experienced similar
Sheriff’s Department to sponsor
of the best success stories involve
problems while working in areas of
a half-day Verbal Defense course,
mastering the fundamentals,
right-of-way that some residents have open to all county departments.
like Michael Jordan working
A total of 91 county
to perfect his free-
employees were trained
throw shot.
in techniques to take
Most counties have
control of a conversation
safety committees, and
and “de-escalate” a
safety committees have
potential confrontation.
meetings. But how do
Feedback was
you get the most out of
positive across the board,
this investment of time
from safety-sensitive
and personnel?
departments and other
“There’s meetings to
areas. “These people deal
fulfill a requirement to
with the public all the
meet, and there’s meetings
time,” Tucker said.
to get something done,”
Before
said John Tucker, Cullman
Thinking Ahead
County’s safety director.
In meetings,
When safety committees In Cullman County, the sanitation department won praise for proactively
committee members
initiating and implementing a project to improve inadequate access to
work effectively, it’s almost
also report on Safety
above-ground fuel storage tanks. The old steps (above) were steep and
a little bit magic, because
Improvement Activities,
the whole is greater than the narrow, and employees found it difficult to safely reach a port that must be a broad category
sum of its parts. And here
checked routinely to monitor fuel levels. The department upgraded to
designed to encompass
are a couple examples of the a new catwalk, steps and railing (below) to reduce the risk of accidents.
a wide range of
very real results that can be
action steps.
achieved by a hard-working
“If we are going to
safety committee.
After
reduce loss due to injury
or property damage,
Common Risk
that requires action and
At two safety committee
not just recordkeeping
meetings in a row last
or ‘after the fact’
year, the road department’s
investigations,” Tucker
representative reported
said. “We can in fact be
concerns from county
proactive to reduce risk.
employees ou t at job sites
However, being proactive
who were confronted
requires action.”
by dissatisfied citizens.
At one meeting,
A heated conversation
the sanitation
about long-overdue road
department reported
repair could potentially tip
that employees had built
over into violence.
and installed new steps
claimed as part of their lawns.
Representatives of other
with handrails and a railing-enclosed
The safety committee decided
safety-sensitive departments,
platform so they would have better
this was a serious risk affecting
seated around the table,
access when checking levels in
large
numbers
of
their
fellow
were quick to chime in with
aboveground fuel storage tanks.
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