The Springfield-Clark County Safety Council would like to see each of those employees return home safely at the end of that work day.
Since 1994, the safety council has been providing occupational safety information, educational opportunities and special events to increase occupational safety awareness to businesses. It is hosted by the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and funded by the Ohio Division of Safety and Hygiene.
During the group’s annual awards meeting on Tuesday, I talked to them about the importance of keeping safety in front of their employees at all times.
As one of the leaders at FirstEnergy (my former employer) it was my responsibility to help drive a strong safety culture. When you’re dealing with electrical power lines, you don’t mess around with safety. It was the first thing I talked about at every meeting. It was the first thing we addressed every morning.
During my years at First Energy we rarely had an accident during a storm occurrence. Accidents were more likely to occur on a sunny day when workers became complacent about routine tasks – tasks that they had performed thousands of times, such as climbing a ladder, using a pocket knife or backing a truck into one of the bays.
It happens at work and it happens at home. Just a few weeks ago, a local business owner was injured when he fell off of a ladder at home. A friend of our family recently lost some fingers from an accident with a saw. Whether you’re trimming the hedges or painting a wall, failure to observe safety can cause a serious injury that can affect not only you, but your family, your employer, your coworkers and your community.
On the other hand, when you make safety first, you have more time to concentrate on important things like moving yourself, your company and your community forward.
A good place to start would be joining the safety council. Membership is free and open to all. Breakfast meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at the Courtyard by Marriott. For more information, contact Val Kelly at 325-7621 or vkelly@greaterspringfield.com.
Have a great Chamber day!
