Henderson mill recently celebrated 365 zero-incident days, a feat accomplished with a concerted effort to increase in-person communication, mentoring and technical training.
“It’s something we have put a lot of effort into, but it wasn’t anything revolutionary. It’s doing all the right things, starting with an impactful line-out meeting every single morning,” said Aaron Pietsch, Mill Manager-Henderson. “From there, I think it’s all the time our supervisors, superintendents and technical trainers are spending with our new employees to help ensure we’re doing things right.”
A handful of incidents in the first half of 2022 brought something of a reckoning to employees and leadership at Henderson, said Ben Goetz, Interim Health and Safety Manager-Henderson.
“It had a lot to do with reflection,” Goertz said. “In early 2022, we had three reportable injuries in the first half of the year, and every one of them had impacts on the lives of those employees and their families.”
Everyone played a role
Employees saw the need to be more proactive, Goertz said.
“We really reflected on those incidents and the effects they had on peoples’ lives. We realized we had to start looking forward, to be proactive and renew good practices and communication to help keep each other safe,” Goertz said. “We needed to get our focus back to even where and how we put our feet when we are walking, and not leaving material behind that could become a trip hazard for the next person.”
The mill has a high percentage of new employees in addition to a significant number of contractors helping with high-vacancy rates in operations and maintenance roles, Pietsch noted.
“Again, it’s nothing new, but I think what makes a difference is having our supervisors focus on really spending the time out there and really having the right conversations with those new employees in the field, giving them individual attention and technical training to help them wherever we can,” he said.
In keeping with the site’s reputation for employee appreciation, a special lunch event had leadership serving up free barbeque along with Henderson-inscribed Leatherman multi-purpose tools for all mill employees. But Pietsch said a new effort will be focused on rewarding individual success.
“Looking at the data, we’re seeing a lot of incidents with employees with three years or less of experience,” Pietsch said. “We haven’t formalized this yet, but we want to put a lot of focus on individual safety milestones, on working safe during the probationary period and the first few years, because those are important safety milestones that we want to be sure we are recognizing and celebrating.”