If you are looking for a safe space, you might want to check out Freeport-McMoRan’s Miami rod mill, which is among the company’s top-performing sites.
Sure, there are the usual suspects in terms of workplace hazards: molten metal, heavy machinery, high-pressure lines and high-voltage electrical equipment.
But the safety culture is such that the rod mill went almost five years without a reportable workplace injury, a safety success streak that only recently ended with a lost-time injury. Before that accident, the Miami rod mill had gone 1,766 days without a reportable injury, which amounts to about four years and eight months.
And before that, the mill went 841 days without a reportable safety incident, about two years and four months.
“For me, it’s important that employees know just because there’s a reportable doesn’t mean they’ve failed,” said Josh Olmsted, President and Chief Operating Officer-Americas. “There are a lot of great things going on that facilitated and drove Miami’s safety results, and that needs to be recognized. The next big challenge is staying focused, and Miami has an uncanny ability to dust themselves off and get back on track. It really boils down to taking one day a time, and over time, those days add up.”
Safety the priority
This lack of injury-causing accidents was no accident, said Roger Laija, Manager-Rod Mills, who oversees Freeport’s Miami and El Paso rod mills. Every employee from leadership to frontline workers understands that safety is the most important aspect of any job, he said.
Supervisors are expected to minimize the time they spend in meetings, so they can spend most of their days interacting with their employees. Everyone takes personal ownership of the mill’s safety record. So, when the most recent injury did occur, the team felt crushed and devastated.
“It’s huge to me,” Laija said. “As a site leader, it’s unacceptable. I’m responsible for that employee.”
It takes some long memories to understand how the commitment to safety got started at the rod mill, given there have been only two reportable injuries in more than seven years. Before that, the mill typically recorded an injury every 100 days or so, like clockwork, Laija said.
Back then, supervisors and managers were spending too much time in the office and not enough time on the floor, he said. To end that meeting culture, managers were told to spend as much time as they needed with their people, and that he’d back them up if concerns were expressed.
Setting the example
“It’s basically changing a culture and a mindset,” Laija said. “My expectation of the leaders was to be on the floor and leading from the front. We go out there, and we set the example. We are out there teaching, educating and spending time with the workforce. If as a supervisor you walk on the floor and people get nervous or don’t know who you are, something’s wrong. They should be comfortable with who you are and what your role is there.”
One thing that is constantly stressed is there are no shortcuts, said Ricardo Santoyo, Senior Supervisor-Maintenance at Miami. Safety is discussed daily at tailgate meetings and other encounters with frontline employees. Everyone is expected to follow all established rules and procedures for every job. Supervisors know from day to day which jobs will pose the most risks and are available to offer advice, check the work or just be another set of eyes watching for unexpected hazards.
Potential workplace hazards like spills or poor lighting are identified and corrected immediately. Every employee knows if they feel a job cannot be done safely, they have the ability and obligation to stop work until it can be.
“Safety is a big thing every day,” Santoyo said. “It’s something we discuss and make sure that we keep up front on all our projects. There are no shortcuts, and we are not going to rush to do something that is going to put anyone in harm’s way.”