Photo By Leon Roberts | Victor Walker (Second from Right), safety lead for the Kentucky Lock Addition Project...... read more read more
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 26, 2024) – With very large construction and operations projects in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District, creating a safe workplace is critical to mission success, and a responsibility every employee shares.
Leaders promote a safety culture in the organization by encouraging employees to participate and identify areas of improvement to help protect people and property. The Corps of Engineers Safety and Occupational Health Management System (CE-SOHMS) is the formalized “Plan-Do-Check-Act” method of continual improvement that supports this safety culture.
“We have a strong culture of safety in the Nashville District, where we routinely and effectively identify hazards associated with work activities, whether performed in-house or by contractor partners,” said Ben Rohrbach, Nashville District Engineering and Construction Division chief.
Rohrbach; Maj. Jesse Davis, Nashville District deputy commander; and Tim Fudge, Operations Division chief; are champions of the district’s CE-SOHMS implementation and maintenance plan. They rely on this systematic approach and promote safety initiatives to prevent accidents, injuries, and fatalities at construction projects, lakes, dams, navigation locks, hydropower plants, and office spaces in the district.
“We look out for each other, sound the alarm if something doesn’t look right, and take immediate action to resolve issues, including stopping work, when necessary,” Rohrbach added. “The safety of our workforce is paramount, and so it is not only ‘Safety First,’ but ‘Safety Always.’”
Paul Burress, Nashville District chief of safety and occupational health, said leaders on the Safety and Occupational Health Advisory Council (SOHAC) stay aware of current safety trends, needs and focus areas across the enterprise and within the workforce when setting annual safety goals and objectives for continual improvement.
Burress explained that employees have to be aware of the CE-SOHMS process and purpose. He said employees use the CE-SOHMS process to gauge, sustain, and improve the safety culture and that safety and production need to be weighted appropriate to the situation and valued equitably.
“We need a formal system to sustain and improve the culture,” Burress said. “The Nashville District safety culture is our prized possession, and we should never lose sight of that fact. Leaders at all levels must walk the talk and safety must be everyone’s responsibility. Tasks need to be proven safe before they are performed, and the raising of safety concerns should always be appreciated.”
As the leader who manages operations in the Nashville District, Fudge stressed that the commitment to safety across the organization is stellar.
He said senior leaders get out to the operations projects and construction sites and wear the appropriate safety gear to lead by example in these dynamic work environments. Leaders utilize CE-SOHMS to promote a positive safety culture with initiatives like setting aside days where employees stand down operations to conduct safety education and training, Fudge added.
“Our initial focus revolved around fall protection, and we continue to conduct a regular and recurring event around March 23 each year, which also coincides with an operations employee that we lost in the region 18 years ago due to injuries sustained in a fall,” Fudge said.
Fudge said the loss of that employee changed the landscape of how the Nashville District approaches fall protection and also led to more stringent policies to safeguard people.
“Over the course of the next year, we are targeting a safety stand down each quarter,” Fudge said. “Our employees are extremely busy and there are distractions coming at them from all angles. As senior leaders, we must take action to allow time for our people to stop, take a breath, and think.”
At Kentucky Lock where the Nashville District is building a larger 1,200-foot by 110-foot navigation lock in close proximity to the operational lock, safeguarding people, structures, and resources with dam safety and stability controls and risk management is important as work progresses.
Victor Walker, safety specialist for this construction, said he attributes a great safety culture and successes at the project on the Tennessee River in Grand Rivers, Kentucky, to continuous improvement, training, transparent communication, and collaborative safety practices with the contractor, Thalle Construction.
“Through those efforts we are able to construct this project safely,” Walker said.
Earlier this year, Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, 55th chief of engineers, reinforced the importance of upholding a culture of safety, transparency, and integrity that support a safe working environment for everyone. Central to that commitment is a policy that supports employees who report safety concerns or violations, the general wrote to the workforce.
“Reporting safety issues, including those to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is a critical component of our safety culture,” Spellmon noted. “It ensures that we can address potential hazards promptly and effectively, safeguarding the well-being of our entire team.”
CE-SOHMS standardizes and sustains continual improvement in the safety culture across the Corps of Engineers and the Nashville District.
“Having a strong and sustainable safety culture is what matters most in this effort,” Burress said. “CE-SOHMS is the process and tool being used to assure that outcome, and that is the most important aspect of this system for everyone to understand.”
The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on X (formerly Twitter) at www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps. Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest Nashville District employment and contracting opportunities at https://www.linkedin.com/company/u-s-army-corps-of-engineers-nashville-district.
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.26.2024 15:57 |
| Story ID: | 477138 |
| Location: | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 45 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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