Photo By Chris Putman | Huntsville Center Safety and Occupational Health Manager, Andrew Boston, explains...... read more read more
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – With fiscal year 2025 quickly approaching, U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville’s Medical Division Operation and Maintenance Engineering Enhancement, OMEE, safety team conducted a meeting with corporate safety leads to discuss any challenges and changes to policy heading into the new year.
Huntsville Center’s OMEE program provides a simplified process to respond to the growing operation and maintenance needs of Department of Defense medical facilities. The program uses streamlined processes that provide low-cost, quick- response contracts for the repair and replacement, preventive maintenance, and operation of equipment for DOD installations worldwide.
The meeting, led by Andrew Boston and Todd Lewis, Huntsville Center safety and occupational health managers, was held on Sept. 17 and meets on a quarterly basis with an opportunity to meet in-person once a year to speak about a variety of safety topics.
“The forum gives the opportunity to directly communicate to contractors and tears down barriers to identify problems across the field and address multiple issues contractors come across,” Boston said.
Kellie Williams, Huntsville Center safety chief, said the meetings help maintain an environment that ensures projects are completed safely.
“This best practice provides information that helps reduce Safety and Occupational Health resubmittals and reviews as we communicate issues seen along with solutions,” Kellie Williams, stated.
The voluntary forum included attendance from the corporate safety leads for each of the five main contractors on the Operation and Maintenance Engineering Enhancement Multiple Award Task Order Contract, MATOC.
Spencer Farrow, Health and Human Services’ Government Services Risk Management vice president, participated and said he finds great value in the meetings as keeping a hazard free workplace is a team effort.
“Not only are we meeting with our counter parts in the other companies, but we also get to work towards building a singular understanding of the requirements of the Engineer Manual 385 which allows us to reach out and assist each other so that the safety program is consistent throughout all OMEE task orders.”
This year’s in-person meeting discussed revisions to the Corps safety manual document, EM 385-1-1, specifically the Accident Prevention Plan format. With the changes, Boston and Lewis highlighted the new Accident Prevention Plan format and the competent person form in addition to plan and program requirements.
“EM 385-1 describes the regulations and procedures to conduct work safely and is the governing document for the Corps employees and contractors that work with us,” Boston explained. “With changes to that document, we wanted to extend our understanding and expectations to contractors to address any questions.”
Not only did the forum offer participants with detailed guidance moving into fiscal year 2025, but it also provided an opportunity to collaborate on topics to better support the warfighter.
“We want to ensure contractors have the tools to safety complete work on their job sites to allow for faster and better delivery of our products that support the warfighter from a medical perspective,” Boston said in conclusion.
Col. Sebastien Joly, Huntsville Center commander, said Huntsville Center is recognized as a leading organization within USACE for implementing safety throughout its programs.
“We became the first Army organization to earn the Army’s prestigious Safety and Occupational Health Star in 2022,” Joly stated. “Safety is at the forefront of everything the Huntsville Center does and is a top priority as we protect our most valuable asset, our people.”
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2024 15:58 |
| Story ID: | 481887 |
| Location: | ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 51 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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