Photo By Christy Trabun | Employees learn vehicle safety during training at a hands-on Safety Day event onboard...... read more read more
NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY MECHANICSBURG, Pa. -- It was a crisp, sunny fall day at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Mechanicsburg on Thursday. A slight breeze added a chill to the air, but the sunshine provided enough warmth for outdoor activities. In the parking lot, groups of people gathered around presenters, while similar groups formed inside Building 14, and even in the gym, teams engaged in hands-on learning sessions. Simulated fires were being extinguished, "drunk goggles" tested coordination, tourniquets were applied to dummies, and someone was maneuvering across the parking lot on a motorized scaffold.
The Safety Day event brought together employees from Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Mid-Atlantic, who were grouped with coworkers from various areas across the organization. Over the course of the day, each group spent 30 minutes at eight different stations led by subject matter experts. The topics ranged from proper use of "Stop the Bleed" kits and scaffold safety, to stretching and strength-building exercises and traffic safety.
“We’ve all sat through stand downs that were just PowerPoints and videos all day. We wanted to do something different for this event,” said Adam Clouser, one of the event coordinators and a NAVFAC engineering equipment operator. “We wanted people to see things, do things, and leave with the ability to teach what they’ve learned. To my knowledge, this is the first Safety Day like this we’ve done here.”
The event was conceived by the Employee Driven Safety Committee and took a hands-on approach to health and safety, fostering teamwork and camaraderie among attendees.
Patrick Sharkey, a supervisory design engineer, appreciated the format. “It’s been more like an event than a training session. I really enjoyed the face-to-face learning and interactions with the presenters and other employees.”
One station, hosted by Morale, Welfare, and Recreation, was led by Hattie Wilson, who guided participants through stretches and strength exercises using elastic bands and other easily accessible items. She also hosted a dead hang competition for those wanting to test their upper body strength. “People have been really receptive and engaged,” said Wilson. “We’ve had some sign up for more information in our newsletters, and many have said they learned something new.”
Lunch was available via a grill-out for those interested, and scheduled breaks throughout the day provided additional downtime. In one break area, asbestos training slides passively cycled in the background.
The event was well-attended and well-received by NAVFAC employees across the installation.
“This was well-organized and well-executed,” said Victor Vetterlein, an architect with NAVFAC. “The hands-on approach and the opportunity to connect with different people across the organization made it a valuable experience. We learned relevant and important things here today.”
| Date Taken: | 10.17.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.18.2024 11:21 |
| Story ID: | 483416 |
| Location: | MECHANICSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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