THE FOCUS ON SAFETY MUST BE ‘LOUDER THAN THE NOISE’
BY STEPHEN M. TOUPS
In 2022, the world underwent rapid transformations as the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, and our industry and the global economy gained momentum. Even with so much happening around us, 2022 was still a record-breaking year for Turner Industries in terms of safety. The credit for this remarkable accomplishment goes to our hardworking employees, who worked more than 40 million hours at over 400 jobsites across the country last year.
We all know safety is paramount in the industrial sector, and this industry can be a challenging and noisy place to work. That is why we provide our employees with earplugs to help block out external noise. However, we need to recognize that our employees have internal noise to deal with as well. They all have lives outside of work, and it is almost impossible for them to leave everything in their minds at the gate. Therefore, our focus on safety must be louder than both the outside noise of the work environment and the internal noise of thoughts and feelings.
At Turner, providing our employees with the right knowledge, tools, and guidance is critical to ensuring that safety is always louder than the noise.” We design safety programs and initiatives that prioritize our employees’ well-being and ensure that they make it home safely at the end of each day. Our latest company-wide initiative is the Human Performance Initiative, which seeks to understand why unintentional mistakes occur rather than how they happen.
The Human Performance Initiative analyzes individual, organizational, and environmental factors that lead to ultimate safety performance. By focusing on the work to be performed, the worker(s) performing that work, and the environmental factors that affect safe execution, we can further predict and enhance end-level results for the best overall performance. Our workforce’s high level of engagement and interaction in this initiative allows Turner to achieve industry-leading safety performance, and it will drive us toward our ultimate goal of Zero Incident Performance.
To further ensure the continued safety of our employees and the protection of company and client assets, Turner is also constantly exploring new and innovative strategies. We have enhance our key safety programs such as:
STOP WORK AUTHORITY — The Stop Work Authority program is built upon three pillars of accountability and communication: Care (the willingness to confront an issue), Concern (the willingness to speak up), and Courage (the trust that your message will be taken seriously).
“I’VE GOT YOUR 6” — “I’ve Got Your Six” is also an extension of our Stop Work Authority program. This stresses the importance of watching out for your coworkers during work activities, encouraging workers to speak up when they notice something that may affect the safety of a coworker or crew, and how to receive that message from a coworker.
HAND SAFETY — Hand injuries are the most common type of injury in our industry. Turner continues to implement hands-free applications and provide its employees with hands-free tools, which are critical to maintaining a safe and productive work environment.
A strong value-based safety approach and the engagement and contributions of each Turner employee will continue to yield outstanding safety results and achieve that Zero Incident Performance I mentioned earlier. At Turner Industries, safety isn’t just a priority; it’s the foundation of our company’s success.
