Making Safety a Core Value
E.ON U.S. recently introduced its next phase of safety development at its Operation Safety Summit.
“Safety excellence” is more than a catch phrase at E.ON U.S., a natural gas and electric distribution and generation company based in Louisville, Kentucky. For more than a decade, the company has consistently achieved next steps in safety excellence, and today it is highly ranked in safety among energy companies in the U.S. and the world. However, always seeking ways to improve, E.ON U.S. recently launched the next phase of safety development at its Operations Safety Summit on April 22.
It was the first joint summit between E.ON U.S.’s key operating units, Energy Delivery (distribution and retail services) and Energy Services (generation and transmission), where most potential hazards exist. For years, the business units have held individual annual summits to discuss safety challenges and establish expectations for their groups. The combined event was the next step on a journey to safety excellence.
The summit was a top-led event with senior management heading the agenda and more than 700 operations employees and contractors as well as union, regulatory and government officials attending. E.ON U.S. firmly believes in an all-encompassing approach to safety and that individual workers make or break safety success. Front-line employees know the hazards best, so they can best control them.
Focus on Sharing
The event’s focus was to improve sharing of safety information and best practices between the two groups and to ensure all employees are working toward the same corporate safety goals. The company is consistently benchmarked by other external companies and organizations for its safety practices. However, there is much to be gained by looking inside Energy Delivery and Energy Services, as both are excellent safety performers that have developed solid foundations in their own right.
Energy Delivery bases its safety success on a “No Compromise” philosophy, which says that absolutely, under no circumstances, are employees or contractors to perform work that is unsafe.� Schedules, budgets, customer service, peer pressure and other reasons are not acceptable excuses for working unsafely. To back up this directive, management empowers employees, giving them the authority to say “no” to unsafe work or to stop it. Energy Delivery supports its philosophy with a “No Compromise Plan” that spells out in detail all safety information and policies for employees, who each have a copy. Managers use a “Destination Zero” (injuries) toolkit to analyze safety within their organizations and develop steps to mitigate issues.
“We take an employee involvement approach to safety,” says Ken Sheridan, Manager, Safety and Technical Training, Energy Delivery. “Our workers not only recognize hazards; they understand the reasoning behind them. Consequently, they see the value in safety, embrace it and are totally dedicated to ensuring nothing, absolutely nothing will compromise it. They very simply are the drivers behind our safety success!”
Like Energy Delivery, the Energy Services group has its own approach to safety with a “Nobody Gets Hurt In Our House” philosophy. With power-plant-based operations across the Commonwealth of Kentucky, this initiative ensures each plant addresses the individualized safety issues of its facility and commits that no one will be injured while on the property. E.S. employees and contractors also understand the importance of identifying potential hazards and saying no to unsafe work conditions.
“By relentlessly repeating the ideal that our workplace is our house, we are doing two things,” says Mike Neason, Manager, Health and Safety, Energy Services. “First, we support the ownership that each of us has in ensuring this is a safe place to work; and second, we underscore the fact that we are a family of people who care for each other. This really sets the tone for our approach to safety as well as the expectations that we have for our organization, employees and business partners.”
Management Support
E.ON U.S. employees readily accept responsibility for controlling hazards because they know management, from senior levels through front-line supervisors, support their actions. Safety is a core value that starts with the CEO and spreads throughout every level of the organization. There is no doubt that the well-being of workers is the company’s priority. For example, the worst winter storm in Kentucky’s history forced the cancellation of this year’s safety summit on January 28. However, despite the additional time, effort and cost the company had to incur, there was no debate about whether or not to reschedule it. The bottom line—safety is first at E.ON U.S. regardless of the circumstances.
E.ON U.S. places the same importance on contractor safety as it does on employee safety. Contractor incidents have the same significant impact on individuals, operations and finances as do those involving employees. Consequently, all parties benefit as a result of strict contractor safety management, which has been very successful at E.ON U.S. Business partners are integrated into the safety culture through ongoing communication, training and participation in safety meetings. They are expected to meet or exceed the same standards as employees. Contracting company owners and managers are expected to demonstrate safety leadership like E.ON U.S. management.
The belief in a top-led, employee-driven safety culture was evident at the April summit. CEO Vic Staffieri (who was returning from Germany) launched the meeting with opening statements by video. Members of the E.ON U.S. Safety Governance Council followed with strong messages about factors that influence safety at the company. The council was established in 2007 to oversee safety standards, improvements and integration of best practices for all of E.ON U.S. Membership consists of five senior officers.
The Kentucky Labor Department secretary also addressed the group about the positive impact E.ON U.S.’s safety performance has on the Commonwealth’s overall workforce. Others in attendance were members of the Kentucky Public Service Commission and regulatory and community officials who value the company’s safety performance.
Employees and contractors left the meeting with a number of directives, such as developing annual hazard and mitigation plans, a requirement of every Energy Delivery and Energy Services operating group. In addition, managers must conduct a root cause analysis of every incident, whether it is classified as a close call, minor incident or serious injury. The information will be used to determine areas of best practices that can be used to improve safety in both groups. The summit also included exhibits that highlighted key safety practices for each group. “Lightning rounds” focused on developing mitigation plans, conducting root cause analyses and the roles of health and strong leadership in safety success. In addition, attendees answered a series of questions using an audience response tracking system, giving planners valuable information about safety perceptions and needs based on demographics.
E.ON U.S. LLC, headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a subsidiary of E.ON A.G., the world’s largest investor-owned energy services provider. E.ON U.S. is a diversified energy services company that serves 1.2 million gas and electric customers in Kentucky and Virginia through its subsidiaries Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company.
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