A lot has changed in 5.5 years. In 2020, the world was in the early stages of a global pandemic and encouraged to social distance and restrict travel; the United States of America was preparing for a presidential election; and Artificial Intelligence was entering a new era of rapid advancement and investment.
While 2020 may seem like a distant memory, it marked the beginning of an important milestone for the team at Wyoming Lime Producers (WLP), one that continues today.
The WLP team has an ongoing safety milestone of 2,098 days without a lost-time accident—the equivalent of over 5.5 years. A clear demonstration of the team’s dedication to supporting each other and prioritizing safety every day. According to Site Manager, Tucker Green, this ongoing safety milestone is due to employees who care and are willing to use the safety tools and training provided, as well as leadership’s focus on safety.
“Pete Lien & Sons and Basin Electric align very well on creating and maintaining a safety culture,” Green says. “It’s easier to manage and operate WLP when the message from management comes across loud and clear—we will work safely, anything less is unacceptable.”
WLP has seen the biggest improvement from three initiatives.
- Slow down to be productive – by taking extra time to perform an extra check, going back to get the right tool, and not taking shortcuts, etc., the team is more productive. If employees are rushing and an accident occurs, all productivity is lost.
- Four-second rule – Simply stopping to assess a situation for four seconds before proceeding to ensure employees are not overlooking safety issues.
- Near misses – being transparent and sharing information across the whole company are the most valuable tools.
When asked who deserved the recognition for this safety milestone, Green responded, “First and foremost, the people who come here every day and make the choice to work safely. Upper management should also be recognized for putting their money where their mouth is. Safety is a big investment, and if you look around the country, not everyone is willing to take that extra step. It just so happens that I have two bosses who expect nothing less.”
While this safety milestone doesn’t surpass WLP’s current safety record of 3,545 days (set from 2009 to 2015). The team is making strong progress towards matching or breaking it.
“We all have people who count on us, and we come here to work safely and take care of each other,” Green says. “If I have not created an environment at WLP where employees expect to come and work safely every day, then I have failed them as well as the people who care about them.”