Purpose & Scope
The purpose of this program is to promote workplace environmental, health and safety through positive reinforcement of observed safe behaviors and voluntary participation in various safety/risk management programs and exercises.
Our goal is to promote open discussion about our environment, health and safety at all levels of management, leading to safer workplace behaviors and environmental stewardship, thus enabling us to switch our emphasis from the monitoring of “Lagging Indicators” (accidents, incidents, environmental issues, equipment and vehicle damage) to a major emphasis on “Leading Indicators” utilizing our Crew Based Safety Observations and Near Miss/Good Catch Programs.
A near miss is defined as: an unplanned event or work practice that DID NOT result in injury, illness or property damage, but had the potential to do so. Only a fortunate break in the chain of events prevented this (i.e., something happened).
A good catch is defined as: recognition of a potential event or circumstance which could have caused personal injury or property damage but did not occur due to corrective action (i.e., caught before something happened).
Simply put, when an employee witnesses unsafe acts, unsafe conditions, environmental issues, equipment/vehicle concerns or any positive EH&S actions while they’re working, job site management will encourage them to fill out a Crew Based Safety Observation, or a Safety Observation Card to document the issue or behavior at hand. Using the information from these electronic mediums, or cards, division management will then begin to address the concerns, observed behaviors, and leading indicators that will enable us to prevent EH&S incidents /accidents. The information will then be communicated across all divisions of TEI as a “Lessons Learned” recognition tool.
We will encourage any/all employees to complete and submit a Safety & Environmental Recognition Award Nomination Form to division management and the Safety Department when they feel the actions listed above are completed and an award/recognition is deserved. The Safety & Environmental Recognition Award Nomination Form will be integral in the issuance and tracking of reward points. These points will be accumulated by employees and will allow them to select awards from the TEI Safety Incentive Program Catalog, which will include clothing, various merchandise, paid time off, etc.
We will also support and encourage employees to complete a Safety & Environmental Recognition Award Nomination Form if they witness something unsafe on the way to or from work that they can share in their pre-job meeting as a Safety Moment.
