Not pictured: Bruce Elliott, T... VIEW ORIGINAL
ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. - In the ammunition business safety has to be a top priority, and for the Joint Munitions Command, it's an award-winning priority.
Safety personnel within the command are enjoying the kudos for winning several safety awards from the Army.
The Joint Munitions Command was awarded the fiscal year 2009 division level award for Excellence in Explosives Safety, while increasing its labor hours and reducing compensation costs by 35 percent.
Other JMC installation winners included Holston Ammunition Plant - located in Kingsport, Tenn. -- for Excellence in Explosive Safety Award, garrison level. The plant was rated "Green" in every evaluated area.
The Army first announced winners in April with the award presented during a ceremony in June.
Bruce Elliott, JMC safety director, noted that everyone can contribute to a successful safety atmosphere.
"Three years ago we started measuring our performance. We asked ourselves the question, 'What is our baseline'' We made a point to focus on behavior-based safety," he said. "Everyone is a safety officer."
Elliot said his office started to collect monthly data on safety statistics all the while using Lean Six Sigma DMAIC's (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) techniques.
"We wanted to get buy in and acceptance from the workforce on the process," he said. "We wanted to reduce accidents by 25 percent."
Another important part of the safety success story was rewarding employees for their safety partnership through surprise award recognitions.
"We wanted people to feel good about this and take pride in safety through our (On the Spot) awards," he said.
Among the other changes the safety office initiated included having a quarterly safety council between JMC installations, JMC headquarters and JMC Commanding General Brig. Gen. Larry Wyche.
Walter Shearin, of Crane Army Ammunition Activity, in Crane, Ind., was also applauded for leading his safety program.
In fact, Crane recently learned it has earned a Star Status designation in the Voluntary Protection Program after follow-up inspections by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, making it only the second organization in the Army Materiel Command to earn this distinction.
The Star Status marks a first for a JMC site and only the second command in the AMC to receive the honor along with Tobyhanna Army Depot, Tobyhanna, Pa.
The Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) promotes effective worksite-based safety and health.
In the VPP, management, labor, and OSHA establish cooperative relationships at workplaces that have implemented a comprehensive safety and health management system. Approval into VPP is OSHA's official recognition of the outstanding efforts of employers and employees who have achieved exemplary occupational safety and health.
Shearin said Crane's program focused on preventing workday lost injuries.
"As of (July 9), the installation has gone 2 million hours without a lost work day injury," he said. "We have strong employee safety councils and weekly safety topics. We also have strong leadership from our (former) commander, (Col. Charles Kibben). He's a real down to Earth person who stresses safety every time he gets a chance to talk to people."
Elliott also lauded the efforts of Scott Sullivan, risk manager, and James Hammonds from McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in McAlester, Okla., in emphasizing safety in their new employee training program.
"All of our new employees go through a one-day employee orientation and the first thing they learn here is the command's emphasis on safety and the (Volunteer Protection Program)," Sullivan said. "We follow that up with a two-day safety class that covers OSHA hazard communications, specific MCAAP safety rules, and Safe Start behavior-base safety."
Sullivan also said employees also take a mandatory ammunition class titled Ammo 45.
"People working in (ammunition) production wear a tan color-coded hat their first year," he said. "This lets everyone know that this is a new guy and they might need some extra looking after. They wear that hat for a year and then they move on to another color hat."
Elliott concluded that the award truly is a team effort.
"It's really (the employees) award. They are never complacent, never resting. They are always working to make the command and the installations safer," he said.
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