Safety is the Top Priority at the North Atlantic Division

By Lou Fioto, North Atlantic Division, U.S. Army Corps of EngineersAugust 12, 2016

Safety is The Top Priority at the North Atlantic Division
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Safety is The Top Priority at the North Atlantic Division
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Safety is The Top Priority at the North Atlantic Division
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The North Atlantic Division (NAD) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has always made safety a core business objective and integrates it into all of its projects, programs and activities.

"With NAD's challenging and significant workload during FY 15, it was absolutely critical that our leaders and employees, at all levels, maintained their focus on accident prevention," said Brig. Gen. William "Butch" Graham, NAD Commander. "Their focus and performance resulted in reduced injury frequency rates and timely mission accomplishment."

That emphasis has routinely earned NAD significant recognition throughout the Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Army. And this year was no different. In late June, NAD was recognized again by the annual Chief of Engineers Safety Awards, earning the 2015 Chief of Engineers Award of Honor, Division Category, which is presented to an organization that has demonstrated an exemplary safety and health program. Judges rated nominees on their innovation, safety culture, and achievements in protecting lives, preventing property loss, and safeguarding the well-being of its teammates.

"Each district contributed their own unique signature towards helping the division earn this award," says Jonathan Foster, NAD Safety Manager. "It is truly a total division success story and highlights the fact that none of us alone can achieve as much as all of us together."

Europe District, for example, practices a concept that cannot be minimized, and is unique to overseas districts. They are a family---they must rely on each other and as such, must be responsible to fellow team members. This attitude permeates the district philosophy that safety is everyone's responsibility. Additionally, Europe District team members are a role model for the "See Something, Say Something" concept. Team members are proactive in identifying safety and health vulnerabilities and remediating the issue or reporting it so that it can be remediated.

"Europe's program is so successful, in fact," says Foster, "it earned the North Atlantic Division Safety Award of Excellence. It recognizes them for their creative, effective, and tireless efforts and commitment to the safety of its workforce and their contractor personnel in an incredibly broad and varied area of responsibility. The involvement of so many district personnel is laudable and proves that safety goes well beyond the safety office. Especially commendable is the fact that NAU recently celebrated their "7th Year of Life" with zero contractor fatalities and a contractor accident rate among the lowest in Corps of Engineers."

Philadelphia District is also a strong contributor to the Division safety mindset.

"Philadelphia's program success earned it the Division's Safety Award of Honor," Foster says. "This award recognizes them for their fundamental obligations of leadership with keeping the health and safety of the workforce foremost in their minds and incorporating safety and health principles into their daily decision-making process. Leadership's visible support and increased employee involvement has created a cascading effect that permeates Philadelphia's corporate culture. The commander routinely stresses the worth of the district's most valued resource - its employees."

Each of the other districts within the Division - New England, New York, Baltimore, and Norfolk - have exemplary safety records that highlight their commitments to keeping their people safe as well.

Overall, the NAD team consists of 3,300 employees with a regional headquarters at Fort Hamilton. Five districts serve the continental United States and one serves the European and African Commands. NAD's boundaries in the Continental United States include all or parts of 14 States and the District of Columbia. Overseas, the Division serves the 51 countries in the European Command (EUCOM), including Iceland, Greenland and Israel. NAD also promotes a stable and secure Africa in support of the US foreign policy through AFRICOM (53 countries, except Egypt) by executing humanitarian assistance, exercise-related construction, and infrastructure development programs.

Besides its 3300 employees, the division manages a large and wide variety of contractors, all of whom must adhere to the division's safety guidelines and practices. NAD's injury frequency rates are significantly lower compared to their industry peers as outlined in the Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics tables and categories.

NAD's commitment to safety, fueled by strong management-employee involvement, was instrumental in achieving this accident prevention success.

"A safe and healthy work environment," concludes BG Graham, "is a fundamental right and has resulted in quality products, produced safely, on time and within budget. We must all remember that tomorrow is the reward for working safely today!"

Lou Fioto is a public affairs specialist with the North Atlantic Division of the Corps. For more information on the division, go to: http://www.nad.usace.army.mil/