ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- Don Winningham, an explosive safety specialist at Anniston Army Depot assigned to the Anniston Munitions Center, recently began a safety steward program at ANMC which has been adopted throughout the Joint Munitions Command.
The safety steward program is developed on the premise that every person should be a safety officer for their work area.
Winningham said he based the safety stewards program on Army Regulation 385-10, which details collateral duty safety officers.
The program supplements safety in an area with only one safety specialist.
"I'm a one-man team," said Winningham.
By assigning aspects of the safety program, such as inspections and initial accident investigations to individuals in each division within ANMC, it enables those who know the processes best to determine the best ways to ensure employee safety.
Winningham shared the idea with Lt. Col. Craig McIlwain, commander of ANMC, in September 2017 and it was introduced to the workforce a month later during a town hall meeting.
"The safety steward program furthers a safety culture we have been building in ANMC, where every employee is responsible for their safety and the safety of their coworkers. Safety is a top priority in our organization and this program re-emphasizes its importance at all levels of the command," said McIlwain.
The short time frame from discussion with the commander to implementation is due to Winningham's research and preparation and the ANMC leadership's desire to see the safety stewards in place as quickly as possible.
Winningham presented a draft Letter of Intent and draft charter to McIlwain during their discussion, documents which soon became the official beginning of the safety steward program.
To date, 16 individuals throughout ANMC have been identified and have begun the additional training necessary for their new duties.
"They are extra safety eyes for the command," said Darrel Tackett, chief of staff for ANMC. "In the Army, we say everyone is a safety officer. Everyone has the ability to halt operations if unsafe conditions exist."
"They augment the supervisor and the installation safety office at the point of compliance," said Winningham.
Only a few months after implementation, the program has been expanded to encompass all of Joint Munitions Command.
Winningham shared his work with the safety stewards during a safety teleconference with other safety personnel in JMC as a best practice.
"It just so happened some key leaders from JMC were also on the call," said Winningham.
Winningham said he immediately began fielding questions about the program.
After receiving details on the program from Winningham, JMC's safety team proposed the idea to the chain of command and an Operation Order was sent to all JMC installations on Feb. 7 implementing the safety steward program across the command.
According to the OPORD, "Safety stewards will help to equip soldiers and civilian employees by serving as safety points-of-contact within their directorate. They will help identify and control hazards in the workplace, help communicate safety events and activities to employees to ensure maximum participation, help communicate safety messages to employees to increase safety awareness, assist employees and supervisors with accident reporting and accident prevention efforts, and answer and or relay employee questions and/or concerns to the organization's safety committee, safety team, and/or leadership as appropriate."
Social Sharing