The Anniston Munitions Center was recently presented with three honors regarding their safety program – a note from the commanding general, a certificate of achievement from their higher headquarters and an award from their four-star level command.
On Jan. 16, ANMC’s Munitions Division received a note from Brig. Gen. Michelle Letcher, the commanding general for the U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command praising their safety accomplishments and noting the division had worked 121,840 hours without a work-related injury or illness between July 16, 2017 and Jan. 6, 2020.
“Attaining this milestone requires a strong culture of safety and indicates the level of importance that the Munitions Division continues to devote to safety every day,” said Letcher’s note.
According to Don Winningham, ANMC’s safety manager and explosives safety officer, the Munitions Division once accounted for approximately 94 percent of all work-related injuries and illnesses.
“The Munitions Division went from worst to best,” he said.
Winningham attributes the change to devotion to safety which extends from the ANMC leadership through the division chiefs and supervisors to the employees.
He stated Chad Adams, chief of the Munitions Division, has taken a proactive stance on safety, actively encouraging employees to note and take action on any potential safety issue.
“Policies are just pieces of paper, until you have buy-in,” said Winningham.
On Feb. 20, JMC presented ANMC with the Outstanding Safety Performance Award (Installation Level).
This award is presented quarterly.
Through the award, JMC noted that ANMC had no Occupational Safety and Health Administration recordable cases since April 2019 and that the organization had worked more than 125,000 hours without a personal injury.
The U.S. Army Materiel Command presented the Excellence in Safety Award for fiscal year 2019 to ANMC in recognition of their safety record and dedication.
With this honor, ANMC is now in the running for a Department of the Army safety award.
“Safety at ANMC is one of the seven strategic goals and a shared value,” said Lt. Col. Roshun Steele, ANMC’s commander. “It is not seen as an extra task, but a vital part of ANMC’s business practice.”
According to Winningham, in fiscal year 2019, ANMC worked 187,000 man hours without a safety incident.
“We’re still working on that, too,” said Winningham, adding that ANMC has not had a safety incident to-date in FY20.
In addition to their safety record, ANMC has assisted with safety programs across the command.
“We’ve implemented several programs that the enterprise, across JMC, has adopted,” said Winningham.
These include the safety steward program, quarterly safety awareness bulletins, commander’s walkthroughs and OSHA supervisor training for most supervisors.
“The training is not an OSHA requirement,” said Winningham. “It’s an initiative we took on ourselves.”
“From the leadership through every link in the chain, we have empowered our ANMC workforce to speak up whenever a potential safety issue arises. By creating a proactive, rather than reactive, safety approach, our workforce is able to overcome challenges before they become obstacles to the mission,” said Steele.
Social Sharing