Safety isn’t a one-person job. It takes teamwork, especially in a workplace like Walbar Peabody’s facility. There are many potential hazards between our heavy machinery and tools, employees milling about the floor and office, and equipment on the move.
So, to create the safest workplace possible and mitigate these risks, we have several committees and numerous methods to ensure that we’re constantly reassessing and improving as needed. Perhaps most important is the conversation we foster around this topic.
Below, we answer common questions about our safety practices and how we make it a team effort.
How are your teams structured?
Walbar Peabody maintains several teams dedicated to specific areas of safety, consisting of:
- 7 Leadership Members
- 10 Safety Committee Members
- 4 Sustainability Members
- 4 Laceration Members
- 2 Ergonomics Members
- 4 Slip, Trip, and Fall Members
Each team meets regularly to review safety policies, prevention measures, and continue reducing risks. The leadership and safety committees meet monthly, while the laceration, ergonomic, and slip, trip, and fall committees meet quarterly. The sustainability crew meets bi-annually.
What training do you implement for all levels of team members?
To ensure quality and consistency, we provide training annually or as needed, depending on regulatory or Collins Aerospace requirements. Walbar Peabody’s approach to safety encompasses the complex relationships between people, technology, and the environment they operate within to identify and correct hazards.
What specific steps do you take within your approach to safety?
We perform daily Gemba walks, which are workplace walkthroughs that aim to identify productivity, quality, and safety gains. The term is derived from the Japanese word “gemba” or “gembutsu,” which means “the real place.” It is often literally defined as the act of seeing where the actual work happens.
Additionally, we encourage workplace culture conversations by engaging with employees on each team, which often relate to safety precautions.
A significant piece of this is our “Report It, Don’t Ignore It” campaign, which further instills this overall message of safety in our company culture. Started by Collins Aerospace, we use this initiative to correct employee concerns. We even have monthly raffles and continuously show employees how to make reports during our daily Gemba walks.
We also use quality control frequently to verify that safety is up to codes and standards. In addition to the daily Gemba walks, these methods include internal and external audits.
How do you combat on-site hazards?
The two most common are:
- Slip, trip, and fall
- Ergonomic
We work tirelessly to combat these through safeguarding machines, which have been designed and installed to offer the highest level of practical protection available to prevent injury. Employee safety is critically important to everything we do, and our entire team is committed to safety excellence.
For example, we’ve implemented safety interlocks and light curtains on our electrical discharge machining (EDM), lathes, and grinders.
Putting safety first means putting our team first
Safety is cultural, meaning it can only be strengthened by constant conversations, training, and assessments. We continue searching for fresh ways to involve all team members in this area so that everyone fully appreciates it and understands how to spot potential hazards.
Creating safe processes and policies also keeps us operational and allows us to deliver our best, most efficient work for our clients. When you entrust us with your hot section engine components, you’ll know they’re in good hands. Contact Walbar Peabody to learn more about how we deliver secure, high-quality services today.
