2013 year end report safety - chugach electric · 2013 year end report – safety ... safety...

2013 Year End Report – Safety

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TO: Brad Evans, Chief Executive Officer

FROM: Tyler Andrews, Vice President, Member and Employee Services

DATE: January 17, 2014

SUBJECT: Year End 2013 Report

2013 saw the reduction of Lost Work Day Recordable Incident Rate to 2.18; significantly below our own

five year average and the average for our industry in Alaska. While we never want a coworker to

experience the disruption of an injury it is positive report improvement for 2013. Last was a year of

transition for the Safety Department. This past year saw the retiring of a seasoned veteran, Ken Thomas,

and the incoming of someone familiar with the needs of Chugach from an operational side, as well as the

functional needs of safety, ‐ Mel Hutchison. Mel reset the tone of the department, new initiatives were

begun and the incorporation of frontline concerns regarding the safety programs and development

gained momentum.

INITIATIVES:

Safety Handbook: Work began on the re‐write of the 2006 Chugach Safety Handbook. The 13

sections were divided up between VP’s and Managers to lead the new edition with the primary goal set

of: being not just an update, but to facilitate the discussion of safety throughout Chugach. Involvement

of employees was of utmost importance to institute “ownership” of the document upon completion.

Switching Procedures: As part of the handbook rewrite, the Safety department dedicated time to

work with Dispatch in the re‐writing and simplification of Section 12 of the handbook. In the process of

re‐writing this portion, they reached out to other utilities throughout Alaska and began an Alaska

Railbelt Utility Procedure Committee. This is comprised of: Golden Valley Electric; Matanuska Electric

Association; Homer Electric Association; and ML & P. The goals of the group are to define terminology

and various procedures used throughout the electrical industry in Alaska. The defining of the

differences and commonality in regards to language and procedures will increase safety for all electrical

workers in Alaska – especially considering call‐outs when a utility is handling storm emergencies and

must rely on others for assistance.

Behavior Based Safety: In May of 2013, Chugach hosted behavioral safety workshops at the IBEW

training center. More than 80 employees, which included management, union represented employees

and apprentices attended. In addition, Safety Leadership for Supervisors was held in the Operations Bull

Room on June 25 and was presented by Kurt Stranne. The goals were to gain understanding of impact

they have on the safety of the employees, increase work productivity and improve effective safety

reporting. With feedback received from attendees of these workshops, we elected to bring in Bill Sims


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to host a Green Bean Safety Leadership Workshop in November of 2013 – covering the concepts of

behavioral systems with a positive recognition base. We held this in place of the 4th quarterly Supervisor

Safety Meeting and had approximately 65 in attendance – made up of managers, supervisors, and union

leaders. Overwhelmingly, this received positive feedback on the approach of this method. Chugach is

pursuing employee participation and gaining momentum on bringing this positive reinforcement

behavioral approach to Chugach.

Training Development: The Safety Department developed and published Computer Based Training

(CBT) for Forklift; Global Harmonized System; and Tire Training. A gap assessment was performed on

the Switching Certification Training and its effectiveness, a re‐aligned format for the course has been

developed and the training course is in the process of being built. The Respiratory Protection Training

course was re‐written and delivered.

Safety Observations: The observation system continues to mature with use. Issues / Concerns

identified by employees, supervisors, and safety staff are placed within the Observation system

and assigned to a manager for follow‐up and close out. The observation system remains a key

component for capturing employee concerns, working on those concerns and reporting back.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Exec/Admin/Finance

Power Delivery

Power Supply

Exec/Admin/Finance

Power Delivery

Power Supply

Exec/Admin/Finance

Power Delivery

Power Supply

Exec/Admin/Finance

Power Delivery

Power Supply

1 2 3 4

Sum of New Issues

Sum of Total Closed

Sum of Remaining Issues

2013 Observations


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Safety Improvements:

Eyelation Station ‐ The Safety department had 2 stations installed that allow employees to

bring a current prescription for eye glasses, and order prescription safety glasses from right

here at Chugach.

Air Monitoring Programs – The Safety department began a program with Industrial Scientific to

provide real time air monitoring equipment for our plants along with calibration gases so they

are ready to go at any time of need. This new system provides a higher level of availability for

equipment that is critical for safe entry into confined spaces.

Safety Forms: The accident investigation forms were updated and distributed to all company

personnel. The Confined Space Entry Permit is in the process of final approvals on its update.

Public Outreach:

Safety City Presentations: The Safety department continued to lend their support to the

schools in Alaska. Five Safety City Presentations were held throughout the Anchorage School

District and one was held for the village of Tyonek for their Annual School Health Fair Event in

2013.

Safety Conferences: The Safety department began supporting the community in Safety at

ASSE’s Alaska Occupational Safety and Health Conference. As a result of our support, several

speakers of direct impact to Chugach were brought to Alaska to present technical sessions.

Chemical Inventory & Updates: The Safety department led a chemical inventory process

encompassing all of Chugach. Overall 531 new products were added to the inventory from the previous

year making the total number of products tracked in our Safety Data Sheet inventory: 3,100. Updated

binders by chemical usage area were distributed and thumb drives containing the information were also

made available to the various departments.

Quarterly Supervisor Safety Meetings: The Quarterly Supervisor Safety meetings have continued

through 2013 and have gained positive momentum. A survey was conducted regarding these meetings

to help the Safety department gauge what attendees felt was most important, and why. This safety


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learning activity continues to evolve and now includes foremen and lead workers to expand the

message that safety is a value for the Association and its employees.

Surveying: This year the Safety department utilized custom surveys to gain critical feedback for the

Behavior Based Safety informational workshops as well as the direction of the quarterly Supervisor

Safety Meetings. This valuable insight gained, has helped direct the safety efforts with a more direct

approach in gaining perception and fulfilling needs the employees have voiced.

Safety Technology:

Safety Management System ‐ The Safety department with support of the Chugach IS

department, have been seeking a Safety Management System (SMS) capable of meeting the

ever growing needs of Safety for Chugach. A needs assessment has been completed and the

Safety Department will now begin vetting potential programs that will meet our needs and grow

with us.

Safety Portal – The Safety department has also been working closely with the IS department in

the development of a “Safety Portal” webpage to be posted on the InsideWire. The purpose of

this is for employees to have a “one stop” for their safety needs and gain visibility of the

importance of Safety to all Chugach.

Safety Meetings: The chart below indicates the safety meetings held by each department in Chugach

in 2013. Safety personnel alternate their times and attend various safety meetings held throughout the

year. The Safety staff offers support for these meetings as well as influencing topics to be covered

based on needs in those areas.


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Overall Safety: The Safety department continues visitation of remote locations and providing

the needed support for these areas. Site audits / observations and procedural updates are

ongoing as a result of these regularly scheduled visits.

SAFETY STATISTICS FOR CHUGACH ELECTRIC IN 2013:

Number of Recordable Injuries 14

Number of Lost Work Day Recordable Injuries 7

Lost Work Days for 2013 Injuries 280

Lost Work Days from Previous Years 96

Total Number of Vehicle Incidents 6 The following comparison graphs of recordable and lost work day injuries gives visual reference and comparisons with Alaska and National Bureau of Labor Statistics covering power generation, transmission, and distribution reporting utilities. The plotted graphs represent Chugach’s 2013 injuries, including the five year and ten averages.

2013 Injuries By Area:

Type of Injury CEO Finance Power Delivery Power Supply

Recordable 0 2 8 4

Lost Work Day 0 0 5 2


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5.78

3.04

6.86.6

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

9.00

10.00

Inci

den

t R

ate

(Per

100

Em

plo

yees

)

Recordable Incidence Rate

Chugach 5 Year Average (2008 - 2012)

BLS (National 5-Year

BLS (Alaska 5 - Year Average)*

* Based on 2007 - 2011 data reported to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) under NAICS


3.1

2.2

3.3

4.9

2.22.80

4.03.4

4.37 4.56 4.4 4.3


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2.25

2.80

2.08 2.212.54

2.19 1.96 2.19 1.90 2.08 2.18

3.43

0.92

2.70

3.58

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

9.00

10.00

Inci

den

t R

ate

(Per

100

Em

plo

yees

)

Lost Work Day Recordable Incidence Rate

BLS (Alaska 5-year

Chugach 5 Year Average (2008 -

BLS (National 5-year

* Based on 2008 - 2012 data reported to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) under NAICS


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