Covanta Marion's Eileen Tanner Explains How to Be a Safety 'Star'
Workplace safety is a lot like sports.
On one side of the spectrum are the “fans” who play a game every so often but spend most of their time watching sports on the TV. On the other side of the spectrum are the Olympians. The difference: Olympians wake up every day and eat, drink, and think their sport.
Workplace safety works the same way. Some companies “talk a good game,” and others go for the gold medal—eating, drinking, and thinking safety. For those employers, OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) is the equivalent of the Olympic Games, and Star designation is the gold medal. “Olympian” organizations like Delta Airlines, Coca Cola, GE, U.S. Postal Service, Georgia Pacific, L.L. Bean, and many others have seen such benefits as improved worker retention, higher productivity, better morale, and lower workers’ comp rates as a result of their participation in the program, which brings employees and management together with OSHA to improve safety culture and practices.
Workplace safety is a lot like sports.
On one side of the spectrum are the “fans” who play a game every so often but spend most of their time watching sports on the TV. On the other side of the spectrum are the Olympians. The difference: Olympians wake up every day and eat, drink, and think their sport.
Workplace safety works the same way. Some companies “talk a good game,” and others go for the gold medal—eating, drinking, and thinking safety. For those employers, OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) is the equivalent of the Olympic Games, and Star designation is the gold medal. “Olympian” organizations like Delta Airlines, Coca Cola, GE, U.S. Postal Service, Georgia Pacific, L.L. Bean, and many others have seen such benefits as improved worker retention, higher productivity, better morale, and lower workers’ comp rates as a result of their participation in the program, which brings employees and management together with OSHA to improve safety culture and practices.
Profile of a Safety Star: Covanta Marion
Located in Brooks, Oregon, just a few miles north of Salem, Covanta Marion’s Energy from Waste (EfW) facility has been processing waste for county residents since 1987. Its 39 employees process 550 tons of waste per day and generate 13.1 megawatts of renewable energy using complicated and dangerous machinery. The Covanta Marion EfW plant is one of several VPP-designated plants operated by the parent company, Covanta Energy.
VPP “Star” status (the highest VPP accomplishment) was awarded to Covanta Marion in 2009, and safety performance has only improved: In 2008 the company’s Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR) per 100 workers was 2.91 and Days Away, Restricted and/or Transfer Rate (DART) per 100 workers was 1.79. By 2012 both rates were sharply reduced to 0.77 and 0.46.
Eileen Tanner, safety specialist at Covanta Marion, was an active participant in fulfilling the rigorous VPP program requirements. DuraNews recently had the chance to ask Eileen about what it takes to be a VPP Star.
DuraNews: How did Covanta Marion prepare for VPP?
Eileen Tanner
Tanner: Covanta Marion was in OSHA’s SHARP (Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program) for three years, at which time we were also preparing for VPP certification. We graduated from SHARP and received VPP Star recognition on the same day. The final year in SHARP was devoted to the application process, responding to all of the VPP elements. We worked with Oregon OSHA consultants as well as our corporate consultants in preparing for VPP. This meant going above and beyond OSHA regulations to achieve a world-class safety program, which is what VPP is all about. Every aspect of plant safety was reviewed, deemed in compliance and/or improved upon. It took every facility employee to make this happen.
DN: How did Covanta Marion go “above and beyond?”
Tanner: We found issues where we didn’t think there were any and collaboratively came up with workable solutions to correct them. We looked at safety as a whole and not just the pieces. If an issue was identified then we had to ask ourselves why—as in, why was it there, why was it allowed, why hadn’t it been identified previously, why wasn’t it fixed, etc. to address all the reasons and not just simply fix something and move onto the next thing.
DN: What was the key element of Covanta’s success?
Tanner: It was the collaboration of employees and management working for the same goal. Employees own the program and have submitted numerous safety improvement projects and suggestions. That being said, management support is vital, from our president and CEO to line managers. Managers fully believe in protecting our most important asset—our employees. We’ve had full financial and moral support from upper management in going through the process. With 42 VPP sites, it’s obvious that safety is a major priority for Covanta Energy.
Typical VPP Improvement
- Days Away Restricted or Transferred rates at 52 percent below industry average
- Reduced workers’ comp costs
- Better communication between management and employees
DN: What were some of the major initiatives Covanta completed to achieve VPP?
Tanner: Working on the hopper cameras previously required an employee to work from a ladder above the feed chutes, which created not only a fall hazard but a potential engulfment hazard. We ended up cutting a hole in the charging deck wall to the plant interior grated walkway and installing the camera on swing arms. Employees can now work on cameras without being subjected to a fall hazard. An employee received an “Excellence” award for this suggestion.
We engineered and installed a fall protection system for working on the gear boxes at the cooling tower.
A new feed chute cover used during boiler maintenance now has a fan installed in it to move air through the boiler, ensuring that there’s good ventilation for employees working inside, while preventing anyone or anything from entering the feed chute.
DN: What were some of the smaller improvements you made?
Tanner: We installed toe-boards on swing gates to prevent materials from falling to lower levels. We welded non-skid treads on all fixed ladders. And we installed hooks around the facility for suspending cords and hoses. This kept them out of walkways where they had become tripping hazards.
DN: What role does visual communication play at the Covanta Marion plant?
Tanner: Almost everything in this facility has a sign or a label. All piping, fill lines, some equipment, etc. Also, warning, caution, and danger signage is used for various hazards such as confined spaces, acid, caustic, tipping floor rules, etc.
DN: What advice do you have for companies looking to improve their safety record?
Tanner: There shouldn’t be any overlooked aspects when it comes to safety. At Covanta, we employ safety procedures and jobsite analyses (JSAs) for direction. All businesses must, at a minimum, review their entire facility and processes, identify which regulations apply, and be in compliance at all times. Of course, you need to let the employees lead and have total buy-in from management.
Located in Brooks, Oregon, just a few miles north of Salem, Covanta Marion’s Energy from Waste (EfW) facility has been processing waste for county residents since 1987. Its 39 employees process 550 tons of waste per day and generate 13.1 megawatts of renewable energy using complicated and dangerous machinery. The Covanta Marion EfW plant is one of several VPP-designated plants operated by the parent company, Covanta Energy.
VPP “Star” status (the highest VPP accomplishment) was awarded to Covanta Marion in 2009, and safety performance has only improved: In 2008 the company’s Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR) per 100 workers was 2.91 and Days Away, Restricted and/or Transfer Rate (DART) per 100 workers was 1.79. By 2012 both rates were sharply reduced to 0.77 and 0.46.
Eileen Tanner, safety specialist at Covanta Marion, was an active participant in fulfilling the rigorous VPP program requirements. DuraNews recently had the chance to ask Eileen about what it takes to be a VPP Star.
DuraNews: How did Covanta Marion prepare for VPP?
Eileen Tanner
Tanner: Covanta Marion was in OSHA’s SHARP (Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program) for three years, at which time we were also preparing for VPP certification. We graduated from SHARP and received VPP Star recognition on the same day. The final year in SHARP was devoted to the application process, responding to all of the VPP elements. We worked with Oregon OSHA consultants as well as our corporate consultants in preparing for VPP. This meant going above and beyond OSHA regulations to achieve a world-class safety program, which is what VPP is all about. Every aspect of plant safety was reviewed, deemed in compliance and/or improved upon. It took every facility employee to make this happen.
DN: How did Covanta Marion go “above and beyond?”
Tanner: We found issues where we didn’t think there were any and collaboratively came up with workable solutions to correct them. We looked at safety as a whole and not just the pieces. If an issue was identified then we had to ask ourselves why—as in, why was it there, why was it allowed, why hadn’t it been identified previously, why wasn’t it fixed, etc. to address all the reasons and not just simply fix something and move onto the next thing.
DN: What was the key element of Covanta’s success?
Tanner: It was the collaboration of employees and management working for the same goal. Employees own the program and have submitted numerous safety improvement projects and suggestions. That being said, management support is vital, from our president and CEO to line managers. Managers fully believe in protecting our most important asset—our employees. We’ve had full financial and moral support from upper management in going through the process. With 42 VPP sites, it’s obvious that safety is a major priority for Covanta Energy.
Typical VPP Improvement
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DN: What were some of the major initiatives Covanta completed to achieve VPP?
Tanner: Working on the hopper cameras previously required an employee to work from a ladder above the feed chutes, which created not only a fall hazard but a potential engulfment hazard. We ended up cutting a hole in the charging deck wall to the plant interior grated walkway and installing the camera on swing arms. Employees can now work on cameras without being subjected to a fall hazard. An employee received an “Excellence” award for this suggestion.
We engineered and installed a fall protection system for working on the gear boxes at the cooling tower.
A new feed chute cover used during boiler maintenance now has a fan installed in it to move air through the boiler, ensuring that there’s good ventilation for employees working inside, while preventing anyone or anything from entering the feed chute.
DN: What were some of the smaller improvements you made?
Tanner: We installed toe-boards on swing gates to prevent materials from falling to lower levels. We welded non-skid treads on all fixed ladders. And we installed hooks around the facility for suspending cords and hoses. This kept them out of walkways where they had become tripping hazards.
DN: What role does visual communication play at the Covanta Marion plant?
Tanner: Almost everything in this facility has a sign or a label. All piping, fill lines, some equipment, etc. Also, warning, caution, and danger signage is used for various hazards such as confined spaces, acid, caustic, tipping floor rules, etc.
DN: What advice do you have for companies looking to improve their safety record?
Tanner: There shouldn’t be any overlooked aspects when it comes to safety. At Covanta, we employ safety procedures and jobsite analyses (JSAs) for direction. All businesses must, at a minimum, review their entire facility and processes, identify which regulations apply, and be in compliance at all times. Of course, you need to let the employees lead and have total buy-in from management.
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