Bright Wood Blog
Training Teaches How to Investigate an Accident so It Never Happens Again
[April 11, 2022] Bright Wood Safety Committee members from Redmond and Madras wrapped up a training session in March with a clearer understanding of their role. Ramiero Leon from Vigilant Safety Consulting led the two-hour class focused on two key Safety Committee responsibilities: accident investigation and root cause analysis.
“The overall goal of a committee member is to improve workplace safety,” Jim Sanders, Bright Wood Safety Manager, said. “This is accomplished through accident investigation and applying root cause analysis when an injury occurs to prevent reoccurrence.”
“Members should be able to tell the Safety Committee the hazard or action, identify the root cause of the injury, and develop corrective actions and recommendations based on the findings – all to prevent reoccurrence,” Jim said.
“Safety committee members are in the plants to support their coworkers and improve overall safety in the workplace,” Jim said. “We must talk to people, and people need to feel like they can come to us with safety issues. When they do, it is critical that we follow up with them and resolve the issue.”
“Let’s not wait until someone gets hurt to fix a problem we should be seeing now,” Jim said. “We should always be asking ourselves how we can do this safer?”
“The training mirrored Bright Wood’s existing STOP* and STAR** programs,” Jim Lantz, Madras Plant 7 driver, said. “We are safest when everybody is looking for unsafe acts. Our job is to coach and train people to identify unsafe acts and then pass their observations along, so the production floor and management are on the same page.”
“This was a great class, and Ramiero was a wonderful and informative instructor,” Laci Brown, Redmond Safety Manager, said. “I will be incorporating what I learned into STAR classes, new person orientations, and training for all future safety committee members. This information is vital to safety at Bright Wood.”
*STOP: Safety Training Observation Program
**STAR: Safety Training Awareness and Responsibilities
