PotashCorp-Aurora recently held a plant-wide safety celebration in recognition of obtaining five safety milestones within a four-month period. Attending the event was PotashCorp President and CEO Bill Doyle.
This is not the first time Doyle has visited the Aurora site to recognize employees and contractors for their accomplishments in safety. In his address, Doyle noted that he had never visited a site to celebrate five safety milestones at one time. He also noted: “To compete at a world-class level, it all begins with safety. The most important asset we have at Aurora, and all our sites, is the people.”
Several other corporate representatives attended the event to recognize employees’ and contractors’ dedication to safety and recent safety milestones.
Aurora employees and/or contractors earned the safety awards recognized at this event last May, June and August.
“The awards recognized specific benchmarks attained by employees and contractors as measured in millions of safe work hours,” said Ray McKeithan, public-affairs manager.
In addition to Doyle, several others spoke on the important role that safety plays, not only in their work world but also in their personal life.
James “JP” Whitford, site safety facilitator, delivered a poignant message about dealing with life changes and the importance of family in maintaining a healthy safety focus. McKeithan offered remarks about the safety culture at the site, from a newcomer’s perspective.
PotashCorp-Aurora General Manager Steve Beckel reiterated, “These accomplishments are great first steps toward our goal of no harm to people. If we communicate and focus on acting safely, we will continue our journey toward an incident-free workplace for everyone who works in Aurora.”
A highlight of the celebration was a video that featured the joint efforts by PotashCorp-Aurora staff and contractors to improve overall safety at the facility by working together and communicating as a team. “The recent milestones that we have achieved are due to the hard work and dedication to the safety of every employee and contractor at the Aurora site,” said Greg Rowe, manager of safety and health. “The real milestone is that everyone goes home safely at the end of the work day.”