Suited for Safety

United employees demonstrated their commitment to the co-op’s safety culture this January by achieving 500,000 hours without a lost-time accident.

The achievement is especially significant when considering the businesses United is in—providing  world-class high-speed internet to almost 30,000 subscribers and delivering reliable electric power to the more than 106,000 meters that power the lives of more than 78,000 member-owners across the co-op’s 14-county service territory, said United CEO Cameron Smallwood.

Hitting the 500,000 benchmark is a major safety achievement for United’s 225-plus employees, he said, and becomes more impressive when considering how many employees are relatively newly hired to the co-op in recent years.

“No other part of our daily work supersedes safety, and our safety culture here has to be universally owned by each employee,” Smallwood said. “Safety is our foremost organizational objective every minute of every day. When one considers this achievement and recognizes the time United employees spend traversing United’s service territory, the risks involved in restoration efforts during storm events and in an industry that is inherently hazardous, this milestone demonstrates our employee commitment to zero accidents.”

The cooperative’s safety program is built on the belief that everyone at the company has a role to play in safety, whether an employee works in the field or in one of United’s area offices, said Kevin Keesee, vice president of human resources & safety.

Along with public education, the cooperative has numerous employee safety initiatives underway throughout all departments, he said. His department evaluates multiple new safety programs each year, implementing those that will effectively increase safety awareness throughout the cooperative.

“This milestone represents our unwavering commitment that every team member keeps safety at the forefront of their work so they can return home safely to their families each day,” Keesee said. “At United, we will continue to build on this success because our employees genuinely understand the importance of a strong safety culture and take that responsibility seriously.”

Brody Weems is the safety & loss control coordinator in Stephenville. He said making safety a core value rather than just a priority is part of what created the 500,000-hour milestone.

“Many industries like to prioritize safety every day,” he said. “However, it is far too easy for priorities to change in the blink of an eye. While safety is a priority at United, it is also a core value that is embedded in our foundation. That value sets us apart. While our industry is constantly evolving with new tools and technology, we must continue to look for ways to grow and improve our safety culture. Every one of our employees has the responsibility to choose to work safely, to have a voice when they see a need for improvement and to hold others to the same standards.”

While safety will always be a work in progress, reaching the 500,000-hour milestone is representative of an organization that is dedicated to its safety culture while also completing projects in a productive and efficient manner, said Pat Griffith, safety & loss control coordinator in Burleson.

“Here at United, what separates us from other organizations is our outlook and the extent to which our employees take personal responsibility for safety,” Griffith said. “The actual hours really aren’t what we are celebrating. We’re recognizing a whole organization/team that has made significant contributions to a thriving safety culture—a culture of continuous improvements.”