Member Spotlight
Majors Plastics Shows Dedication to Safety Without Shortcuts by Implementing Supervisor Safety Development Training
August, 2021
Michael Schweitzer, Director of Safety and Security at Majors Plastics, saw an opportunity to implement
Supervisor Safety Development
training and took off running. One Saturday a month, supervisors are asked to volunteer their time to attend classroom courses that provide leadership and management philosophies to empower employees and help improve and sustain safety performance. The course focuses on the critical requirements for safety improvement in the workplace and includes discussion of management approaches and regulatory issues that apply. With over half of their supervisor team
applying to sit in, this class has become a tremendous success.
As a retired Aircraft Armament Systems Specialist, Michael has dedicated his life to safety. His time in the Air force influenced his decision to invest in his supervisors at Majors Plastics. He wanted to stop the cycle of untrained team members struggling in supervisor roles. With a firm belief that if you invest in your team and give them all the right tools, they will be the best they can be
Michael plans to carry his well-received training on to a new class early in 2022.
JBS Shows Dedication to Safety Without Shortcuts by Completing Confined Space Entry Training
January 17, 2020
This past week, member company JBS sent employees from 6 of their locations to complete confined space entry training. NSCN instructors conducted the training onsite at the JBS Omaha location. JBS has been a member of the National Safety Council, Nebraska for 31 years! We commend them on their dedication to keeping their employees and workplace safe.
Nebraska Furniture Mart Deems First Year with Close Call Program a Success
January 27, 2020
Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM) began it’s close call program in January of 2019 to empower staff throughout the entire organization to identify and correct potential safety issues. Safety has always been a top priority amongst their warehouse staff, but they wanted to find a way to engage staff at all levels in safety, not just the warehouse.
NFM developed the Safety Close Call program to encourage staff to identify and report any unsafe act, unsafe condition and unsafe equipment they encounter. They ask staff to fix the issue on the spot if they are able, then report the action they took via the Safety Close Call program. If the staff member is unable to correct the safety concern, staff are encourage to report the issue so the safety team can address it.
In 2019, NFM received over 4,000 close call submissions. Close Calls ranged from finding water on the floor to a piece of equipment not working properly. They were also able to identify frequently occurring Close Calls, such as turned up corners on a rug which pose a tripping hazard, and came up with a solution so staff could fix this issue on the spot.
To further encourage participation, each month NFM holds a drawing for everyone who turned in a submission. The first place winner receives a day off with pay, and the second place winner receives their choice of a fire extinguisher, a smoke detector or a carbon monoxide detector. In addition to individual incentives, team incentives were offered. Departments that participated in the program and submitted a close call each month, earned a pizza party at the end of the year.
NFM had over a 30% reduction of injury claims for 2019. If every close call that was submitted prevented an accident, they prevented over 4,000 accidents. "While this is probably not realistic, we recognize that if we prevented just 1% of the accidents that COULD have happened, we saved 40 people from injury at NFM—that is a huge number!" said Senior Safety Analyst at NFM, Christel Anderson.
The Safety Close Call program was so successful in 2019, that they will be continuing it in 2020 with some additional enhancements. "NFM’s safety mission is to provide a safe place for our customers to shop and staff to work, and we will continually raise the bar when it comes to safety to fulfill this mission," said Anderson.
Nebraska Furniture Mart has been a member of the National Safety Council, Nebraska since 1987 and has been a Nebraska's Safest Company for 12 years and counting.
JBS Shows Dedication to Safety Without Shortcuts by Completing Confined Space Entry Training
January 17, 2020
This past week, member company JBS sent employees from 6 of their locations to complete confined space entry training. NSCN instructors conducted the training onsite at the JBS Omaha location. JBS has been a member of the National Safety Council, Nebraska for 31 years! We commend them on their dedication to keeping their employees and workplace safe.
Dan Murphy Awarded Advanced Safety Certificate
January 10, 2020
Congratulations to Dan Murphy, MUD for receiving his Advanced Safety Certificate (ASC) this morning! The ASC is nationally-recognized and teaches recipients how to direct their organization's comprehensive safety plan with greater efficiency & success. Way to go, Dan!
To learn more about the 9 certificate programs the National Safety Council, Nebraska has to offer, visit our Safety Certificate Programs webpage.
TC Energy Donates Gas Monitors to NSCN Workplace Safety Program
November 25, 2019
A special "Thank You!" to Curt Olson & TC Energy for donating gas monitors to our Workplace Safety program. These monitors will be a great training tool utilized especially in our HAZWOPER & Industrial Hygiene courses. TC Energy, formerly TransCanada, is a pipeline company that also believes in our mission of reducing injuries an saving lives. A generous donation that will help achieve our mission - we are better together.
NSCN in the News
6.5.19 - The 100 Deadliest Days of Summer 5.8.19 - Drivers Aged 65 and Older May Face More Challenges on the Road than Younger Drivers 4.27.19 - Father Remembers Daughter Lost to Distracted Driving, Reminds Others to Focus on the Road 4.26.19 - Healthy Kids Day Keeps Kids in Shape 4.18.19 - Death Toll on NE Roads Falls, Most Could Have Been Saved in March 2.12.19 - Cell Phone Use a Factor in Morning Collisions 2.1.19 - Lower Speed Limits on Certain Roads Could Lead to Slower Drivers Everywhere 1.5.19 - Reducing Traffic Deaths Remains Priority for Fred Zwonechek in Retirement 12.14.18 - Crash Survivor Recommends Buckling Up No Matter Where You Sit in the Car
At our November Breakfast Series, we were honored to receive support from AT&T in the amount of $25,000 to be put towards our "Distracted Driving Affected Me" campaign. Like NSCN, AT&T understands the lasting effects that distracted driving can have on any one of us and agree that the deadly habit needs to come to an end. We truly appreciate your generous support! Visit our campaign webpage below to learn more.