Health and Safety
As a leader in the construction and repair of commercial and naval ships for the global force for good, NASSCO is committed to health and welfare of our employees and the communities in which we operate. This is most evident in the areas of health and safety. NASSCO is committed to maximizing the performance of our workplace safety programs.
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Total Safety Culture
NASSCO's workplace safety initiative is called the Total Safety Culture (TSC), which is anchored in the company's Safety Vision. Two beliefs form the core of the Total Safety Culture:
- All accidents can be prevented.
We believe all accidents can be avoided or prevented if the events leading up to the accident are recognized and acted upon prior to their occurrence. - All activities can be performed without risk or harm to people or facilities.
We believe that through training, proper planning, and an uncompromising approach to daily operations, no one will be subjected to risk or will be allowed to put themselves at risk.
This approach to safety has become ingrained in NASSCO's culture. We never compromise this approach for any reason; and every member of the NASSCO shipbuilding team is empowered and obligated to identify unsafe conditions, at risk behaviors, and intervene to correct them. This is actively caring – looking out for one another. We all must comply with NASSCO's safety standards, rules and regulations, actively care for one another, and seek safe ways to build and repair ships. This daily commitment from all employees will sustain our TSC into the future.
Safety Roadmap
It is impossible to take the journey at the heart of NASSCO's Total Safety Culture without a roadmap. Our Safety Roadmap plan provides just that, a roadmap for how we manage our Safety program. The map is made up of six elements and five levels. Its purpose is to guide us from Initial Efforts (Level 1) through Awareness, Understanding, Commitment, and finally to Habit (Level 5). On this journey, we advance through these five levels along six different elements, including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Training & Education, Design Strategy, Management Involvement, Employee Involvement and Housekeeping/5S. How we manage these elements has helped NASSCO maintain an injury rate below the industry average.
For example, the first element, PPE, begins with employees being able to demonstrate an understanding of basic PPE requirements and proper usage. To succeed, we need to know some details about our safety shoes, safety glasses, and hardhats — all the equipment needed to keep us safe. At the next level, we should be able to talk about the PPE that is specific to our job. After that level is complete, we are on to the next, until we reach the place where everything is habit.
There are five other elements that are as challenging as PPE. Training and Education gives us the knowledge to raise safety awareness. The Design Strategy focuses on identifying the most favorable building conditions by reducing/eliminating risk in our facilities. Management Involvement engages managers to serve as role models and establishes accountability expectations for management's role in safety success. Employee Involvement entails developing the skill set of active caring and correcting unsafe conditions. Lastly, the Housekeeping/5S focus is on an orderly environment and the reduction of waste in the work area.
NASSCO offers a wide range of safety and health training programs including:
- Ergonomic Safety
- Hazard Communication
- CPR/First Aid/AED Training
- Lockout/Tagout
- OSHA 10 & 30 hour outreach courses
Safety communication begins for each work crew every morning during the five minute safety meetings. During these meetings, Safety Roadmap topics and other safety, security and environmental issues are addressed. In addition to workplace training programs, we offer safety and health advice in our internal publications on topics ranging from ergonomic tips for office workers to how to prepare for and respond to natural disasters.
Emergency Response
When an incident occurs, NASSCO is structured to provide immediate medical attention to ensure any injured employee receives the best medical care. The NASSCO Fire Department works with the in-house medical department in assessing injuries and obtaining the necessary treatment. The NASSCO Fire Department is able to handle fire suppression events internally and perform confined space rescues. The medical department also proactively works with employees to prevent long term health issues including annual hearing and respirator fit tests.
Safety Performance
NASSCO regularly compares its safety performance to established benchmarks. As reported by The United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, NASSCO continues to outperform the industry average in terms of injury prevention. NASSCO assigns high priority to safety in the workplace as evidenced by our Injury Recordable Rate. Since 2005, NASSCO has reduced its recordable rate by 79%. The Recordable Injury Rate continues to trend below our aggressive goal. We have reduced the number of injuries by 33% during the first quarter of 2012. The continuing efforts of an empowered workforce that has embraced the Total Safety Culture remains our driving force to continue on this downward trend.
The NASSCO team is building ships more efficiently and much safer today than at any time in our company's history. Our team is responding to the challenge of making sure that all aspects of our operations follow the safe practices encouraged by NASSCO's Total Safety Culture (TSC) and the goals outlined on the Safety Roadmap. The hard work and expert knowledge of NASSCO personnel have given us the ability to expand our repair services and to continue delivering high quality new construction vessels. Safety plays a critical role in these efforts. We cannot be a successful shipbuilding and repair business if we do not perform our work safely.
