1,000 Days, Injury Free!

Some achievements just rank higher than others. We’re especially proud of this one, as it involves so many people working toward a common goal.

Max Weiss Company is celebrating 1,000 days as an injury-free metal forming, steel fabrication  and metal rolling workplace. No team member has missed work due to injury, nor suffered a reported injury, for nearly three years.

It’s a long time, if you think about it. Consider a daily routine for most people: Waking up, going to work, coming home, enjoying dinner, going to bed. Now, do it over 1,000 times. Get the idea?

In a workplace filled with powerful machines, heavy materials, blast furnaces and welding equipment, chances for people to get hurt are everywhere. Yet, they haven’t … for 1,000 days.

This is no small feat. Credit goes to everyone on our great team, for embracing the proactive pursuit of safety, and supporting a culture where everyone buys in.

Workplace injuries affect more than the person involved. Every coworker feels their pain. They wonder “What if it was me?” Morale can suffer. Productivity often dips, as one fewer skilled pair of hands is available to keep projects on track.

Dave Gregg, our Director of Operations, recognized the significant negative ripple effects of an employee getting hurt. Less than a year after his promotion, he instituted a new safety program. Its slogan was “A Safer You is a Safer Us.” Related policies and procedures would be formalized, and everyone trained in using them.

Some personal protective equipment (PPE) is standard on the shop floor. Employees doing metal fabrication hot work (welding fabrication, torch cutting, hot forming) wear much more.

Creating a true safety culture, though, is about a mindset. It goes beyond wearing safety glasses and steel-toe boots. Everyone has to be dialed in, and aware of what they’re doing.

In a smaller company, when one person gets hurt, everyone feels it. Thankfully, no one’s had to experience it for a long while. The work of Dave, and all who contributed, paid off.

The concept of “safety” can be nebulous, both understandable and undefinable at the same time. No dollar value directly attaches itself. Yet it’s an investment that reaps huge rewards every day.

Injury free - image courtesy of Membrey's Transport and Crane Hire