Citizens Energy Group’s Health, Safety, and Security (HSS) department has completed several projects to unify work across business units. These initiatives are contributing to Citizens’ goal of achieving One Company, One Culture.
Developing a Trust-Wide Safety Program
One year ago, the HSS department began an initiative to ensure a consistent safety program across the company. Training requirements, policies, procedures, and permits have differed across business units for several years due to Citizens’ acquisitions of other utilities. After launching this initiative in January 2020, the HSS team has completed the following programs: confined space entry, scissor lift safety, and forklift safety. Other programs currently being reassessed and redeveloped include fall protection; stairways and ladders; and trenching and excavation. Darren Baker, Manager, Safety and Security, has led the effort, utilizing recommended safety program practices from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and seeking input from business unit leaders on their specific needs.
Making Online Safety Training Improvements
Prior to the pandemic, only non-bargaining employees had access to Citizens Success Academy (CSA). To complete monthly safety requirements, bargaining employees either attended in-person, instructor-led courses or used Oracle EBS to complete the training. Due to social distancing requirements, in-person training was no longer possible. Transitioning all safety training from Oracle to CSA was being discussed prior to the pandemic and was considered a two-year project. HSS teamed up with the Information Technology and Human Resources departments, and by October 1, 2020, all Citizens employees had access to CSA. The use of one platform for all employees is a more efficient, timely, and accurate means of completing safety training across the Trust. Be sure to look for other training of interest on CSA, which houses a plethora of e-books and videos.
Launching Trust-Wide Dashboards
When HSS redesigned its iTrust site in 2019, it added dashboards to provide real-time safety and security data related to training completion, employee injuries, and vehicle accidents for each business unit. HSS improved the dashboards in 2020, adding Trust-wide metrics, not just separate business unit data. With the Trust-wide data available, employees are able to understand how their efforts benefit all Citizens employees, not just those in their business unit. This effort helps employees understand that together, we are all aiming to work safely and achieve our Short-Term Incentive Plan (STIP) goals.
Creating a Chemical Purchase Policy
In 2020, HSS department employees worked with those in Environmental Stewardship to create a Trust-wide chemical request process and policy. The team developed an online form that makes it easy for business units to submit requests. An automated process sends chemical requests to the appropriate individuals for review and approval. This safety and environmental improvement ensures all chemicals being used throughout the company are evaluated before being purchased and any changes are updated in the Safety Data Sheet database.
