ExxonMobil rewards safety achievements

A p r i l2 0 0 9

Meade Electric Company is one amazing com-pany when it comes to employee safety on the work site. For the third year in a row, the company was named the Diamond safety award winner at ExxonMobil’s Joliet refinery (for the 2008 construc-tion season).

Among the 26 awards given by ExxonMobil for work site safety in 2008 (see chart at right), there’s only one Diamond award. The competi-tion is tough. An injury–even a substantial near miss–means instant disqualification. And 2008 was a tough work season at ExxonMobil with a turnaround plus major construction project work. Moreover, Meade Electric is one of ExxonMobil’s largest contractors with more than 100 employees on site on any given day, so there were lots of opportunities for injuries.

To win the top award for three years running is quite a feat, says Marc van Thillo, the refinery’s mechanical manager. “It’s never happened before and probably won’t happen again.” But if any-one has the credentials to do it, Meade Electric, whose injury-free record at the refinery extends back much farther than three years, does. “Their performance is extraordinary, especially when you consider that ExxonMobil has among the toughest safety standards in the refining industry,” he said.

ExxonMobil does all it can to help contractors prevent injuries. When contractors come on site, they’re assigned a refinery employee as a “buddy.” The contractor and the buddy meet every two weeks to evaluate performance in areas such as housekeeping and observed safe and unsafe con-duct. Small rewards are given for perfect score cards. Where there are deficiencies, the buddy works with the contractor to improve performance.

“Over the years we’ve definitely seen contrac-tors pay more and more attention to the awards ceremony. They see it as a real honor to be recog-nized for on-the-job safety,” van Thillo said.

■ New Members

We are especially pleased that these companies recognize the value of belonging to TRMA, espe-cially in tough economic times:

HR Management Solution LLC

Mining International, Oiltanking Joliet, LLC

Valdes Engineering Co.

■ Annual Dinner: April 30

Contractor safety perfor-mance is the centerpiece of TRMA’s annual dinner, April 30 at the Holiday Inn in Joliet.

The Platinum award rec-ognizes overall safety per-formance, while the Gold, Platinum and Meritorious Performance awards are based on contractor safety performance at TRMA member job sites.

To be nominated, contrac-tors must have worked a minimum of 2,000 hours in 2008 at TRMA member companies and they must have completed contrac-tor safety orientations at the Three Rivers Safety Center.

RSVP by April 22 to Kathleen Ament: 815.774.6071 kathleen.ament@trma.org

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Published MonthlyThree Rivers Manufacturers’ Association116 N. Chicago St., Suite 101, Joliet, IL 60432-4204815.774.6070 F: 815.723.6972 www.trma.orgEditor: Jerry Caamano (jerry.caamano@trma.org)

THREE RIVERS MANUFACTURERS’ ASSOCIATION

2008 ExxonMobil Work Site Safety AwardsMerit Award Acuren Inspection

Ambitech Engineering ARI Environmental Baker Petrolite Code Red Safety Computer Based L&K Furmanite America Manpower Inc. Metro Paramedic Service Nalco Chemical Scheck Mechanical Southwest Mechanical

Bronze Award Hydrochem Industrial Services Team Industrial Services

Silver Award Maintenance Enterprises Inc. Reactor Services International

Gold Award AMEX Construction Brand Scaffold CL Coatings Meade Electric Plant Services Spike Enterprises STARCON International Superior Mechanical Valdes Engineering

Diamond Award Meade Electric

Luke Alcorn (from left), ExxonMobil; Tim Johnson, Dan Golas-zewski, Rick Wachter, Dave Hammen and Tim Swansom, all of Meade Electric; and Rick Szalach, Joliet Refinery Manager, ExxonMobil.

The fourth quarter of 2008 was a tough one for LynondellBasell and 2009 started on an even lower note. The implosion of the world economy last fall coupled with vola-tile feed stock prices, not to men-tion the impact of two hurricanes on Gulf Coast facilities, cut deeply. Then, in January, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection.

But things are actually look-ing up at the start of the second quarter. LyondellBasell obtained adequate financing to execute its reorganization strategies, according to Tom Nunheimer, regional public relations manager, and he’s confi-dent that the company will emerge successfully from bankruptcy at the end of the year.

The second bright spot is the performance of the Morris plant’s polyethylene resin business. For most of the first quarter, all six

polymer lines at the Morris plant have been running at near capac-ity and the trend is projected to continue into the second quarter. Nunheimer says the market demand is being driven by repositioning within the polymer industry.

The third bright spot is that there have been no recordable injuries at the Morris plant in more than six months. “Though times are tough and our margins are thin and we’re running hard, LyondellBasell is committed to a culture of safety,” he said.

The Morris plant employs about 380 workers and produces polyeth-ylene resin pellets that are used in the manufacture of a wide range of consumer products, from sandwich bags to candy bar wrappers, from playground equipment to fertilizer tanks. “We touch the products every day,” Nunheimer said.

Bright Spots at LyondellBasell

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We learn all we can about your business to identify 1.specific needs, both of you and of your workforce.We design a unique solution that may consist of any 2.of the following:

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Steve Billings, senior trainer at the Chicagoland Construction Safety Council, will lead a one-day training course on scaffold competent person development at Three Rivers Safety Center on May 12. This class provides initial and refresher training for supervisors, foremen and safety personnel. A 1/3-size scaffold will provide interactive, hands-on training. For more information or to register call TRMA at 815.774.6071.

DIVISION UPDATE

Scanning for Safety

Chalk it up to human nature. Sooner or later, someone will ignore all of that safety training and step over a power cord that someone else forgot to put away. The worker has a lot on his or her mind and ignores the nui-sance, compounding the original mistake.

Eugene Satrun, an industrial hygienist at ExxonMobil, describes this scenario as the first tier of the accident pyramid where unsafe conditions or acts can quickly escalate to a near miss, a minor injury, a serious injury and even a fatality.

“You really don’t want to be the person who tells the boss about the worker on crutches who was injured when he tripped over an air hose that was not properly stowed,” Satrun told the TRMA Safety Division during two hours of training on March 19.

The key to reducing work-place injuries is to train the eye and mind to con-stantly be on the alert for potential hazards, Satrun stressed. It’s obvious that there’s a hazard when the drill press power cord crosses an aisle to reach the outlet. But keen obser-vation would have spotted the potential hazard ahead of time.

Better yet, bring in some-one from another depart-ment, suggested Satrun, because a fresh set of eyes will spot the trees in the forest before you do.

Safety DivisionApr 16 Confined Space Entry, 7:15

a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; $219May 5 Conduct Effective Safety Meet-

ings, noon to 3:00 p.m.; $31May 7 First Aid, CPR, AED Training,

7:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; $95May 12 Scaffold Competent Person

Development, 7:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; $219

Maintenance DivisionApr 14 Excavation Competent Person,

7:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; $219Apr 21 Asbestos Worker Refresher,

7:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; $195Apr 23 Asbestos Supervisor/Contractor

Refresher, 7:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; $195

Apr 28 Asbestos Class III Refresher, 7:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; $100

May 19 Wireless Scanning Technolo-gies, noon to 2:30 p.m.; $31

Environmental DivisionApr 14 Water Issues Update, noon to

1:30 p.m.; $31

Q: Despite the recession and rising unem-ployment, manufacturing jobs remain unfilled because applicants don’t have the skills. What new approaches are being tried to solve this longstanding problem?

A: The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and several partners announced in March a new education and training certification system that addresses both problems: filling unfilled jobs and training the unskilled and unemployed.

Certification would assure employers that applicants have been tested and possess a stan-dard list of core competencies for basic manufac-turing jobs — competencies that manufacturers most often cite as lacking.

The NAM process relies primarily on com-

munity colleges to provide the training, while cer-tification testing will be done by an independent organization. The certification is portable; it goes with the worker from job to job.

It’s too early to say whether this initiative is something that TRMA will endorse. We intro-duced it to the board of directors in March and asked them to review it and comment. We will also seek opinions from our educational partners.

You can learn more about the NAM skills cer-tification system at www.nam.org/institute or by contacting TRMA’s Laura Price at laura.price@trma.org.

Ask Jerry Caamano: Training the Unskilled

Meeting Calendar

Annual Dinner and Safety Awards: Thursday, April 30Joliet Holiday Inn Banquet and Conference CenterAnnual Golf Outing: Monday, June 8Morris Country ClubInformation and reservations: Kathleen Ament at kathleen.ament@trma.org.

Notice:

Information from this publication may be reproduced, without prior permission, if the Three Rivers Manufacturers’ Association is credited as source.

All training takes place at the TRMA Safety Center, 1615 W. Jefferson St., Joliet (one block east of Larkin Avenue)

Prices shown apply to TRMA members. Contact us for non-member pricing information.

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THREE RIVERS MANUFACTURERS’ ASSOCIATION

InsideExxonMobil Safety Award to Meade Electric and 25 others

Bright Spots at LyondellBasell

Q&A: NAM Job Skills Certification and Training

Training/Meeting Schedule

Save the DateAnnual Dinner: April 30Golf Outing: June 8

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