SRS offers “School of Hazards” education
A new program at the Savannah River Site is educating workers on everyday workplace hazards through a new hands-on, peer-led mobile field course.
The course, “School of Hazards,” is encouraging safe practices by immersing construction craft employees in a mock-up of hazardous scenarios. The outdoor obstacle course comprises simulated hazards workers might encounter in their jobs, including barricades, tripping hazards, damaged equipment, and more.
Safety improvement: The School of Hazards was created and is facilitated by one of SRMC’s employee-led safety teams, known as Local Safety Improvement Teams (or “SAFE-T”), at SRS. The teams are an organized group dedicated to an area or facility with the purpose of facilitating the behavior-based observation program, developing behavior-focused initiatives, serving as a management-worker communication bridge, and fostering worker involvement to achieve the goal of zero injuries.
Click here to hear Joshua Dickinson, electrician and SAFE-T program cochair, talk about the program.
About: Projects within SRS’s Liquid Waste Program, managed by the DOE Office of Environmental Management’s liquid waste contractor Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC), consist of ongoing construction, high-hazard, and radioactive operations and maintenance tasks and treating and immobilizing radioactive liquid waste stored in the SRS tank farms. SRMC employs more than 800 construction craft employees to support its mission. The School of Hazards has traveled to four areas in SRS that host liquid waste facilities.
Quotes: “Safe construction and operations are necessary to process radioactive liquid waste for final disposition,” said Jim Folk, DOE-Savannah River assistant manager for waste disposition. “EM supports every effort to keep workers safe.”
Brandon Johnson, SAFE-T chair and SRMC electrician, said, “This School of Hazards course helps our construction team to identify hazards and understand the process of mitigating any hazard they may face. Our goal is for every worker to go home in the same state they came to work.”
Dave Olson, SRMC president and program manager, noted, “This safety initiative is an innovative way to interact with employees, both new and experienced. SRMC is committed to doing the job safely, and we are proud to support initiatives that can better equip employees.”
