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Safety Education
SAFETY CHAMPION

KATHERINE SCHIFANI, VAIL MOUNTAIN, CO to pack and sort ski patrol toboggans and decrease the dis-
Katherine Schifani is tance to carry them over icy, uneven ground, contributing
well suited to the title of to a zero-injury result within the department. She devised
“champion.” The epitome of a method to track VMS interactions with guests, helping
employee initiative, she con- quantify the team’s influence, and a more precise way to
tinually envisions ways to track 200 slow signs across the mountain. As a result, sig-
encourage the Vail commu- nage is more standardized, and adjustments are more seam-
nity to embrace safe skiing and less and transparent to guests.
snowboarding. Schifani also set up radio station interviews with VMS
A member of the Vail staff, connecting with a large, varied demographic. For
Mountain Safety (VMS) team, Safety Month, she scheduled school visits throughout the
Schifani is the originator of county, organized a safety scavenger hunt that reached a
a lot of good ideas. She con- record number of kids, and worked with the Vail Health
ceived the transformation of an underutilized building into Hospital to expand helmet safety demonstrations. Schifani
the Mountain Safety Center, a thriving hub where guests also generates prolific content for VMS’ social media sites.
warm up, get snacks, and learn about safety. She spearheaded She revised the resort’s Slope Safety pamphlet, emphasizing
the Safety Sunglasses program, with VMS distributing 1,000 Your Responsibility Code too.
pairs as a conversation starter on safety. And, she envisioned Schifani embodies Vail’s mantra of Own It, Elevate It,
the Shadow a Mountain Safety Employee program to help Personalize It, according to the awards application submitted
transform safety violators into safety advocates. on her behalf. She weaves fun and safety together to extend
With training in LEAN and Six Sigma process man- attitudes toward safety to all the other departments working
agement, Schifani found a way to reduce the time it takes on Vail Mountain.

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58 | NSAA JOURNAL | SUMMER 2018