Page 2 - Graypvine November 2021

Safety starting. They can also change the worker’s assignment,

coach, provide additional training or greater oversight, or
decide to provide better or different equipment to make the
with Jim Grant work safer. Operational management also has the most
Vice President, Safety impact on representing, reinforcing and setting a strong Safety
Gray, Inc. Culture and setting high levels of accountability for safety in the
day to day operations. So by these examples, management
Operationally Led Safety can exercise quite a bit of control over the worker’s actions
As Gray’s safety program has evolved, we have seen several as well.
changes over the years that show positive results in incident Across the Gray, Inc. companies, operational success is
prevention. As we mature, we recognized a new path and have associated with efficiency, productivity and profits; in the
started our journey in Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention, safety world, it is associated with injury and illness prevention.
known as SIF. We have broken this journey down into four Although these two fields – operations and safety – have
areas of focus. The first three are SIF education; setting a developed separately into mature areas of management
strong safety climate for our projects and facilities across Gray, practice. Indeed, when operations and safety are integrated,
Inc.; and enhancing the focus on planning and scheduling both systems seem to do better.
our work at the project and task level. The fourth is the most In a nutshell, Operationally Led Safety means this: at all levels
2 important and can make the biggest impact across the Gray, of operational leadership, safety is integrated when it comes
Inc. family of companies. This is a focus on Operationally Led
to how the work will be scheduled, coordinated with other
Safety, a total team approach to safety. Typically safety is work, and executed at the craft level. Operational Leadership
treated as a separate function within an organization, but at will ensure the craft worker is educated in the safe operations
Gray it is a part of the day to day operations at every level. of the work and the right equipment to perform the task safely
Our focus over the last couple of years has been on the is available. All leadership levels have the expectation and
worker – the person turning the wrench and swinging the authority to STOP and address safety issues at their operational
hammer – which has provided continuous improvements in level. As Bob Moore says, “If you see it, you own it.”
reducing incidents. As we know from our own statistics, a high As we strengthen our efforts to bring safety and operations
percentage of accidents are caused by "unsafe acts or decision closer together at the Gray, Inc. level across our companies as
making" by the worker. It has become clearer that management a way of doing business, it’s not win-lose for operations and
all the way to the foreman level has quite a bit of control over safety; it’s win-win for all of us.
the worker and the environment they work in. Operational By enhancing our program with a focus on SIFs and an
Supervision can assess the worker’s knowledge, capabilities, Operationally Led Safety program where everyone is involved,
actions, motivation, and other abilities to perform the assigned we will create a great safety program that protects the worker
tasks. They can determine if this is acceptable or not and what and ensures each of our companies are safe, efficient,
should be done to eliminate any hazards prior to the work productive, and profitable.

Safety Statistics Commitment to Safety

All statistics reported for Gray are cumulative for Calendar Year 2021

0 Fatality Josh Bullock
Manager, Safety
Majors
5 (Disabling Accidents) 8 years, 8 months with Gray
Recordable Accident
51 (Off Work, Limited Work,
and No Lost Time)
"As a safety professional with Gray, it is my
189 102 personal responsibility to ensure the safety
of every individual on my site. I am fully
Near Miss / Property Damage First Aid / Injury but not recordable
committed to making sure every individual is
able to return to their family after work and
A goal of zero lost time incidents means there is a level of acceptance of other types of
incidents that do not lead to lost time. When other incidents are accepted, then we increase live life to the fullest. I will dedicate my full
the chance that lost time, and more severe incidents will occur. The triangle graphic above attention to the safety of those working on
is an illustration of this. Gray’s focus is to stop all incidents, by starting at the very bottom of
the triangle. If we eliminate all incidents, then we eliminate the possibility of the catastrophic this jobsite, not just for the team member, but
incident. By definition, a lost time incident is an injury event that causes a worker to miss at for the family and friends waiting for them to
least one day of work. A safety incident is any event that needs to be tracked and recorded
regardless of whether medical attention was required or not. return home."