Safety is very important to the team at GSM Industrial and our customers. Instilling a culture of safety among our team members starts day one with new employees, and it’s not confined to inside the walls of our shop or on the various job sites, nor is it confined to our hours of operation.
“It’s a never-ending challenge to reduce injuries in our environment, so we start talking about it on day one,” says GSM Industrial President Brian Dombach.
To support our safety efforts, we introduced a concept called T3P which stands for Tools, Procedure, PPE (personal protective equipment) and Positioning. Every incident, whether it’s a close call or an actual recordable injury, can be classified into one of the T3P categories. And, if we can think about these categories before we go into a dangerous situation or activity, it can reduce our risk. We ask ourselves:
- Am I lifting properly or standing in between a forklift and a piece of steel? (Positioning)
- Am I using the right Tool for the job? Should I take the extra five minutes to go back to the truck for a larger wrench, for example, to avoid a grip slip injury?
- Am I wearing the proper PPE? Gloves can be the difference between a scraped knuckle and a deep gash requiring a trip to the ER and some stitches.
- Finally, am I doing the right thing at the right time? What is the correct way to complete this task? (Procedure) Shortcuts are rarely a shortcut to success; rather they are a quick way to the first aid kit and the injury log book.
GSM holds quarterly President’s Orientation sessions where new employees are introduced to the company. Brian reviews the company’s 75-year history and the vision, mission, and core values of the firm. He also talks a good bit about the safety culture.
In fact, as a “welcome aboard” gift, GSM Industrial gives each new hire a fire extinguisher for personal use to reinforce the message that safety isn’t something to think about only at work. Safety must be something we think about all the time and incorporated into our daily activities – whether at home or at work. The front of the tag on the extinguisher has our Purpose: Exceptional People, Exceptional Results, while the back side speaks to the way the extinguisher fits with the T3P concept. The fire extinguishers are a practical, safety-focused gift for team members that hopefully also serves as a reminder to think safely all the time, whether at GSM or somewhere else.