Safety is a cornerstone of Envirocon’s Operational Excellence values. Communication, knowledge, and awareness are critical to safety and continuous improvement, with the ultimate goal of reinforcing behaviors that produce desired outcomes. Daily toolbox safety meetings on project sites foster open communication between all employees and subcontractors. The mandatory meetings provide an opportunity to discuss potential safety hazards, valuable lessons-learned, suggest improvement opportunities, share safety concerns, and present safety topics of interest. Everyone on the project team is encouraged to participate which provides more opportunities to identify improvements, flag changing conditions, and draw attention to previously unidentified hazards or problems. This proactive approach to improvement helps us maintain our focus on safety and shapes our attitudes and culture, which are the driving forces behind safe performance.

Office personnel also participate in weekly “toolbox safety meetings,” at our Missoula, Montana Corporate Office. Employees gather to listen to a brief safety or operational excellence topic and a report from a designated safety observer. New presenters each week provide a wide variety of topics including ergonomics, stress management, food borne illnesses, and weather. Many new concepts come from these meetings and they keep safety at forefront of people’s minds extending it beyond the workplace. Often these office discussions incorporate valuable lessons learned from the field as well.

Focusing on safety and continuous improvement ensures the health and wellbeing of all employees, and is an important factor in determining the long-term success of our company. Meetings that emphasize employee involvement facilitate change to existing habits, spawn improvement, and promote safer activities, both in the workplace and at home. Safety meetings in the office and on the jobsite promote awareness of various safety topics and provide a strong reminder for employees to recognize, avoid, report, and correct safety hazards which creates a safer, more productive workforce.