Plastics Juggernaut
If you know plastics, then you should know the name Saint Gobain. This plastics group is the world’s leading producer of some pretty high performance polymer products and has made a positive difference in just about every major industry you could think of. The group has embedded their product in bearings of race cars and even radar devices used in military aircrafts. Like I said, if you know plastics, you know Saint Gobain.
The French founded company was established in 1665 which means not only are they delivering high grade products and services but they have been doing so for over 300 years! Through business acquisitions and the innovation, Saint Gobain now serves customers in 67 different countries and employs over 170,000 workers. One of the reasons why this giant plastics group performs so well is their focus on safety. Saint Gobain invests in their workforce by providing the highest quality of training programs! They were recognized as one of the world’s top 100 industrial corporations and as a leader in an array of engineered materials.
Safe Working Environments
Being the best at engineering solutions starts by providing safe working conditions for employees. If you think you could become an industry leader while not practicing your processes safely, you are out in left field alone.
Safety has to take top priority when working with machinery, or in environments with high risk. Engineering plastics is complicated to say the least. The steps that simple materials undergo before becoming the finished product illustrates how ingrained safety needs to be. That means workers at Saint Gobain are prepared and provided with proper PPE (personal protective equipment) and training.
Safety is not just about wearing your ear plugs and steel toed boots though. Safety is coming in to work every day and doing your job the RIGHT way! With that in mind, accidents and incidents occur and human error can never be avoided 100% of the time. Saint Gobain employees have adopted a safety culture that is unlike any other.
Emergency Preparedness and CPR/First Aid
Now we just pointed out that Saint Gobain is a world leader in their solutions and also takes safety as serious as the average Steeler fan takes Super Bowl Sunday. One factor that is hard to quantify is safety moral and safety culture.
- Safety culture is the collection of the beliefs, perceptions and values that employees share in relation to risks within an organization, such as a workplace or community.[
The safety culture in any major plant starts from the ground up. Engaging the workforce to practice safely and voluntarily practice with purpose is a Safety Directors dream. Saint Gobain’s Cleveland plastics plant should furthermore be the go to example of what it means to adopt safety culture.
EHS leader Andrew Proya, oversees the safety of his plant and employees. He recently reached out to get his staff trained in First Aid/CPR/AED. Now let’s make sure we mention that there are OSHA standards set in place forcing plants to have staff members trained. SEE OSHA standard 1910 for details BUT…..
The interesting thing about Andrew’s group is that over 20 participants volunteered to join the emergency response team. Each member sat through a 4 hour training session that covered topics of CPR/AED/First Aid. The class certified individuals in life saving skills (American Red Cross Certified Instructors and material). Not only did Andrew achieve a compliance standard, but his workforce went out of their own way personally to become involved. This CPR/AED/First Aid class was provided by Before It’s Too Late LLC better known as B42L.
Here are some of the topics we covered:
- Recognizing and Responding to Emergencies
- Cardiac Emergencies including Cardiac Arrest – CPR
- AED basics and skills
- Choking recognition and skills
- Sudden Illnesses
- First Aid and wrapping a wound skills
- Environmental Emergencies – heat/cold related
These group members had a plethora of subtopics in their course and all had the opportunity to test skills out. This class again allowed participants to learn a skill and then test their knowledge in real world application simulations. Because these skills are renewed on a two year basis, B42L also provided their new Assurance Policy for the plant cost free. If you are interested in seeing this assurance policy, check it out below:
NOTE: Our “Assurance Policy” should only be viewed by individuals who want to ensure their program continues to be the leader in their respective industry***
https://dev.b42l.com/shop/product/cpr-wrap/
Slippery Rock Safety Connections
As we recognize Andrew’s group, we want to also highlight some similar safety roots between Saint Gobain and B42L.
Andrew Proya was a graduate of the highly creditable Slippery Rock University Safety Management program. B42L’s entire staff is also proud alumni of the university and most of that program as well. Slippery Rock University has one of the most respected and credible safety programs in the United States. The program has some ROCK SOLID graduates providing ROCK SOLID work and SAFETY to some of the world’s biggest players.
B42L enjoys connecting with Slippery Rock University graduates and aiding in any way possible. Whether you run a church group, own a fitness studio or are in a more traditional Safety Position like Andrew, please connect! It is important to understand that cultivating a safety culture is not one person’s responsibility.
Check out how we continue to provide Slippery Rock value with our campus ambassador role! B42L provides discounted classes for Slippery Rock University students on a monthly basis and has provided scholarship opportunities for individuals who work with us!
Awesome work guys!