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The Port of Virginia\u00ae is using a layered approach to strengthen safety throughout its operation by identifying the most common critical risks at its terminals and offices, emphasize safety as a core value and creation of an internal safety brand that serves as a continual reminder for everyone on port property.<\/p>\n
The effort was recently recognized by Signal Mutual, the insurance carrier for The Port of Virginia, which presented its Executive Leadership Award to Virginia International Terminals Chief Operating Officer Joseph P. \u201cJoe\u201d Ruddy.<\/p>\n
The award recognizes the effort underway at the port to emphasize safety and reduce the number of injuries, reportable incidents and lost workdays. (Virginia International Terminals, LLC, is the privately-held terminal operating company for The Port of Virginia.)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis award is not about an individual, but what The Port of Virginia\u00ae is doing, as an organization, to get better and create a culture of safety across the entire operation,\u201d Ruddy said. \u201cIt is our goal to eliminate injuries, lost workdays and the like, and become the safest port in North America.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSafety is a core value here and as a team we are coming together to ensure that we protect what matters, which are the people that work here, our labor partners, our guests and the contractors coming to and from our facilities and offices. At the end of every day, of every shift, people should be going home in the exact same condition in which they showed up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lost workdays is one of the safety metrics used by the industry and during the last four years, the number of lost workdays at The Port of Virginia, as the result of on-the-job industry, is decreasing. (Lost workdays are measured in the total number of days an employee could not work against every 200,000 hours worked.)<\/p>\n
The Port of Virginia, lost workdays by fiscal year, July 1 \u2013 June 30:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe are trending in the right direction, in terms of lost workdays, and have been for the last four years, but the goal is zero,\u201d said Sarah J. McCoy, the interim CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority.<\/p>\n Last fall, port leadership announced an organization-wide initiative to ingrain safety even more into the port\u2019s culture. Since then, the port has created a safety brand, We Protect What Matters, and has collaborated with local ILA leadership (International Longshoremen\u2019s Association) and port team members from across the organization to better understand where the highest risks are and how best to mitigate them.<\/p>\n The safety effort includes:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe had a lot of conversations, grounded in real experience that led to the identification of our Seven Critical Risks and Six Life-Saving Rules,\u201d McCoy, said. \u201cThese risks and rules are not about adding complexity or checking a box. They are about clarity, using common language to recognize risk, communicating more effectively and focusing our attention on the situations where the potential for serious harm is greatest.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis organizational effort reflects our shared commitment to care, consistency, and accountability. Care for one another, consistency in how we approach safety and accountability to make sure everyone goes home safe at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n Signal\u2019s Executive Leadership Award is an annual award given to an executive who advances employee safety and health through a strong safety culture and a sustainable safety management system.<\/p>\n \u201cThe recipient sets high safety standards grounded in personal values, demonstrates a sustained commitment to preventing workplace injuries and illnesses, leads safety efforts in a visible, hands-on manner, and develops effective safety initiatives that are implemented across the organization,\u201d said an award description from Signal.<\/p>\n\n
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