June 1996
Two Approaches to Safety
Page 9 ^
Older buildings often present
unique safety problems and chal
lenges.
At the Influential facility in
High Point, the safety team
identified two such problems
during the regular audits of the
plant. One was a case of the floor
wearing out; the other was a case
of the level of the floor sloping
in a work area.
“We have old wooden floors
in our long-folding area,” says
Safety Coordinator Bobbie
Mullies. “Over the years the
buggies have worn holes in the
floor. That made it hard to roll
the heavy buggies across the
floor, and we found that we suf
fered a loss of product because
it bounced out of the buggies.
“Our safety committee recom
mended that the floors be replaced,
and last fall we got new floors in
the area.”
Mullies says that correcting the
other problem would have been
very expensive for Sara Lee Sock
Company. “When we were told
that the sloping floor couldn’t be
fixed, the safety team went back
and looked at the problem again.
What they came up with was a sug
gestion that the room be rearranged
so that it wouldn’t be necessary to
walk across the worst part of the
floor,” she says.
The safety team at Influential
meets once a month. The members
bring in safety concerns from em
ployees, and Mullies types them
and submits them to the plant man
ager. At the end of each safety team
meeting, the team members do a
safety audit that covers the entire
plant.
The team members are Randy
Farlow, Patsy Priddy, Gayle Bow
man, Edna McLaurin and Earlene
Jacobs.
Lena Bmner, Safety and Training
Manager in Mount Airy, says there
are various ways to look at safety.
“Our goal on the Safety Commit
tee is to help each employee see
that safety is an individual respon
sibility,” Bruner says.
The company can work to cre
ate a safer environment, Bruner
adds, but, in the end, safety comes
down to what each person does to
keep a safe work area.
“Our slogan is ‘Who’s Respon
sible for Safety? You Are!’ and
our theme is ‘Safety Saves.’”
She says that the team is work
ing to create the feeling that every
one “is in this together.” Each
safety representative can talk di
rectly to employees about safety
concerns without going through a
supervisor. This is in keeping with
the idea that safety is an indivi
dual’s responsibility.
Bruner says that Mount Airy’s
plant safety team audits safety con
ditions in each department. The
team members look at things like
aisles being blocked; liquid spills;
electrical panels being blocked;
items on the floor; protection equip
ment like glasses and ear plugs be
ing worn; and the presence of alumi
num cans not allowed in work areas.
The team is using a safety con
test in May, June and July to pro
mote safety. Each department
started the contest with a set num
ber of points and either adds to or
subtracts from the total based on
how well it meets specific safety
standards. Monthly prizes are
awarded, and a larger overall prize
is presented at the end of the con
test to the department that has ac
cumulated the most points.
“All members of the safety team
are enthusiastic, and the response
to the contest from employees has
been very good,” Bruner says.
‘Mister
Rogers ’
Goes to
Mt. Airy
Sara Lee Sock Company’s Mount
Airy employees saw more than the usual
activity for two days last winter when
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, a
children’s television show, visited the
plant. Mount Airy was featured because
it is considered the most technologically
advanced sock plant in the world.
It took two days of planning, taping, and editing to get the segment that lasted less than five minutes.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood is a daily half-hour show on Public TV. It regularly features reports on
different types of manufacturing.
The camera captured images of
the manufacturing process
close up. Mister Rogers added
a description for all the children
who were watching when the
segment aired.