LIFELINE

N E W S F RO M T H E F I E L D
National Grid Safety Walk Through
Submitted by Don McKillips, General Foreman, Region 461
Bruce Pope, general foreman for region 463, made
quite an impression on National Grid Superintendent
of Distribution Forestry, James Maloney.
Mr. Maloney recently observed a safety orientation
conducted by Bruce for employees who were new to
Nelson Tree Service, and to National Grid Central
Division property.
“Mr. Maloney was interested to see how we prepared
our new hires to work safely and professionally,”
explains Bruce. “So he decided to sit in on the process.”
“I had ten new guys, plus a new general foreman,
starting on the same day,” continues Bruce. “Rather
than go through the orientation process individually,
I decided to address the group all at once.”
Bruce noted several advantages to presenting the
safety information in a group setting as opposed to
the individual orientations of the past.
“Typically, when we met with a new employee, the
orientation took about an hour,” says Bruce. “When
we sat down as a group, one thing kept leading to another
and the orientation was still going strong after
two hours. It was much more thorough than what
we’d been achieving previously.”
Bruce attributed this thoroughness in part to the
fact that the group setting fostered more participation
among those attending the orientation.
“National Grid recognizes Nelson Tree Service as one
of the safest contractors on their property. As long as
I’m a general foreman, I plan to do everything I can to
maintain that level of safety and professionalism!”
– Bruce Pope, General Foreman
To: Kip Erickson, Regional Manager
Nelson Tree Service
Bruce Pope,
General Foreman
From: James P. Maloney, Superintendent, Distribution Forestry
National Grid, Central Division
A short time ago I had the opportunity to join your General Foreman, Bruce
Pope, as he walked a group of new employees through a company orientation.
I was impressed by the meeting that morning and I thought I’d pass along my
observations to you.
Rarely does a contractor take the hours required to properly orient a new
employee as to what is required of them. But this instance was different. Pope
walked his new people through each point, using paper documents and DVDs
shown on a laptop, noting areas of particular attention and Nelson’s required
courses of individual study and their due dates. He covered, along with other
topics, PPE, WZTS, MAD, and B2B - everything from the commonplace to the
rarely seen. The entire process lasting better than 2 hours. A very thorough job.
What I found most noteworthy about all this was that productivity expectations
were never mentioned.
Every company constructs a safety program that either excels or degrades depending
upon the person presenting it. Nelson provides its GFs and employees
with a timely, comprehensive and fluid safety program. Pope’s championing of
your corporate directives shows not only does he understand that safety must
come before production but he desires his people to know that too.
“Some people are uncomfortable asking
questions and they may hesitate to speak up,”
explains Bruce. “In a group, chances are
someone else may ask the question for them. Also,
sometimes one individual’s question prompts
another question from another participant and you
can go further with a topic.”
The experience was so positive, that Bruce plans to
stick with it in the future.
“As we continue to grow
and bring in new people, we’re going to continue with
the group orientation,” says Bruce. “We’re definitely
heading down the right road.”
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