Great River Energy’s Jim Zabel, telecommunications technician/electrician foreperson, saw a big red flag when he arrived at one of the cooperative’s communication tower sites to perform maintenance.
He saw a contract crew digging a trench to access equipment 8 feet below ground. He also saw a problem: Nothing was preventing the trench walls from caving in on the people working there.
“I felt a sense of responsibility for the man working in the trench,” Zabel said. “I could see that there would be no way of getting him out if the walls collapsed.”
So, Zabel spoke up and stopped work.
“I informed the job foreman he needed to stop work immediately and not resume until the trench walls were shored,” Zabel said. “He wasn’t very happy about my decision, but he did abide by it and called his workers out of the trench.”
The contractor had to come back at another time because they didn’t have the available materials to shore the trench, which delayed the work.
Zabel reported the incident to Great River Energy’s engineering employees for future reference when using contractors for this type of work. He said he felt comfortable speaking up with his safety concern because of the company’s strong emphasis on stopping any work that felt unsafe.
“We had been told we had the authority to stop jobs for safety reasons if necessary, so I felt comfortable that I was empowered to do so,” Zabel said.
Speaking up and stopping work is the emphasis of Great River Energy’s Be the One campaign. All employees are encouraged to be the one to speak up and stop work if they have a safety concern. It is a core believe at Great River Energy that there is no schedule or budget more important than working safely and employees should support one another when someone has the courage to speak up.
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