SITE PATH
SAFETY
“Responsibility is a unique concept…you may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished. You may delegate it, but it is still with you…If responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion, or ignorance, or passing the blame can shift the burden to someone else. Unless you can point your finger at the [person] who is responsible when something goes wrong, then you have never had anyone really responsible.”
– Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, “Father of the U.S. Nuclear Navy” [Inclusive edits by One Power]
WHAT’S ON THIS PAGE?
Corporate Value #6: Be Available and Be Honest.
Corporate Value #9: Never Settle for the Industry Standard.
Our Culture
One Power maintains a safety culture that is beyond reproach. Ironically, that means that we don’t make a big deal about safety, it just is. When safety is a built-in given, then safety really just is. That is the way we want it.
Our CEO is, and always will be, in charge of safety. Our department heads are responsible for the safety of their teams and this company. Our managers are responsible for the safety of their crews.
We don’t have dedicated safety people. All of our people are “safety people.”
We don’t have an unwieldy written safety program. We have a safety program that everyone reads and that fits in their back pocket.
We don’t have a few highly trained people. We invest in training as many people on our crews as possible, as much as possible.
We don’t make a big deal out of safety meetings. We just have them – good ones, every day.
We don’t have a bureaucratic discipline system bogged down with layers of paperwork. We do things right or we fix it immediately.
We don’t have ivory towers. We hold everyone accountable.
We don’t preach about safety or use it as a weapon, we are just safe. That is the only way we know how to operate.
We train our employees as EMTs and AEMTs, and all of our projects are fully equipped with Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support equipment. By being trained, licensed, and equipped at these levels, we are capable of providing the best pre-hospital trauma care that is legally permitted. Most of our field staff and a large portion of our office staff have been trained as EMTs or AEMTs.
We want to ensure that if the unthinkable happens up tower, we’re able to save our coworkers. So we developed and built a complete, in-house tower rescue training program. We teach authorized and competent rescuers in a program that is ANSI Z359 compliant. Our program has been so successful that we now train fire departments and other wind energy contractors. Our tower rescue program is as real as it gets and is some of the best training available for industrial rescuers. We have a tower rescue bag and at least two certified rescuers at every turbine we climb.
We want to have the safest crane and rigging program possible. Industry training programs are not designed for the complicated issues wind-turbine erectors face, and frankly, they’re not good enough. To fix this, we developed our own programs for rigging, crane operations, crane assembly, and critical lift planning. Our in-house instruction goes far beyond the scope of industry-standard crane classes and covers real-world topics that affect wind projects, like how to safely assemble and erect a 400-ton crawler crane in a corn field.
Our Safety Program
The following are excerpts from the One Power Safety Program. Our entire program, as well as one of our field reference guides, are available in full near the bottom of this webpage.
Please note that any redactions are to protect customer information.
Our Mission Statement
To be a company that demands and enables our team members to deliver industry-leading safety, quality, and customer satisfaction in the performance of our projects.
General Approach
This document is not meant to be an all-inclusive itemization of rules and regulations that One Power’s employees, partners, and subcontractors shall follow. This document is meant to detail general principles and specific items where One Power’s safety program exceeds applicable safety standards. This document is organized to match the format of 29 CFR 1926 (OSHA Construction). Specific items in our safety program that differ from OSHA minimums are contained in the appropriate subsection.
Culture
All of the safety rules, training, and paperwork mean nothing without having the correct safety culture. No One Power team member should hesitate to question the safety of anything we do. Every team member must take safety personally and consider themselves responsible for their safety and their teammates’ safety at all times. Knowingly ignoring safety, whether it is yours or your teammates’, will not be tolerated and shall be considered grounds for immediate termination.
Under no circumstance will a team member be disciplined for asking a question about the safety of a situation or method. In the event that a team member is concerned about the safety of a specific situation, regardless of the answer that their immediate supervisor gave them, they may call the CEO without ANY fear of retribution.
OSHA Compliance
This document shall be considered a supplement to 29 CFR 1926 and not a substitute. Additionally, if a more stringent state or local standard exists, then the more stringent rule shall govern. 29 CFR 1926 shall be considered incorporated by reference in its entirety for this document.
It is to be noted that in some circumstances, One Power may or may not be legally subject to OSHA standards. One Power shall, at all times, operate as though it is subject to OSHA and the balance of this document.
National Consensus Standards
Throughout this document, several National Consensus Standards are included or referenced. It is the belief of One Power that in many cases, the additional rules, regulations, and standards contained in these documents will provide for a safer workplace. The most current version of the referenced document shall be considered part of this document. Workers who are not familiar with the specific referenced documents shall be provided training on those standards as they relate to their work.
The National Consensus Standards are considered a part of this manual and should be read in conjunction with this document.
Please feel free to use our safety documents in any way possible to make your team safer.
You have permission to copy and use this content in part or in full, without crediting One Power.
Safety is not a competition. Please be safe.
Our Results
We believe all energy contractors and utilities should publicly post their safety results and describe any accident that has occurred. Here, we will start.
Notes:
- OP Recordable Injuries include all project and corporate activities of One Power companies.
- Total Project Recordable Injuries include all subcontractors and all individuals working on a project site, including One Power.
- OP Lost Time Injuries include all project and corporate activities of One Power companies.
- Total Project Lost Time Injuries include all subcontractors and all individuals working on a project site, including One Power.
Description of Incident 1:
Our single recordable injury was the result of a pneumatic power tool malfunctioning and injuring an employee’s hand. The incident occurred in our corporate shop. The individual was given preventative antibiotics for the wound which is the only element of the incident that met the criteria for a Recordable Injury under 29 CFR 1926. The power tool was being properly used and the PPE being used was appropriate. Additional inspection procedures were put in place and an additional air pressure governor was added to the compressed air system to lower stress on the tool.
Description of Incident 2:
Two employees suffered bites by an injured animal at our corporate site. The individuals were given preventative antibiotics for the wound which meets the criteria for a Recordable Injury under 29 CFR 1926. Company-wide onboarding training on recordable injury reporting as a result of this incident.