Indianapolis Small Packaging employees marked five years without a recordable safety incident on November 18, 2018. Reaching this milestone is no easy task. It requires a steady and uncompromising commitment to safety from every level of the organization. The success at Indianapolis is great example of what a facility can accomplish when everyone shares a common vision and is committed to making that vison a reality.
To drive the safety culture and environment in Indianapolis, individual ownership is encouraged through a frequent rotation of employees on the safety team and subcommittees. The rotation of employees allows for a wide variety of voices to be heard. Membership on a safety committee is required for all new hires and anyone with a safety infraction as a means of establishing a mindset where safety is part of every decision no matter how small.
Additionally, the team performs frequent machine audits and job safety analysis to ensure that employees are provided a safe work environment. All employees are expected to “manage up” and hold plant management accountable to take quick action in resolving identified issues. Plant Manager Ken Muncy expects his team to never compromise safety and to shut down equipment for repairs when needed. He believes “They only way you get everyone to help provide a safe work environment is if they know their efforts to communicate issues are addressed swiftly and completely.”
On December 21, employees celebrated their safety milestone with lunch catered by a local barbeque restaurant and employees received Mauser jackets as a congratulatory gift. On hand for the celebration and to show appreciation were Mauser senior leadership including President and CEO Ken Roessler, Executive Vice Presidents Bruno Couteille, Vice President Greg Hutchison and EHS Director Allen Coppolo.
According to Stephan Dechert, Director of Operations, Plastics, “So many great activities go on in our company it is hard to recognize all of them but I truly felt blessed to be in Indianapolis to see our CEO and top leadership on site for this celebration and not only talk about safety but empower everyone to do something to make it better.”
Reaching this milestone shows a seriousness about protecting our greatest asset — our people. But safety is not an area where we celebrate success and move on to the next item. We must be ready to face each new day with a strong commitment to continued improvement. Congratulations to everyone in Indianapolis on this accomplishment.