As many organizations in the utility construction industry renew their emphasis on safety, Danella continues a tradition of bringing together the key leaders in safety through an annual summit. At the end of July, Danella hosted a successful two-day training stressing continuous improvement and the theme “Raising the Bar: Mastering Safety, Protecting Profits.” Safety Managers and team members came from throughout the United States to participate in meaningful dialogue, share best practices, and develop actionable strategies for enhancing safety and efficiency.
The packed two-day agenda included sessions on a wide range of topics from crisis management to leveraging technology for safety communications. One of the highlights of the event was the session on Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) and Work Site Observation (WSOR), where attendees learned how to spot potential hazards and take proactive measures to prevent accidents. The session underscored the importance of not just collecting data, but taking meaningful action based on that data to improve safety outcomes.
Harness new technology to assist with “Raising the Bar” was an underlying theme throughout the summit. As AI technology continues to dominate the news, conversations were had about additional technologies that for many organizations including Danella have helped to create better working environment. One of those technologies is Samsara, the safe driving telematics program. Samsara is installed in all fleet vehicles to monitor driving, speeding, and serves also as a dashcam. Demonstrations during the summit included introduction to new features, along with discussion better management techniques.
An interactive demonstration of the learning management software, MindForge was also a key topic, as we continue to look towards ensuring ongoing communication and support for our field team members. MindForge serves as a secure private network to deliver communication, trainings, and knowledge to the field. Formen and Superintendents currently using the software were in attendance to offer testimony to the ease of use in disseminating information. MindForge offers us the opportunity to continue to ensure a way to safely communicate with employees, while also ensuring safety learning continues to stay up-to-date as the industry changes.
At the conclusion of the Safety Summit, attendees were challenged to develop concrete, actionable plans for “Raising the Bar” for safety and to implement these plans in their daily work.