DELTA, OH – North Star BlueScope Steel’s Home Safety Team (HST) hosts events, trains staff members and provides resources to improve safe practices away from work.
Started in 2003, the Home Safety Team was inspired by a DuPont Safety Training Course that focused on safety culture at work and home. HST works closely with North Star’s Safety Department.
Over the years, the home safety conversations have captured a wide variety of topics, including electrical safety, distracted driving, pet safety, wearing proper PPE while mowing the lawn and safe use of ladders.
Tim Mitchell, a founder of the Home Safety Team, said, “The safe practices we put into use at work are easily applied at home. I believe that some of these conversations at home have absolutely prevented an injury or even saved a life.”
“The Home Safety team continues to make a positive impact on our team members, our family members and our community.”
HST hosts regular events to share information and distribute safety products, such as batteries, fire extinguishers and car safety kits.
Employees are also encouraged to take home tools and personal protective equipment and can use the company’s buying power to purchase ladders and other safety products at discounted prices.
“Nobody can turn safety on and off at the gate,” said Mitchell. “Safety has to be a 24/7/365 mindset. Over the years, the team has evolved to focus on local communities, as well as our employees and contractors.”
Every month, employees use an online platform to share how they interpret and apply safety at home. All participants are entered into a raffle. The team also selects an iROC of the Month. “iROC” stands for Individual Recognize Observe Correct. Qualified employees identify and address unsafe situations before an incident or injury occurs.
Raffle winners and iROCs get to choose a prize from the pool. Previous prizes include Toledo Walleye tickets, Kroger and Amazon gift cards, and Costco and AAA memberships.
Team Facilitator Joe LaMunyon said, “To me, the Home Safety Team is about celebrating and rewarding our safety culture as a way of life.”
“Safety can easily be interpreted as a rigid set of rules or standards that we adhere to or are taught by an authority.”
“Our focus is to highlight those ideals as part of an evolutionary culture that everyone can learn from and appreciate in their everyday lives.”