Dan Darland

In this issue of the Mirror I know of at least two other safety related articles written by Wendling employees. What does that tell you? It tells me that the notion of safety being everyone’s business has taken firm roots here at Wendling. Be it the
D.O.T./Hazmat meeting, as written about by Hollis Emerson, the lessons learned articles, such as the one written in this issue by Steve Yerington, or similar notes that we put out in payroll after an accident or near miss, safety is at the forefront of every thought.

This month has been a big proactive safety month for Wendling. We had a D.O.T./Hazmat training day as previously mentioned and Jenny is holding training on our new Crisis Management Program with all of the crews this month. This has been a big project over the winter, and a huge amount of credit and thanks goes out to Jenny for her efforts on this project.

We also held two First Aid/CPR certification courses this month. Though we train and train to prevent accidents, we must be prepared to handle them when they occur. This too will reduce our exposure by quick and proper rendering of first aid.

With the 44 trained/retrained this year, added to those trained last year, Wendling has over 90 certified employees and two instructors. Following MSHA guidelines of one per crew, we would only need about seventeen. We believe strongly that the more we have, within reason, the better prepared we are to help each other when needed. I personally appreciate the company’s willingness to make this number of employees available by both the buy-in to do it, and the juggling of schedules, which allows it to happen. Also, a big thanks to the students, their active participation made the classes fun and interesting for all. I think everyone learns something new each time you take this course by the sharing of personal experiences by the students as much as by the instruction.

Thanks to all for the outstanding efforts to be proactive in safety.