Keeping employees safe with updated safety programs

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To help communicate the core value “safe and compliant or not at all,” a program was created by Heritage Environmental Services in 2009 called 6Safety.

This legacy safety program was conceived with the purpose to improve Heritage’s safety culture by increasing the awareness of the six activities with the highest potential of serious injury and/or death.

The program has been successfully sustained over the years through employee participation, leadership commitment and by making needed improvements.

Because Heritage feels it is important to refresh safety programs to help teams remain focused and to motivate employees to continue down the path to zero injuries, the company made recent updates to ensure 6Safety’s messaging aligns with the current safety culture of the organization.

An overview of the 6Safety program

6Safety is comprised of two primary areas that emphasize important aspects of its overall safety process: six principles and six life-saving rules.

6 Principles to a Safer Work Environment

  • Stop unsafe work: Heritage employees are responsible, authorized, and obligated to stop any work deemed unsafe or that is a violation of company safety policies and procedures.
  • Avoid pain: Employees need to be able to recognize actions/situations that will cause them pain and are empowered to take steps to control the situation.
  • Follow procedures: To ensure safety, procedures must be followed and should not be deviated from.
  • Examine concerns: If directions, standard operating procedures, or safe work plans are not clear, or if a new hazard is recognized, employees are encouraged to ask questions and contact their leadership or safety representatives.
  • Take steps to be healthy: Since healthy employees are more productive and less likely to be injured, employees are encouraged to incorporate healthy lifestyle habits to their workday and take advantage of wellness programs.
  • Yield the rewards: Incentives and awards are available to Heritage employees who demonstrate excellence in safety leadership and foster a positive health and safety culture.

6 Life-saving rules: Many companies have a set of rules that are held to the highest standards of safety. These are the rules that if not done properly, if not respected, can result in serious injury or fatality. Some companies may call these “cardinal rules” while others call them “life-saving rules.” By any name, the criticality of these tasks offers the same potentially life altering/ending outcome if not followed. Heritage’s life-saving rules are listed below:

  • Lock out/Tag out – Controlling hazardous energy by verifying isolation and zero energy before work begins.
  • Confined space – Ensuring the permit system is followed and necessary preparations prior to entering confined spaces
  • Fall protection – Ensuring workers are protected while exposed to fall risk
  • Hot work – Preparing and maintaining work areas where hot work occurs and preventing fires
  • Line breaking – Keeping workers safe while opening lines, especially opening lines that contain or contained hazardous materials
  • Driving – Staying safe on the road by following safe driving rules

Program updates:

This year, Heritage updated its 6Safety program in two key areas to ensure the messaging remains relevant and effective in communicating its safety culture.

Updated logo:

Logos and branding help tell the story of the program above and beyond words. Across the organization, Heritage communicates 6Safety using informative, engaging and educational collateral that reaches all employees. The previous logo embodied a red stop sign, a long-standing safety visual with deep meaning. Stop signs are one of the oldest safety signs in use since 1915. The sign warns to stop, slow down, and ensure that it is safe before moving forward — not only at intersections — but also while working in day-to-day tasks. The hand within the sign visually communicated Heritage’s Stop Work Authority, a key aspect of the program. This year, the logo has a fresh new look. The hard hat and seat belt demonstrate strong symbols of safety while maintaining the iconic stop sign octagon.

Refreshing life-saving rules:

Through careful consideration, evaluating data and exposure potentials, Heritage has updated its Life Saving Rules to ensure they reflect the most common exposures and highest risks with the following change: Driving has replaced waterblasting. Driving is something most employees do every day, with many of their workers driving work vehicles for many miles daily. According to the National Safety Council, roadway incidents are the leading cause of work-related deaths. Worker deaths totaled 1,253 in 2021 and 25,830 were injured in 2020. The remainder of the life-saving rules remain unchanged.

This update gives the opportunity to recommunicate the expectations and seriousness of these six rules. To educate employees about this change, The company is updating existing posters, providing hard hat stickers, and delivering training presentations. Each year, employees are refreshed on this program to ensure the message remains strong and their commitment unchanged.

Through continuous evaluation, Heritage is proud to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to health and safety. Prioritizing the well-being of the Heritage family is key to how the company can work towards its mission of protecting human health and the environment.

To learn more about the 6Safety program at Heritage Environmental Services, contact Heritage or explore how the company’s safety culture supports its communities, customers and the environment.

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