Safety & Training
Safety Program
Potelco is committed to providing a safe work environment for our employees while ensuring the safety of the public. Safety sponsorship has been established at the highest levels of our organization so that employees at every level, including management are accountable for achieving our safety goals.
Our safety program uses all the training, equipment and communication technology at our disposal to ensure that all of our employees have the resources they need to make safe decisions everyday. Potelco provides the same commitment to every customer by assigning safety managers to each project and program to work side-by-side with our customers’ operations management teams. We develop project specific safety plans that focus on accident prevention and job hazard analysis.
We use safety pre-project and pre-task planning, emphasizing the importance we place on safety prequalification of potential subcontractors, as well as an intricate job hazard analysis (JHA)process that breaks down each operation into steps, addresses the hazard at each point and prescribes abatement for each potential hazard. A copy of the Potelco Health and Safety Manual is available upon request.
Program Components
Safety Meetings
Potelco crews start their day with a safety meeting. These safety meetings allow crews to share best practices, identify hazards and plan for safe work practices.Employees are encouraged to discuss any challenges from previous projects, use of tools and Personal Protective Equipment as well as strategies on how to ensure projects are completed safely. Safety meetings also provide a good opportunity for employees to recommend new ideas for safe work practices and PPE.
Training Program
Potelco has a comprehensive training program that includes new hire orientations, skills evaluations, continuing education courses, driver qualification programs, technical courses for employee safety and health, Supervisor training, Leadership development, industry best practices, and customer specific system standards. Potelco doesn’t just stop at basic OSHA focused safety training. Here at Potelco we have created, developed and implement some of the industry’s best training courses focused on safe work practices and the highest level of quality workmanship the industry has seen.
Safety Leadership Team
Potelco partnered with DuPont Industries in 2011 to help enhance our safety program. The SLT is one product we initiated to provide a feedback loop for employees and encourage ownership of the safety program. The SLT consists mostly of members from the field and field leadership who identify gaps in our safety program and policies or procedures which can be enhanced to provide a safer working environment for our employees. Through this process new safe work practices are developed, more effective PPE is mandated and safer equipment is utilized; all to help ensure our employees are safe and protected. The best practices develop and approved by the SLT can be found in our Best Practices binder on our jobsites.
Commitment Coins
In 2015 Quanta Services started awarding Commitment Coins to employees who go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to safety. Any employee can nominate any other employee for a Commitment Coin. All nominations are reviewed by the Company President and Vice President of Safety and then the coins are awarded accordingly.
In the year 2015 we have awarded commitment coins to multiple employees who have gone above and beyond in creating a safety culture at our company. We have had three instances of our crews helping injured members of the public and employees who take pride in the safe maintenance of their vehicles and equipment.