Safety promotions help keep workers healthy and happy
Every shift at D&M Plastics® begins the same way. Employees gather for a “huddle,” a meeting that begins with a conversation about safety. The company specializes in custom injection molding and serves customers in medical, electronics and other industries. The strategy behind the daily discussions on safety: Keep the topic top of mind. D&M Plastics’ team has logged more than 2,500 working days without an incident.
“Our team members are our greatest asset and we want to do everything we can to make sure they have a safe environment,” said Martin Tremonti, chief operating officer. “We believe when an employee feels safe and comfortable in their environment, it allows them to focus their attention on the quality of the work.”
An essential element of a workplace
Regardless of the industry, a culture of safety is important from top to bottom in any organization. In a 2023 survey, workplace safety was among the top drivers of employee retention for a third consecutive year. Only pay and benefits ranked higher. And 48% of American workers in another survey said they’d consider taking less pay for a job with a higher priority on safety.
It’s clear why nurturing a safe environment through strong leadership and improved training is among this year’s workplace safety trends. Safety promotions, which may consist of anything from drawings for prizes to safety awards, are helping organizations achieve their objectives. Two customers—D&M Plastics and a cybersecurity conference called BloomCon—are outstanding examples.
Safety is a team effort
D&M Plastics celebrates the safe behaviors of the 60 employees at its facility in Burlington, Illinois, with safety-related products, like fleece blankets, flashlights and vehicle safety kits. The company also tracks near-miss incidents to use as learning opportunities. These learning opportunities are all the more reason to make daily huddles and safety promotions part of the culture.
Tremonti said the company’s streak of accident- and injury-free days spans more than 10 years and is a testament to that workplace culture. Keeping safety top of mind helps keep employees happy. A safety focus also helps ensure an emphasis on product quality. Safety awards help celebrate the effort and care put in by the whole team.
“When we have customers come through the plant, they tell us they see how our people really get along great with each other,” he said. “People do a great job and take care of each other. It really is a team, and everyone has each other’s backs.”
Safety goes beyond physical protection
Emily Dobson, a cybersecurity analyst and recent graduate of Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, helped organize BloomCon, an annual cybersecurity conference. The two-day event provided an opportunity for students, alumni, prospective students and industry professionals to network and share ideas.
There’s a need for events like BloomCon because online safety is a growing area of importance for employers. Studies have indicated 82% of data breaches involve a human-related vulnerability, so awareness and education are important elements of online safety.
At the conference, about 800 people attended sessions on a range of topics related to online safety and security, including penetration testing, vulnerability management, phishing and emerging technologies. “The overall purpose of BloomCon is to help people,” Dobson said. “It’s about bringing awareness to everything that’s out there.”
Attendees received notebooks, branded pens, conference badges and other items stuffed into drawstring sportpacks used as swag bags. “We were looking for something that everybody would like,” Dobson said. “We decided on bags because everybody could continue to use them after the conference and they would be free promotion all year-round.”
Promotional Drawstring Sportpack
Safe behaviors begin with awareness
Much of workplace safety comes down to awareness. Broadly, there’s room to grow, as 76% of employees think their company’s safety communication needs improvement. D&M Plastics and BloomCon do their parts by putting knowledge sharing at the center of their efforts. With a solid understanding of risks, procedures and expectations, workers can help ensure their workplaces remain safe places.
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D&M PLASTICS is a registered trademark of Owen Plastics, LLC, 150 French Road, Burlington, ILLINOIS UNITED STATES 60109
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