Posted on October 7, 2024
SAN FRANCISCO, California – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is clear on its prioritization of safety describing USACE as a “world class engineering organization” that embodies a culture of safety. The Corps of Engineers even defines “winning” as safely delivering quality projects on time and within budget.
South Pacific Division aims to live out this safety mantra and seems to be succeeding with its recent USACE Chief of Engineer’s FY 2023 Safety Award under the USACE Safety and Occupational Health Awards program.
SPD’s safety program was recognized for its proactive safety initiatives, including the integration of the Corps of Engineers Safety & Occupational Health Management System (CE-SOHMS), achieving 71% implementation across all CE-SOHMS stages at the time of the award.
CE-SOHMS, a safety management system created by USACE in 2017, is a methodology to fully integrate safety and occupational health functions into all USACE business operations.
Mike Ramirez, chief of SPD’s safety and occupational health, feels the division is leading the safety community of practice through a consistent drumbeat of engagement throughout the organization. And though the SPD workforce is comprised of four districts with more than 2,600 employees, he feels safety reaches far beyond the division and district’s safety teams.
“Safety is everybody’s responsibility,” explained Ramirez. “It only becomes a priority when it is instilled as a value and every employee understands their role in a positive safety culture and understands their participation is essential for a safe workplace.”
Anchoring safety as a value within any organization can be challenging due to seemingly endless regulations and protocol, but Ramirez feels the division’s simplified approach has been essential in their success.
“Taxing people with a bunch of procedures and regulations is not as effective as a grassroots type of approach,” said Ramirez. “A simple informative approach is better as we want people understand the information quickly because then they are more willing to accept safety protocols and work at a world class organization.”
Ramirez emphasizes the importance of each district’s safety accomplishments which bolstered the division’s ability to receive the accolade.
“All districts have achieved at least CE-SOHMS Stage I, and the Albuquerque District recently completed Stage III and applied for the Safety and Occupational Health (SOH) Army star organization,” said Ramirez.
The Army SOH Star is awarded to organizations that develop, implement, and continuously improve in the prevention and control of occupational safety and health hazards.
Ramirez says that leadership support and engagement is critical to the execution of SPD’s safety program.
“Through active leader involvement, employee engagement, stakeholder collaboration, and contractor participation -the division works as a collaborative team ensuring ‘safe performance’ is the foremost imperative in executing and delivering the mission for our civilian workforce and military personnel,” said Ramirez.
South Pacific Division’s Commander, Col. James Handura, echoes that safety remains a division priority.
“Whether recreational or work-related, preventing fatalities is paramount,” said Handura. “Safety remains a year-round focus for SPD, with ongoing awareness and vigilance essential to mitigate risk…”
“Leadership is engaged and has demonstrated they understand the importance of a safe and healthy work environment and strive in all that they do to help ensure all workers can go home at the end of the workday with no injury or illness – just as their families expect,” adds Ramirez.
SPD is moving forward with its next objective of attaining their Stage Three of CESOHMS implementation by December 2025 – and they are well on their way.
“We are leading through innovation and engagement with the team of employees,” he adds. “Our safety office continues to develop tools and processes of improvement for the division and enterprise to take us well into the 21st century.”
Ramirez, who has only been with the SPD safety office for three years, feels the significance of the award.
“Having recognition from the Corps is fantastic,” he smiled. “The last time the division was recognized from the Corps for a safety award was back in 1995…you know, there’s only one goal – and that’s to have a world class safety program.”
