At Genera Energy, we always make safety a top priority. However, no matter how much we train and prepare, bad things can still happen. Unexpected incidents can include injuries or health emergencies with visitors or employees, accidents related to equipment or could be caused by other factors, such as weather.
When an accident occurs involving a person, we follow a carefully planned, standard first aid response protocol. Genera Energy has several employees CPR/AED certified, but all employees have been trained in the first response protocol we implement. This protocol includes detailed plans that dictate in what order notifications and procedures are followed. For example, in injury situations, protocol dictates that Emergency Services (911) is the first call you place and you secondarily call the company emergency call line, which rings the phone of all staff who are trained in CPR/AED. Trained staff will perform whatever is needed to help the person or situation until Emergency Services arrive.
Accidents occur involving equipment, or hazardous/dangerous situations will also follow similar first aid protocol. In these cases, after calling 911 if necessary, a call would be made to EH&S Coordinator or Operations Coordinator, or the Emergency Activation Plan (EAP) would be implemented. It is imperative you have an EAP for any operation in place. EAPs guide personnel on what actions to undertake in the event of emergencies, such as a chemical spill, tornadoes, or lightning events. Many times in the biomass industry, we have weather related incidents and it is critical we keep all employees safe and out of harm’s way. EAPs make sure all employees know what they should do in one of these events.
After any accident or emergency situation, we use a team approach to carefully analyze the incident, investigate root causes, and identify solutions to avoid similar events in the future. We keep detailed records so that incidents can be used for future training and evaluation. Always looking for ways to improve and keep safe, incident reports are helpful in our industry as we use the information to recognize problem areas and/or situations. We utilize these reports to ensure safer work areas, equipment and situations that could have been prevented. By reducing safety issues, we increase productivity and morale of our team members.
Contact Genera Energy Inc today to learn how our safety programs can help make your biomass supply chain successful!
By Harmony Cole, AR/AP Clerk and Administrative Assistant
