In recognition of the contributions employees make to overall safety and efficiency, the FAA held the Designated Agency Safety and Health Official (DASHO) Safety Awards on May 10th, 2017. Sixty-four employees were acknowledged across the agency this year, 25 of which are from the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center! They were recognized for significant initiative, innovation, leadership and/or long-term commitment to advancing a culture of workplace safety and personal accountability in safety and health activities and programs throughout the FAA.
FAA DASHO, Vaughn Turner, was at an offsite meeting and commended everyone in a pre-recorded video. “The safety of our people is a top priority for the agency, and the DASHO Safety Awards are an important way to recognize our employees and best practices in occupational safety and health,” he said. “I commend the winners of the DASHO Safety Awards for their outstanding efforts and contributions to creating safer work environments.” Acting Deputy Administrator, Victoria Wassmer presented the awards to the recipients.
This initiative focused on developing an environment of open communication and establishing a culture where management and employees collaborate to create a world class OSH program. It established an employee-driven team, with representatives from each of the Logistics Center’s eight branches, to develop the structure and process for tracking employee safety engagement in the organization. Results of the team’s efforts include decreased number of inspections findings, identification of unsafe conditions that otherwise may not have been identified until a mishap or injury occurred, and receipt of over 100 safety suggestions and unsafe condition reports from personnel in the organization. The collaboration, initiative, and leadership of the AML-1000 OSH Continual Improvement Team was instrumental in making the MMAC a safer workplace and is a model that can be replicated throughout the FAA.
The Continual Improvement Team worked in conjunction with the MMAC Environmental and Safety Staff (AMP-100) and local labor representatives (AFGE), to implement an initiative that improved employee engagement in the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Program.
Though his primary role is as an FAA Academy power/HVAC instructor, Michael provided outstanding contributions and leadership to the MMAC Occupational Safety and Health Program by volunteering to teach the highly technical, and regulation-based, Electrical Safety Qualified Person (ESQP) course. During FY16, he led the initiative to update the ESQP MMAC course materials, enhanced the instructional methods, and helped expand training delivery to new organizations. Michael taught 19 ESQP courses and increased the number of MMAC ESQP personnel trained (234) by 40 percent more than in FY15. Additionally, Michael coordinated with the Technical Women’s Organization to provide ESQP training at the 2016 “Train2Gain” Conference and, in collaboration with the FAA Academy, tested and verified the method to conduct ESQP training remotely through video teleconference. Michael’s efforts have made a significant impact on the electrical safety culture at the MMAC, and his sphere of influence spans across the industrial organizations.
A Reorganization/Redesign Initiative conducted by two teams of Instrument Landing System (ILS) Antenna Shop Personnel identified 5 areas of risk to personnel and 11 areas of risk with equipment related to the receiving, repair, and return processes of Low Power Tactical Air Navigation (LPTA) Antennas and Log Periodic Dipole (LPD). The immediate positive impact of changes implemented by the teams include: 1) Proper equipment to handle antennas significantly decreased the amount of time necessary to accomplish throughout the repair process; 2) Increased “physical” flow of antennas from repair stations to the testing chamber; 3) Decreased musculoskeletal stress placed on individual team members performing specific tasks; and, 4) Enhanced overall safety of the shop and reduced risk. The long-term increase in production is evident by the following results: 73% increase in production as indicated by 232 completed LPDs in 2016 (annualized) compared to 178 in 2015; An approximate 33% increase in LPTA production over that same time period; and notable increased morale, camaraderie, and esprit-de-corps within AML-7000.
Congratulations to all MMAC employees who were recognized for their contributions to better safety and health in FY 2016. If you recognize fellow employees making the workplace safer, nominations are open until November 15th, 2017 for the FY 2017 DASHO Safety Awards. For more information go to https://my.faa.gov/go/dasho or contact Gus.Waters@Faa.gov.
