CVIS (Craft Voice in Safety)

DEFINITION:

CVIS is a craft-led group selected to bethe crafts’conduit to the management team. The craft have the ability to voice their struggles, challenges, and safety concerns, in real time,to the management team.

BEST PRACTICE FOR MEMBERS:

  • Attend and fully participate in CVIS meetings
  • Listen to the crafts’ ideas, struggles, and challenges
  • Get a pulse of the job(be the management’s eyes and ears)
  • Be the safety champion(always leading by example)
  • Making safety personal on the jobsite
  • Be a leader and coach
  • Help new hires understand Kiewit’s safety culture
  • Promote activities that reflect a healthy and safe culture
  • Receive complaintsfrom other workers and act appropriately
  • Communicate regularly to workers on the progress of their issues
  • Participate in safety-related activities as applicable (orientations, safety meetings, training, WebEx attendance, etc.)
  • Motivate employees to recognize risks and mitigate hazards through training and promotion initiatives

BEST PRACTICES FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT:

  • Be 100% committed to the program
  • Provide a suitable location for meetings to take place
  • Provide members with sufficient time away from their regular, paid duties to attend to CVIS business
  • Attend CVIS meetings as a resource, but shall not attempt to influence the function of the committee
  • Review and sign-off on minutes
  • Respond to all concerns within the timeframeas stated in the minutes

MEETINGS:

CVIS shall create a meeting structure that works for their team and project.

AGENDA (IDEAS):

  • An agenda template shall be prepared and utilized to ensure meetings are kept on track
  • The following items from the previous meeting shall be included on the agenda for the following meeting:
  • Items where action is required
  • Items where follow up is required
  • Unfinished business

MEETINGS:(continued)

ISSUES NOT TO BE DISCUSSED:

  • Labor management issues
  • Non safety related disciplinary or personnel matters
  • Union business

MEMBERSHIP:

To become a CVIS member, an individual should first express interest. They must also be a safety leader on the job and needs to be an approachable individual. The CVIS group will decide whether or not the individual is a good fit for the CVIS team. CVIS members are expected to lead by example and demonstrate a safe work ethic at all times. All disciplines and Subcontractors are encouraged to have participants.

LESSONS LEARNED:

  • Management needs to be100% committed. Do not allow management to skip a meeting. There always has to be a minimum of one manager in attendance (one or two is enough; do not need a pile of CM’s, General Superintendents, and project managers to attend and take over the meeting).
  • CVIS is not Safety Supervisors or a police mentality. They are there to engage and promote safety concerns and issues, and communicate resolutions to our people. They are there to bridge the communication gap between management and boots on the ground.
  • Have a craft elected to be the chairman of the meeting (this is a craftSAFETY LEADER that will steer the meetings).
  • There should be two things discussed at the meeting:

oWhat does CVIS need to tell management? Management take-aways for their action.

oMost importantly, what is CVIS going to do this week to improve safety? Sometimes CVIS comes up with these, but every week the safety and construction manager should have at least one thing they want CVIS to do for the project.

  • Task the CVIS committee to get solutions from the craft to the issues from the craft.
  • Management can’t discredit the crafts ideas and thoughts. Management needs to close the loop on every action item. If this doesn’t happen, the craft will feel like their voice hasn’t been heard and will shut down.
  • Don’t mix up CVIS with CSA membersor try to blend the two. This will fail because the craft will create a perception that the CVIS members are safety cops. Than the craft will shut down and will not speak up.
  • Make the CVIS committee decide how the program should look within these guidelines. Let the CVIS group own the program.