I Encourage Everyone Involved to Participate Fully in These Discussions with Both Managers

Hi everyone. The Fall Technical Operations Safety Stand Down starts this Sunday, October 25, and runs until November 7. As you all know, we hold it twice a year, and it’s a chance for Tech Ops front-line leaders, employees,and union representatives to discuss occupational safety and health issuesopenly at every level. During this time, all non-essential maintenance work is suspended, and we ask Tech Ops senior leaders to enact a moratorium on meetings, to the extent possible, so that more time and focus can be devoted to this important event.

I encourage everyone involved to participate fully in these discussions with both managers and bargaining unit representatives leading these efforts in their organizations. As we do so, we live up to the Tech Ops creed: Protect Yourself. Protect the NAS.

This fall’s SSD theme is titled, “Anticipate. Adapt. Act”– and it emphasizes the importance of flexibility in our safety culture.

Why is flexibility important? We have policies, procedures, and personal protective equipment or PPEto ensure the safety and health of our employees. Periodically, we have to reevaluate these policies and procedures to see if they still make sense and are working as intended. If not, we need to adapt. Also, as new systems and equipment are introduced, we have to anticipate new potential hazards that may arise. Again, we need to adaptsafely.

It’s easy to lapse into a mindset of “That’s how we’ve always done it.” The Safety Stand Down is an opportunity to make sure that we’re always taking the best approach.

Our Tech Ops employees have provided great insight during past Stand Downs. They give hands-on experiences from climbing the towers, visiting the remote sites, and fixing the equipment. They can help us craft the most adaptablesolutions.

For example, Justin Robertson, one of our Tech Ops engineers raised a concern about the prescribed PPE used by technicians who maintain critical power equipment at en route centers. The required PPE was a heavy, cumbersome suit. After a data-supported reevaluation of the hazards, we came up with a more flexible approach. When we distinguished between the worst case scenarios and normal maintenance tasks, we were able to determine when PPE was not needed. We issued a new policy that meets regulatory standards and allows the technician to wear the appropriate type of PPE for the situation. It’s been released as a notice and is currently being integrated into a revision of the maintenance handbook.

You can hear more about this success story and others in the Fall 2015 Safety Stand Down video. These are the kinds of differences we can continue to make through the Safety Stand Down discussions.

In closing, the Safety Stand Down is teamwork at its very best and regardless of your position, you have a role to play in building a safety culture.Whether you are a manager, an ATSS, an engineer, a program manager or analyst, a staff worker, or part of the flight inspection crew, by discussing occupational safety and health mattersopenly and developing and supporting solutions for your working area, we ensure a safe workplace for ourselves and our co-workers.

Thanks everyone,

Teri

Teri L. Bristol

ATO Chief Operating Officer