Worker Safety & Health

EM establishes and implements Integrated Safety Management systems that ensure work is performed safely and in a safety conscious work environment. EM commits to a “Zero Accident Policy,” and strives to eliminate hazards to workers to help ensure the entire EM workforce goes home at the end of the day the same as they arrived. Contractors have been required by contract to implement requirements outlined in Department of Energy order DOE O 440.1A, Worker Protection Management for DOE Federal and Contractor Employees . Some of the features of the Worker Safety and Health Program are:

1. Management Commitment;
2. Employee Involvement;
3. Hazard Assessment and Hazard Control;
4. Implementation of Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and other worker safety standards; and
5. Feedback and Improvement.

The DOE O 440.1A requirements are now covered by 10 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) 851 Worker Safety and Health Program , which is applicable to DOE contractors doing work at DOE sites. A new feature of 10 CFR 851 that will be effective in February 2007 is that it will be enforceable by civil penalties issued by the DOE Office of Enforcement, in addition to contract penalties.

EM has made great strides EM-wide in implementing effective Worker Safety Health Programs that has resulted in substantial decrease in our injuries. As depicted in the chart above, EM Total Recordable Case rate (TRC) and Days Away, Restricted or on Job Transfer (DART) rate for the first quarter of 2008 were 1.01 and 0.33, respectively, as compared to the 5.9 and 3.2 2006 Department of Labor benchmarks for the construction industry. (Industry comparison data for 2007 will not be available until late fall 2008.) A number of our EM sites have been recognized as “Star” sites for their worker safety and health programs through the Voluntary Protection Program. EM provides continuous emphasis on safety by DOE management at all levels, such as during the weekly field managers calls on Wednesdays, and incorporation of safety early in the project planning.