The heat has been on this summer and as temperatures rose, so did the number of observations performed by Lighthouse observers.

As more employees complete the Lighthouse Day One overview training, more employees are signing on as official observers and taking the Day Two training.  This has led to an increase in the number of observers. More observers mean more observations, and that's good for all of us.

We had 425 observations in May, June, and July.  That's a 62% increase from the same time period last year, marking a new record high for Lighthouse.

Keep in mind that Lighthouse is 100% about observing behavior - not about enforcing rules, or reporting "bad" behavior.

During an observation, identifying those behaviors that keep the employee safe are just as important, if not more important, than the ones that are identified as at-risk. That's because when the observer and employee discuss the observation, there is an opportunity to reinforce that safe action that the employee might not even realize he or she is doing.  This increases the likelihood that they will continue the safe behavior in the future and avoid injury — the ultimate goal of the process. During the last three months, observers saw 4,645 safe behaviors.

When an at-risk behavior is observed, it's a chance for the employee and observer to talk about ways to avoid that risk and the injury that could occur.  In the last three months, observers noticed 19 at-risk behaviors and discussed them with the employees.  The hope is that discussion will help keep one of our co-workers from becoming injured — and we all want that!

Give a high five to our current observers when you see them.  If you want to be part of the action, contact any member of the Steering Team and they will help you get involved.  Steering Team members are Blake Horton (Meter), Brian Greer (WTP), David Bunch (Electric), Alton Hardee (Gas), Ron Girdharry (IT), Linda Clark (Public Information), and Tyrone Moore (Water Resources).

Current Observers:

Stormi Amendt (Water)
Charlie Buck (Meter)
William Cooley (Fleet)
Jeff Cox (Electric)
Alan Cummings (Gas)
Mickey Dawson (Gas)
Paul Edwards (Gas)
Jason Haddock (Gas)
Leonard Haddock (Stores)
John Hart (Water)
Tony Haywood (Water)
Kevin Hudson (Water)
Scott Jablonski (HR)
Remington Gaskins (Electric)
Debbie Miller (Admin)
Jarrett McGalliard (Water)
Justin Oakes (Gas)
Billy Owens (Electric)
Jeremy Page (Electric)
Alan Payne (Water)
Eric Phillips (Gas)
Tony Richards (Gas)
Josh Setzer (Water)
Brandon Smith (Meter)
Jason Smith (Electric)
Ronnie Staton (Fleet)
Stacy Vanderburg (Gas)
Teresa Wall (HR)
Roger Waterfield (Gas)
Brandie Whitehurst (Finance)