Since GUC started keeping track of our safety goals in 2009, we have never worked three million hours without a lost workday injury, until now. During the pay period ending April 11, we surpassed that mark.  

“I’m very proud of the efforts that everyone has put in to achieving this goal,” said General Manager / CEO Tony Cannon. “More importantly, your focus on safety is changing the culture of GUC to make it a top priority to safely provide reliable utility solutions. Lighthouse observations, SafeAlign safety contacts, and safety discussions are happening every day throughout GUC, and we are seeing positive results from these efforts.” 

The last time we had a lost workday injury was in November 2016. Since then, we’ve worked through hurricanes, snow and ice storms, thunderstorms, and many regular hours. During all of those times we have been working together, serving our customers.  

“Lost workday incidents are some of the more severe injuries and illnesses experienced by employees at work,” said Risk and Facilities Manager Kevin Keyzer. “It takes over a year of GUC employees going home every day without a serious injury in order for us to reach a million hours. That’s a big deal. When you do that back to back to back, it’s kind of like winning the Super Bowl or the World Series three years in a row.” 

So what’s next?   

“We have to continue to take one step after the other,” said Kevin. “It’s cliche’, but safety truly is a journey, not a destination. We need to continue activities like observations, safety contacts, and job safety briefings. At the same time, we need to further develop our safety leadership skills and learn how to better recognize and control hazards.” 

We will celebrate when we are back to our normal work routines. In the meantime, each employee has had 25,000 points added to their safety point total.

To redeem your safety points, email a request to Mashan Arthur @ ARTHURM@guc.com and include the following information:

• First and last name and department
• Amount of points you want to redeem
• If you have a card or not
• If you have a card please indicate the last four digits of the card number you want loaded

Be proud! And keep working safely!