Expanding Our Team to Keep Safety Top of Mind
In recent years, Colonial’s once-small EHS department has grown to a 12-person team led by Rigel Rodriguez. Rigel has been with the company for 17 years and is supported by EHS Specialists and a Safety Manager, a position newly created and appointed this year. This team is responsible for maintaining environmental health and safety across all business units, through increasing knowledge of various EHS topics, remaining committed to compliance, and prioritizing EHS issues for all employees throughout the company.
Learning From Every “Near Miss”
Part of being prepared in our industries is not just learning from scenarios that didn’t go as planned but from every “near miss.” Employees are encouraged to report situations that almost didn’t go as planned in an effort to determine what caused the situation; what prevented it from being an incident; and what can be learned so that it doesn't come close to happening again?
We are committed to learning and consistently improving our processes in order to better handle situations in the future, and most importantly, keep our people safe. Harnessing technology is just one of the many ways we do this.
Using Technology to Keep Our Team Safe
Colonial aims to provide as many avenues of communication as possible so that every employee can comfortably share concerns, near misses, positive recognition, and any other details our managers and leaders should be aware of.
Through the use of a mobile app, employees receive first-hand information with regard to safety issues and can provide feedback in real time, helping to mitigate accidents and resolve issues as quickly and efficiently as possible. Additionally, the app provides a platform for recognizing members of the Colonial family for jobs well done.
Another tool enabling staff to share feedback and contribute their thoughts is our annual employee engagement survey. Initiated in 2023, the survey is designed so that staff can comment/make suggestions both openly or anonymously through the use of simple QR codes available across our facilities. The survey has already demonstrated tremendous success and serves as a useful tool for gauging employee satisfaction and engagement.
2023 EHS Trainings & Statistics
In addition to fostering open communication, Colonial is continually monitoring our Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR). TRIR measures the rate of work-related injuries and illnesses based on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reporting guidelines.
In 2023, our TRIR was 2.42%, below the overall U.S. average of 3.1%.
2023 Drills
Professionally executed safety drills are vital exercises, keeping our team prepared for the range of possible scenarios that could occur at our facilities. Colonial participates in the local emergency planning committee meetings in several of our locations and holds leadership roles in two spill response cooperatives, Clean Land & Harbor and the Savannah Spill Response Corporation, with whom we participate in annual spill response drills and tabletop exercises. Colonial has also completed multiple safety and regulatory drills such as fire, man overboard, security, and spill response exercises.
In addition to drills, Colonial holds regular safety meetings with our employees and contractors. These meetings occur at various frequencies, from weekly to monthly, and frontline employees and managers are required to participate in an effort to ensure everyone’s safety.