OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - More than 1,200 people from 23 states attended this year’s SafetyFest Tennessee to gain valuable safety training they can apply at work and home.
DOE, along with more than 55 business partners and sponsors, offered more than 100 free classes during the weeklong training event.
“Oak Ridge has a robust safety culture, and SafetyFest Tennessee is an outpouring of the importance this community places on the topic," said Jay Mullis, manager of the DOE Oak Ridge Environmental Management Office. “It’s very encouraging to see a commitment to constant improvement and such a wide acceptance about the impact of safety at work and home."
Participants traveled from as far away as Utah and New Mexico to attend the classes, which spanned a spectrum of safety and health issues, such as fire safety, injury prevention, first aid, and ladder safety.
DOE and local contractor senior managers participated in a roundtable discussion on a range of safety-related topics, including their roles in communicating the importance of a strong safety culture.
“SafetyFest Tennessee is in its seventh year, and I have to believe it has created safer workplaces, homes, and communities," said Jenny Freeman, who serves on the event’s planning committee. “The event grows each year and is a real asset for our community, which serves as a host for several DOE missions."
According to course instructor Melissa Smith, who works for EM cleanup contractor URS | CH2M Oak Ridge (UCOR), the training provides insight to topics that usually do not receive a lot of attention, but have a dramatic impact. She pointed to the class “The Impact of Fatigue Due to a Lack of Sleep" she taught as an example.
“Many of us are not getting the sleep we need each night, but we don’t necessarily consider how that affects our ability to operate safely," she said. “This course was designed to help people understand what risks are involved when we are fatigued and ways to safeguard against risky performance due to the lack of sleep."
Several demonstrations were held on topics such as live electrical lines, scaffold displays, and slip simulators.
“SafetyFest Tennessee gives participants the awareness and tools they need to make safety a key aspect of their everyday lives," said UCOR’s Libby Gilley, who taught a class on preparing for a safety trained supervisor-construction certification examination. “The event not only changes lives, but it may save a few lives as well."
-Contributor: Wayne McKinney
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
