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Frontline Spotlight
April 2024
Reducing Risk Together
Taking responsibility for team safety
Mritunjay Singh and Atul Kumar Singh are leading their team to better safety practices by living out the People First Commitments.
On the front line, safety often comes down to consistency and attention to detail. Here, Mritunjay Singh, Assistant Engineer in Marhowra, and his manager, Atul Kumar Singh, share how they’ve built a culture of safe practices on their teams that lines up with the People First Commitments.
Tactics for improving safety
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Across Wabtec, there are several strategies we’ve identified that help us improve safety. Mritunjay leads by example on his team with putting these tactics into action. “Our team uses a two-minute warning strategy to stay safe on the shop floor, which requires us to check all aspects of a process from a safety perspective before starting work,” he says. “And as a team, we make sure to discuss the challenges related to safety in our shift assembly meetings.”
Mritunjay thinks these precautions have made a tangible difference. “We’ve seen daily improvements of our existing safety procedures thanks to the two-minute warning,” he says. “I’ve been impressed with the ways the team has identified risks and followed up as needed to make sure concerns are closed.”
Atul sees the impact Mritunjay’s consistency has on the whole team. He says, “Mritunjay prioritizes safety in day-to-day work with daily team discussions and the two-minute warning, but he’s also continuously looking for safety improvements through engineering controls in the form of safety kaizens. These benefit everybody.”
Mitigation and prevention
One of the best ways to be safe is to address risks as soon as they’re identified. Mritunjay says, “When we see something wrong, we’re able to make safety suggestions for any of our processes. These suggestions are addressed based on potential severity to prevent any harm, so the most serious risks are always handled first.”
Mritunjay’s diligence with prevention is a benefit to the whole team. “Mritunjay constantly raises safety concerns, big and small, and always follows up for closure to make sure we’ve addressed all potential risks,” Atul says.
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Importantly, Mritunjay also gives his teammates someone to emulate. “Other employees follow Mirtunjay’s example when they see him stopping unsafe practices and getting everything correct before resuming work,” Atul says. “And that’s great for the whole team. We have rewards and a recognition system for employees who perform safe acts and safety kaizens, and that helps employees to follow the example set by others, like Mritunjay.”
Putting People First
A lot of the procedures the team uses to improve safety line up with the People First Commitments. The commitments connect to our first value at Wabtec, People First, and represent the critical actions employees have the responsibility and ability to enact:
- I am empowered to stop work.
- I report EHS concerns.
- I am responsible for my safety and the safety of others.
It’s an individual’s responsibility to put the commitments into action, but it’s important for the whole team to create an environment where employees feel comfortable doing that. Mritunjay says, “Our team is working to put the commitments into action by actively listening and supporting our team members when they suggest a safety improvement process. We’re also sure to acknowledge their achievements, provide safety resources, foster open communication, and address challenges collaboratively.”
Atul thinks that the efforts of employees like Mritunjay, along with the coordinated contributions throughout the rest of the facility, are helping to make employees safer every day. “The People First value is very unique, and it helps to keep safety consistently at the front of everyone’s mind,” he says. “We are developing a culture of care by empowering everyone to stop work if they spot an unsafe act, and the leadership team and frontline managers are participating in the safety dialogue in line with our behavior-based safety culture development.”