S A F E T Y S P OT L I G H T
Carolina Sunrock Celebrates Sterling Safety Record
Carolina Sunrock recently added chain guards to their return rollers on the conveyor belts at its Butner quarry, pictured, to improve safety for people and vehicles traveling beneath the belts. BY SARAH REDOHL
W
e live by a simple saying here,” said Gregg Bowler, president of Carolina Sunrock LLC, Raleigh, North Carolina. “‘Do the right thing.’ That’s what we strive for every day, and operating safely is a big part of doing the right thing.” Carolina Sunrock, a construction materials supplier producing asphalt, aggregates, concrete and recycled materials in North Carolina and Ontario, Canada, was recently recognized by the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA) as one of its Louis Griesemer Sterling Safety Award winners. The company won the silver award for achieving among the lowest injury incidence rates of NSSGA’s member companies in the medium-sized operations category. In the past five years, Carolina Sunrock has grown substantially, doubling its total number of employees. Today, the company employs more than 450 people. Alongside the growth of the company, Carolina Sunrock has also expanded its safety program. “Safety has always been a priority for our owner and chairman Bryan Pfohl, and we have had a great safety program over our 74year history,” Bowler said. “We’ve always been committed to safety, but since we hired [Safety Manager Jason Jude] seven years ago, he’s taken our safety practices to the next level.”
EMPLOYEES ENGAGE IN SAFETY
One of the first initiatives Jude established was employee involvement groups (EIGs), a concept he adopted from his days in the coal mining industry. These monthly meetings offer all employees an opportunity to 8 | FEBRUARY 2022
discuss safety observations and outline action items to resolve any concerns. “We have to have buy-in from the boots-on-the-ground guys,” Jude said, adding that many new safety initiatives are employee-driven. “If they’re involved in the safety process and they see results from their suggestions, they’re more likely to buy into the program. People support what they create.” For example, Carolina Sunrock recently added chain guards to their return rollers on the conveyor belts at its Butner quarry, where people and vehicles regularly travel beneath the belts. “If the return roller falls, now they won’t fall onto a person, piece of equipment or vehicle,” Jude said. “That’s something an employee recognized as a hazard and brought to our attention.” These observations from employees enable Carolina Sunrock to take a proactive approach to safety. “If you’re only looking at lagging indicators, like incidents and EMRs, you’re managing based on the past,” Jude said. “If you focus on leading indicators, like near misses and observations, you’re preparing for the future.” Carolina Sunrock has also encouraged its employees to observe each other’s safety behaviors. For example, if someone sees another crew member not maintain three points of contact as they enter or exit a piece of equipment, they are empowered to remind their teammate about safety best practices. “If someone reminds you about safety best practices, it isn’t something to get mad about. It shows that your co-workers care about your wellbeing,” Jude said. This is part of Carolina Sunrock’s focus on behavior-based safety.
