The Connection EVPS newsletter
Volume 1, Issue 4 - April 2014
E
86 East Sixth Street Holland, MI 49423 Phone: 616.392.2383 Web: www.evpsinc.com
mployee Safety is truly the most important aspect of any project no matter how much the quality, budget and schedule are emphasized. I recently heard a story of a developer who was undertaking a sizable project for a new client. An unfortunate accident with a loss of life occurred on their job site and this “black cloud” created enough negative karma on the site that the client backed out of the project, causing over one million dollars in lost revenue. Although a huge financial loss, this story is a critical reminder that the financial impact of a safety incident falls miles behind the emotional impact experienced by the family and friends left behind.
faced the loss of an employee, to talk about safety from both financial and emotional points of view. Through round-table discussions, short speeches, skits, and a panel discussion, we raised awareness around the importance of safety practices.
So what do we do to focus our industry’s attention on safety? Elzinga & Volkers recently celebrated 2,500 days with No Lost Time incidents, and while we are proud of this accomplishment, it made us realize how much more we can do to promote safety. On March 21, we held an inaugural week-long safety event, Alive 365: Safety Week 2014, to benefit all trade contractor partners in our region. The event started with a Safety Symposium to kick off the week of trainings. Tony Roussey, our VP of Operations and I shared E&V’s safety tactics and invited several industry related speakers as well as the trade contractor that
We challenged everyone who attended Safety Week to 365 days without a lost time incident. Over the next year, Elzinga & Volkers will monitor and track the safety records of all companies in attendance, so everyone is accountable for keeping their workers safe. We believe we have a moral obligation to be Our Brother’s Keeper and, as a leader in safety, we will continue to build on these programs so that every worker goes home safe to their loved ones!
Meet our New Team Members
The week following the Symposium (March 24-28), Elzinga & Volkers partnered with Titan Equipment and Agile Safety to hold free training and certification classes ranging from CPR First Aid to Powder Actuated Tools and Scaffold Safety. Through this week, our goal was to increase education on risk prevention tactics in our industry.
Mike Novakoski, President & CEO
Employee Spotlight | Dolores Berry
HELLO
Hometown: Born and raised in GA. Dolores grew up in Dacula and has lived in Suwanee for the past 15 years.
Within the past few months, we have welcomed back several employees as well as added many new faces and trades around the country. Please join us in welcoming:
John Anderson Product Consultant
Ernie Sanchez Training/Dev. Expert
Dave Gigliotti Production Specialist
Matthew St. Germain Project Manager
John Kolodick Production Specialist
Bradley Debski Superintendent
Don’t Forget!
Position: SAP and Business Process Support for External Manufacturing at Mondelez International, East Hanover, NJ. Family/Interests: Dolores has three sons and a dog named Yogi. She enjoys playing tennis, snow skiing, traveling, writing and is an avid reader.
Equipment Safety Did you know that getting on and off a machine is where the No. 1 cause of injury occurs in equipment operators, forklift drivers and truck drivers. What can we do to prevent these accidents? »» Check your gloves and boots and »» Securely engage the entire hand and foot, avoiding a toe or finger hold grip clean the mud off before climbing »» Use any hand holds on the equipment
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Use a step ladder for access when no hand or foot holds are provided
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Wear gloves for a secure hand hold
Avoid carrying objects
Please let these points be your learning experience. If you would like to discuss further safety tips please contact Buddy Simmons at (616) 834.6690.
Please remember that while on-site or in plant for one of our clients it is your responsibility to be familiar with and follow all policy and procedures for employee compliance relating to safety, employee relations, harassment and violence including reporting and participating in any necessary investigations. Please contact James Sheely at (616) 212.9916 with any questions on this topic.
Your EVPS Team
Name
Title
Phone
Mike Novakoski
President/CEO
616.836.5456
mikenova@elzinga-volkers.com
Buddy Simmons
Vice President of Operations
616.834.6690
bsimmons@evpsinc.com
James Sheely
Director of National Sales
616.212.9916
jsheely@evpsinc.com
Kent Thomsen
Director of Regional Sales
616.610.5938
kthomsen@elzinga-volkers.com
Dave Lamy
Operations Executive
773.841.9500
dlamy@evpsinc.com
Ali Nedved
Marketing Assistant
616.894.0921
anedved@evpsinc.com
Jenna Giha
Accounting Assistant
616.395.1427
jgiha@elzinga-volkers.com
Stacy Chatfield
Recruiter
616.813.2916
schatfield@evpsinc.com