EAST SPENCER — It’s a million hours and counting.

That’s how many accident-free man hours General Shale has achieved, thanks to the dedication of its employees, shared Robby Zani, plant manager.

This achievement, he said, “is a testament to the employees and their dedication to safety.” It’s their commitment to “being very attentive, paying attention to their surroundings.”

When speaking of the term accident-free, Zani said it means no lost work hours, no serious accidents such as an employee breaking an arm and having to be out of work for weeks. It does not include, he noted, first aid for something minor such as a cut or something similar to that.

He shared that the majority of injuries are slips, trips or falls and eliminating these are hard, “but you know just being attentive is the biggest thing, making sure no one gets in a hurry because hurries are what costs you, and it’s my job here to make sure that everybody goes home.” 

Recordkeeping for the million accident-free hours, which is kept through timekeeping by their corporate office in Johnson City, Tennessee, Zani noted, began Jan. 12, 2018, with the reaching of this major milestone taking place on Jan. 5.

Every hour is logged and documented; therefore, when an accident does occur, the clock starts over again, he added.

Located at 700 S. Long St., East Spencer, the company has 65 employees who receive training annually on a variety of safety issues.

Assistant Plant Manager Zach Van Buren, who is in charge of the safety program, shared that the training “covers anything from using a fire extinguisher to how to properly lift to locking down a piece of equipment when it breaks down and we need to work on it.”

He also noted that videos and learning from other locations and seeing anything that needs to be changed at the plant to make it safer are additional parts of the training process.

Reinforcing what they have learned during the safety training workshop is also part of what they do, Zani mentioned.

“If we teach someone something,” he said, “we will go back later on down the road and test them to make sure that knowledge has sunk in.”

Both Zani and Van Buren noted they have a very senior staff at the business, people who have been there for a long time.

“It helps because when you get someone new, they can guide them in the right direction, and not get in a hurry,” Zani said. “We are more about consistency versus speed.”

Reaching the million hour mark is a difficult goal to achieve, Zani remarked, as this milestone has only been reached nine times throughout General Shale’s 30 plants. Some companies have reached it twice, he said, because they work more hours and therefore accumulate them faster.

Because it is a rare occurrence, a celebration was held Feb. 1 at the local business to recognize the goal achieved by the employees. It included a meal provided for everyone, along with prizes and special guests in attendance, Zani noted, who were given the opportunity to speak.

Talking about safety at the plant is not infrequent, as Zani shared he commends the employees and reminds them of their progress in safety at each quarterly safety luncheon.

He stressed that it is the employees that should get the credit, saying he often gets credit for what they accomplish.

This is Zani’s third plant and he said, “I think that this is one of the best work forces I’ve ever had. They are by far the most thorough,” to which Van Buren added that “they take pride in their work.”

Plant supervisors and staff likewise take pride in staying safe, Van Buren said, a fact that he is very happy about. “When they walk out there to go to work, they not only take in the things that they learn as far as safety wise from their supervisors,” he said, but they also check their work areas for any possible problems that might need to be addressed.

These employees, Van Buren continued, work to take care of their families, “and ultimately they want to leave so they can be home with their families and that’s something we pride ourselves on here, doing the right thing and making sure that this very thing happens.”

Zani said the biggest thing for him to keep before the employees is the reminder that “going home is more important than going fast.”