NIPSCO Deaths And Injuries
• Journeyman lineman Jeff Cox died Friday as the result of injuries he suffered after an electrical accident in Marshall County on Feb. 16, 2008.• Apprentice lineman Mike Nesius died Aug. 16, 2006.
• Kevin Reinhold, a journeyman lineman in Angola, IN, died Aug. 1, 2001.
• Since 2001, there have been at least a dozen electrical contacts, with five resulting in serious injury or amputation.
(Source: United Steel Workers Local 12775)
Let's not kid ourselves. We all know what the problem is at NIPSCO and NiSource.
Nipsco says they’re dealing with safety by trying to find out how an accident happened so that they can prevent similar accidents in the future. They call such an investigation, “Root Cause Analysis”.
NIPSCO also has implemented what they’re calling a “behavior-based safety process.”
By that, they mean, they’ll give their workers a little pat on the head when they keep from getting hurt, and heck, they may even give them a Chinese made jacket or a piece of pizza, but they’ll discipline the hell out of them when they do get hurt.
NIPSCO is so smart, of course, that they don’t allow the union to participate in the safety program on an equal basis. They make it a strictly disciplinary process.
Any time there is a lost time accident at NIPSCO, the front line supervisor should be the one being investigated, and if there are more than two accidents within a year involving workers under his direction, that boss should be fired.
NIPSCO also has implemented what they’re calling a “behavior-based safety process.”
By that, they mean, they’ll give their workers a little pat on the head when they keep from getting hurt, and heck, they may even give them a Chinese made jacket or a piece of pizza, but they’ll discipline the hell out of them when they do get hurt.
NIPSCO is so smart, of course, that they don’t allow the union to participate in the safety program on an equal basis. They make it a strictly disciplinary process.
Everyone knows how nipsco’s safety program really works.
The highest paid managers at the top put on a good show about safety, but the front line supervisors are pressured to get more and more production and so, although they do have safety tailgate discussions dealing with safety, and they do hold an occasional safety meeting, they at the same time look the other way when safety rules are broken. The worker knows that to do a job safely takes more time, but wanting to please his boss and make the job easier, goes ahead and breaks the safety rules. So everybody's happy. If he doesn’t get hurt, his boss is pleased as punch and gets a feather in his cap. Production increases and usually the jobs get done with nobody getting hurt.But this is managements game plan, and it’s no secret.
Although the safety manual at nipsco does put the greatest responsibility for a workers safety on the employee, I believe it also says that the supervisor is ultimately responsible for the safety of the workers under his direction, or some such thing.Any time there is a lost time accident at NIPSCO, the front line supervisor should be the one being investigated, and if there are more than two accidents within a year involving workers under his direction, that boss should be fired.
1 comment:
Charlie,
Today is Feb. 11, 2011. My name is Jerry Cox, and Jeff was my brother. As the anniversary date of Jeff's death is getting closer, I am dealing with sorrow, and the pain of loosing him at such a young age. What I want to tell you is this. I know each man personally that was on his crew the day of the accident. Each one has been with the company for many years, Jeff was in his 30th year. I also know that safety was and still is the most important thing on these guys minds each and every day. While I don't know the exact event or events that lead to Jeff's accident, I can tell you that these guys loved each other, and would not have let this happen if they could control the situation. It was an accident, and that is the way I choose to look at it. I could go on with my life placing blame on someone, or some entity, but I refuse to do that. Jeff loved NIPSCO, and loved his job. 30 years of doing his job says a lot. He would have laid down his life for anyone he worked with, and I'm sure his crew would have done the same. So, what I guess I'm trying to say is that whatever safety training, and awareness has come from this is a good thing. I hope that it never happens again. I also feel very confident that whatever happened that day, the whole crew thought, and believed that they were safe. Jeff and I had many conversations dealing with safety, and I reminded him often to not take things for granted, and double check everything. As far as NIPSCO, and the union, the outpouring of love and support from both was and still is very evident today. We just lost Jeff's wife in October of 2010, and we had many from both groups support us once again. I don't know if any of this makes any sense in comparison to your blog, but I just wanted to voice my feelings on the subject. Thanks for you support and concern.
Sincerely,
Jerry Cox
Plymouth, IN
In Memory of Jeff Cox
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