Improving Safety at the Grassroots Level

Photo: Linda Cicero

PG&E‘s Fremont Materials Distribution Facility covers 26 acres, one square mile, and operates 24 hours a day, almost every day. With more than $76 million in inventory, it is the central materials hub for the company, distributing gas and electric supplies throughout our service area.

PG&E stocks thousands of products throughout the facility, including wires, transformers, large spools of cables, SmartMeter™ devices, computer equipment, substation and telecommunications equipment and gas pipeline.

With the amount of activity occurring every day at the site, safety takes top priority. That‘s why employees from the Fremont Distribution Center made a pledge last year to create and implement smart and simple tools to improve workplace safety. Springing from an emerging grassroots safety culture, many of the concepts are generated directly by employees to help prevent accidents and injuries around the facility.

Examples include stop sign stencils painted on the floor that remind forklift operators to stop and honk before entering or exiting the warehouse and rubber caps and signs on the corners of metal racks to prevent employees from hitting their head on the hard surfaces.

By proactively sharing ideas, employees heighten the sense of safety awareness at the site and open the door to constructive feedback. The measures increase employee engagement and encourage a safety culture where employees look out for one another.