I live in Florida. I don’t often drive in snow. Recently, I had to make a drive through the remnants of a snowstorm. The roads were sure to be messier than normal. A colleague of mine who has experience in such matters took time to trace the route with me. He knew the path. He knew where the turns would be more difficult. He warned me about how semi-trucks had a way of throwing up

My constant encouragement of you to wear your safety equipment and follow safe procedures has had an impact on me. I figure I need to walk the talk. So, I’ve done stuff to be safer. I quit driving so fast that I get tickets a few years ago. I quit texting when I drive. Those are most risky activities. It also has drifted into my personal life. As I told you, I have been skiing

Continuing our discussion of the 10 Commitments. Today we hit #2. 10 COMMITMENTS No Shortcuts We will teach you the safe way, provide you safe equipment, fix it when it breaks. Do it right and safe. Safety Freeze Watch out for others, guide and teach “rookies,” hold others accountable for safe practices. The thought here is to emphasize that when it comes to safety, we are only as good as the weakest teammate. It is

As we attack our operating plan for the coming year, our goal will be to have every teammate in the enterprise to be fully committed to help us achieve results. While it is true that it is hard to expect every person to be on his game every day, if we don’t start with that ambition, we will consistently find that our best results can’t be achieved. On the teams that perform best, everyone understands

Our plant manager Shane Tuck from Selma sent this poem to me. I thought it said it all. I CHOSE TO LOOK THE OTHER WAY I could have saved a life that day, But I chose to look the other way. It wasn’t that I didn’t care, I had the time, and I was there. But I didn’t want to seem like a fool, Or argue over a safety rule. I knew he’d done the

I wear a headset when I drive. It allows me to talk on the phone hands free. In Chicago yesterday, I was passing through a toll gate and took the headset out of my ear to talk to the toll attendant. After paying the toll, I began on my way and realized that the tip of my earplug had come off and was stuck in my ear. I tried to dislodge the earpiece with my

“I’ll be wiser next time.” I heard a guy recounting an accident he had with a chainsaw. He was a first-time user. He refused an opportunity to receive training on it from an expert. He refused to wear the prescribed safety equipment while working with the saw. He placed his hands in the vicinity of the saw while another person was using it. The result was a severe cut. He narrowly avoided cutting his fingers

I want to commend you for two straight weeks without injury in any of our locations. It takes intention, concentration and teamwork to have all of our teammates avoid a mishap in our plants. It is not luck. I appreciate you making a personal commitment to be safe and to look out for colleagues. It is especially gratifying to see you achieve these results while it has been so hot. There is a saying that

We start Safety Month today. All over the company, we will be having meetings and events designed to raise our awareness about the importance of a safe workplace. Having a safe environment is a win-win-win situation. First, being safe helps assure that you and your teammates return home unharmed. Woodworking mills like ours have many moving pieces which require our undivided attention. The power it takes to remake successfully wood into pallets and fence doesn’t