On August 14, employees at the Chicago Metals Small Packaging facility participated in a teambuilding activity to improve the exterior of the plant. The team, led by Plant Manager Brian McAnally, Business Unit Manager Greg Wassink, and Maintenance Manager Chris Tran, was able to make significant improvements to the curb appeal of the facility. Jeff Hovey, Small Packaging Vice President of Operations (Metals) and Marla McCarthy, Small Packaging Human Resources Director, joined the Chicago Metals team for the project.
In one day, the team was able to:
- power wash the front of the building;
- lay fresh mulch in flower beds;
- plant new bushes and flowers;
- trim trees and remove dead branches;
- apply fresh paint to the parking lot entranceway bollards.
In addition to providing a fresh look to the front of the facility, the project was an excellent teambuilding opportunity for participants. “Projects like this are a natural way for employees to build relationships with colleagues that they may not interact with on a regular basis,” commented McCarthy.
To drive the safety culture and environment in Indianapolis, individual ownership is encouraged through a frequent rotation of employees on the safety team and subcommittees. The rotation of employees allows for a wide variety of voices to be heard. Membership on a safety committee is required for all new hires and anyone with a safety infraction as a means of establishing a mindset where safety is part of every decision no matter how small.
Additionally, the team performs frequent machine audits and job safety analysis to ensure that employees are provided a safe work environment. All employees are expected to “manage up” and hold plant management accountable to take quick action in resolving identified issues. Plant Manager Ken Muncy expects his team to never compromise safety and to shut down equipment for repairs when needed. He believes “They only way you get everyone to help provide a safe work environment is if they know their efforts to communicate issues are addressed swiftly and completely.”
On December 21, employees celebrated their safety milestone with lunch catered by a local barbeque restaurant and employees received Mauser jackets as a congratulatory gift. On hand for the celebration and to show appreciation were Mauser senior leadership including President and CEO Ken Roessler, Executive Vice Presidents Bruno Couteille, Vice President Greg Hutchison and EHS Director Allen Coppolo.
According to Stephan Dechert, Director of Operations, Plastics, “So many great activities go on in our company it is hard to recognize all of them but I truly felt blessed to be in Indianapolis to see our CEO and top leadership on site for this celebration and not only talk about safety but empower everyone to do something to make it better.”
Reaching this milestone shows a seriousness about protecting our greatest asset — our people. But safety is not an area where we celebrate success and move on to the next item. We must be ready to face each new day with a strong commitment to continued improvement. Congratulations to everyone in Indianapolis on this accomplishment.