Combined efforts by unions and management are raising safety to a new level at Flint Hills Resources' Pine Bend Refinery.
Members of Steelworkers Local 662 helped develop safety procedures reliable enough and consistent enough that the refinery was designated a "Minnesota Star" worksite April 18 by the Department of Labor and Industry.
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Meanwhile, nearly a dozen Building Trades unions, Flint Hills managers, and the refinery's half-dozen core construction contractors are working on a Quality Craftsmanship Campaign intended to reduce work injuries to zero.
The "MNStar" designation is proof that day-to-day safety procedures at the refinery "meet and exceed OSHA requirements," said Rick Johnson, president of Steelworkers Local 662. The refinery underwent more than a year of inspections and audits to evaluate hazards and the ability of workers and managers to correct them.
Meeting the MNStar standards "has to be driven by employees," Johnson said. The local has five members who work full-time as a safety committee, and they're largely responsible for making everyone "a lot more aware that safety is a huge priority," he said.
Refinery expanding
The 460 Steelworkers at Flint Hills operate the refinery day-to-day. Building Trades members do major maintenance, "turnarounds" and new construction.
For the Building Trades, the safety emphasis comes as the refinery ? known for years around here as Koch ? continues a massive $1 billion expansion. New units will increase capacity at the nation's 14th-largest refinery by 50 percent over the next five years.
The expansion will also more than double the number of construction workers, putting as many as 1,000 workers on site. Trades involved include the Boilermakers, Carpenters, Electricians, Insulators, Operating Engineers, Pipefitters and Laborers.
"The owner made it very, very clear that they will perform the work safely with or without us," said Tom Ver Cautren, of Chicago Bridge and Iron, one of the major union contractors at the refinery. "Call it a threat, but it's reality. If it can't be done, they will get somebody else."
The dangers of refinery work are never far away; in March 2005, 15 workers were killed and more than 100 injured by an explosion at the BP refinery in Texas City, Texas.
Safety becomes part of quality
"The bottom line is, we don't want any one to get hurt," Ver Cautren said. "The owner has expectations, the contractors have expectations, now we're hoping to have the workers have the same expectations."
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Combined efforts by unions and management are raising safety to a new level at Flint Hills Resources’ Pine Bend Refinery.
Members of Steelworkers Local 662 helped develop safety procedures reliable enough and consistent enough that the refinery was designated a “Minnesota Star” worksite April 18 by the Department of Labor and Industry.
online pharmacy purchase super-kamagra without prescription with best prices today in the USA
Meanwhile, nearly a dozen Building Trades unions, Flint Hills managers, and the refinery’s half-dozen core construction contractors are working on a Quality Craftsmanship Campaign intended to reduce work injuries to zero.
The “MNStar” designation is proof that day-to-day safety procedures at the refinery “meet and exceed OSHA requirements,” said Rick Johnson, president of Steelworkers Local 662. The refinery underwent more than a year of inspections and audits to evaluate hazards and the ability of workers and managers to correct them.
Meeting the MNStar standards “has to be driven by employees,” Johnson said. The local has five members who work full-time as a safety committee, and they’re largely responsible for making everyone “a lot more aware that safety is a huge priority,” he said.
Refinery expanding
The 460 Steelworkers at Flint Hills operate the refinery day-to-day. Building Trades members do major maintenance, “turnarounds” and new construction.
For the Building Trades, the safety emphasis comes as the refinery ? known for years around here as Koch ? continues a massive $1 billion expansion. New units will increase capacity at the nation’s 14th-largest refinery by 50 percent over the next five years.
The expansion will also more than double the number of construction workers, putting as many as 1,000 workers on site. Trades involved include the Boilermakers, Carpenters, Electricians, Insulators, Operating Engineers, Pipefitters and Laborers.
“The owner made it very, very clear that they will perform the work safely with or without us,” said Tom Ver Cautren, of Chicago Bridge and Iron, one of the major union contractors at the refinery. “Call it a threat, but it’s reality. If it can’t be done, they will get somebody else.”
The dangers of refinery work are never far away; in March 2005, 15 workers were killed and more than 100 injured by an explosion at the BP refinery in Texas City, Texas.
Safety becomes part of quality
“The bottom line is, we don’t want any one to get hurt,” Ver Cautren said. “The owner has expectations, the contractors have expectations, now we’re hoping to have the workers have the same expectations.”
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