Safety: More Than Just a Practice, It’s a Culture at SDD

Safety: More than just a practice, it’s a culture at SDD
By Kent Newton

 

On Friday, July 29, 1983, a pipe at the bottom of a 20-foot-deep dewatering pit needed to be opened. The procedure was routine but not without risk. A sanitary district employee needed to climb down a ladder, maneuver over some pipes, remove two bolts, retreat back over the pipes, and then climb a ladder before the pit filled with water.

A veteran employee, planning on leaving for vacation after his shift, was selected for the job. After removing the bolts, the employee began his ascent back over the pipes and out of the pit. Halfway up the ladder, he was overcome by hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), a flammable, colorless gas that is a byproduct of the decomposition of organic material. Extremely low levels of H2S smell like rotten eggs and have little impact on humans; however, at just 50 parts per million, health problems begin to appear. Disoriented, he fell back into the pit as it filled with water and drowned. Because there was no safety equipment available, the coworkers present could not help and had to wait for the emergency response crew to arrive.

The lack of safety equipment and standards available at the time undoubtedly contributed to his death. There was no equipment to warn about hazardous atmospheric conditions, no Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as a respirator or air tank, no retrieval method attached, and a top-down culture that required employees to follow direction without question.

That fatal accident, while tragic, became the catalyst for change and created an emphasis on safety at the Sanitary District of Decatur (SDD).

Today, safety has become part of our culture. We have policies, procedures, and training focused on working safely; a full-time safety coordinator tasked with running our safety program, an employee led safety committee to review accidents and potentially unsafe situations and make recommendations for improvements; permanent and portable gas meters to alert employees of the presence of hazardous conditions; PPE to make jobs safer; and safety is a focal point at staff meetings. Employees are encouraged to discuss tasks they feel are unsafe with our safety coordinator and their supervisors before proceeding with the task. This commitment has resulted in a significantly safer working environment. Since 1983, our safety record has changed dramatically, including a time when we went for over ten years and 1.25 million work hours without a lost time injury.

Creating a workplace where safety is prioritized isn’t just about following rules, it’s about fostering a culture where every employee feels accountable for their own safety and that of their colleagues. A strong safety culture not only reduces accidents but also enhances productivity, morale, and overall job satisfaction. Today’s safety culture is at the core of everything we do at the SDD and we are proud to say we recently reached 2,400 days (6.5 years) without a lost-time injury and we currently have not had OSHA recordable injury for a full year.

Maintaining a safety culture is not easy. Many of our current employees weren’t even born when our safety culture began. Over the next year, we plan to rebrand the safety program and review all safety policies and procedures, ensuring that every employee understands that safety is about preventing future tragedies—not just following rules. By actively involving our workforce, we continue fostering a culture where every employee plays a role in maintaining safety.

Our goal is clear: no one should have to suffer an injury before safety becomes a priority.