Employees of Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) reached a safety milestone today, having worked three consecutive years and 522,210 man hours without a lost-time injury.
“The well-being of our employees is a top priority and we want to make sure they all go home safe to their families every day,” said SVEC Executive Vice President & CEO, Michael McWaters. “Safety is also important from a business point of view because injuries reduce productivity and increase insurance rates and workers compensation costs.”
The last injury that caused an SVEC employee to miss work occurred 1,096 days ago. Since then, work accomplished has included construction of a new substation to enhance reliability, restoration of power following Hurricanes Hermine and Irma, and continual maintenance of an electric system comprised of 13 substations, over 4,400 miles of power lines and about 80,000 poles.
SVEC employees receive frequent training on best safety practices which can mean the difference between life and death when working on energized lines that carry up to 25,000 volts.
“Going three years without a serious injury is quite an achievement considering the nature of our work and the types of tasks our employees perform every day,” said SVEC Training & Safety Loss Control Director, Mark Mosley. “Our employees know they are responsible for their own safety, as well as the safety of their co-workers and the public.”
SVEC also provides electrical safety education programs to first responders, schools and other organizations. To schedule a program, call 800-447-4509, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.