Remembering Rod: A Legacy of Safety and Change
On November 3rd, 2006, our world shifted forever. This is the story of Safety Made Simple’s Anne Cook and Joe Mlynek’s friend and colleague, Rod, who tragically lost his life in a grain engulfment incident. It’s also the story of a company that underwent a profound transformation in its safety culture following that heartbreaking event.
The Incident: from Anne
That fateful Friday in Fall of 2006 began like any other. I was having lunch with Roger and Steve, who led our plant emergency organization. We were the plant radio monitors, accustomed to the usual chatter. But at 11:30 AM, everything changed. A frantic voice burst through the radio—our coworker Sean, urgently calling for help at Tank 2. Someone was buried in grain.
Time seemed to freeze. Roger and Steve sprinted to grab rescue equipment, leaving me alone to hear the escalating situation unfold over the radio. It was a surreal and terrifying moment. Then, the call came—it was Rod.
Rod wasn’t just a colleague. He was a respected grain operations supervisor with years of experience, my husband’s high school classmate, and our neighbor. The shock of losing someone so experienced and well-versed in safety was incomprehensible.
The Aftermath
As the emergency response unfolded, our office became the hub for family members, responders, and corporate leadership. The vivid snapshots of that day are etched in my memory—Rod’s wife, Jamie, coming into the office, the somber silence when she was informed, and the heartbreaking moment when she kissed Rod for the last time.
Rod’s passing was a watershed moment for our company’s safety culture. Despite our reputation as an industry leader, with robust safety systems and procedures in place, we realized that something fundamental needed to change.
The Reckoning: from Joe
Before the incident, we were proud of our safety achievements. We had reduced our incident rates by 50% and were recognized as industry leaders in safety management. However, Rod’s death was a harsh reminder that even the best systems could fail. We had focused on compliance, conditions, and non-serious injuries, believing that this would prevent severe accidents. We were wrong.
Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” Rod’s death was our punch, forcing us to reevaluate everything. We asked ourselves how we missed the warning signs and why we didn’t ask the right questions. Our CEO tasked us with ensuring such a tragedy would never happen again.
The Shift
We launched the Safety Improvement Initiative, bringing together representatives from across the company, external consultants, and our safety department. We sought a new path forward, guided by experts like Luis Sanchez from Behavioral Science Technologies. Luis taught us to focus on exposure, behavior, and engagement rather than just conditions.
We began by surveying our employees to understand our cultural landscape. We discovered that while employees believed we cared about their safety, safety was sometimes overshadowed by production demands. Our facilities worked in silos, lacking communication and collaboration.
The Transformation
We shifted our focus from non-serious injuries to preventing serious injuries and fatalities. We moved from a culture of compliance to one of genuine concern for our employees. We prioritized exposure over conditions, recognizing that people often get hurt by actions that intersect with hazards.
Leading with safety became a core principle. We asked ourselves three crucial questions before making decisions:
- How does my decision affect the safety of others?
- What is the impact on exposure?
- What is the effect on our culture?
We implemented job safety analysis, engaged employees in safety conversations, and fostered collaboration. We trained over 300 facilitators to identify and mitigate risks. We focused on feedback, using the CAR feedback method (Context, Action, Result) to provide specific and actionable guidance.
The Path Forward
Our journey didn’t stop with internal changes. We embraced near-miss reporting, sharing valuable insights across facilities to break down silos. We established accountability at all levels, incorporating safety into job descriptions and performance evaluations.
We recognized that serious injuries and fatalities often occurred during routine tasks, not just non-routine work. This insight shifted our focus to high-risk, frequent activities, ensuring our efforts aligned with actual dangers.
While implementing strategies like Hop (Human and Organizational Performance) may be complex, the essence is clear: focus on the working interface, engage employees, and lead with safety.
Rod’s memory lives on as a constant reminder of our mission. His story transformed our safety culture and reinforced our commitment to preventing similar tragedies. Safety is not just a policy; it’s a responsibility we carry with us every day.
As we move forward, let Rod’s legacy inspire us to lead with safety, embrace change, and ensure that no one else loses their life to preventable incidents. Our commitment to safety is a tribute to Rod, a testament to our growth, and a promise to protect every member of our team.
To learn more about grain engulfment training visit the complete Safety Made Simple catalog in the menu. To see the complete presentation from Convey 24, click this link for an audio only version, click here.