At Harbin Lumber Company, the safety of our hardworking employees and customers will always be our number one goal as we strive to create a safe culture at all our locations. Our Safety Director, Shelley Coles, joined our Harbin family almost two years ago and has made tremendous progress in achieving our goal. When it comes to safety, we strive to get 100% employee involvement. There are several training courses, meetings and safety events prepared throughout the year to help promote this safety culture.
In addition to Shelley, all our locations have at least one Safety Lead who helps facilitate and drive our safety processes. At our Lavonia store, we have Barbara Partain and Gregg Moore II; Eatonton, Julie Fields; North Augusta, Ashley Alva; Load Star, Ingrid Martinez and Randall Winburn; Door Shop, Lori Bishop; Athens, Magda Restrepo, and Reload, Parker Burleigh. Each Safety Lead was selected based on his/her abilities and each one is an asset to our safety program. Each Safety Lead has completed an OSHA 10 class which provides training on the recognition, avoidance, abatement, and prevention of safety and health hazards in our workplaces. This year, each Safety Lead will take part in auditing another Harbin location. This will serve a dual purpose by having a fresh set of eyes to audit and the auditor will also be able to benchmark the location’s best practices.
Here are just a few examples of our safety protocols:
- Safety meetings at the beginning of each shift
- Reflective safety vests worn in low light conditions
- Fire drills at each location to ensure all employees know their roles, means of reporting, available exits, meet spot, etc.
- Emergency Action Plans available in writing
- Monthly safety training done for all employees
- CPR & AED certified employees at each location
- Company-wide quarterly safety audits
- Fun and safety awareness are combined during our annual location Safety Weeks
This list continues to grow as Shelley and her team work to keep Harbin a SAFE workplace.
