Free seminar draws upon lessons learned at Uranium Processing Facility Project
Health and safety experts from Oak Ridge Associated Universities and a communications specialist from Consolidated Nuclear Security, the new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex, will discuss effective safety communications during Safety Fest TN in Oak Ridge this week.
The ORAU experts are David Duncan and Jeffrey Miller, and the CNS communications specialist is Kathryn King.
Their seminar, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 9, informs organizations on how to improve the effectiveness of safety communications by first examining how communication breakdowns contributed to well-known safety catastrophes, like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, an ORAU press release said. They will also present detailed instructions on how to develop an effective safety communications plan, methods for implementing and monitoring the plan, and techniques for measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of safety communications.
“Successful case studies will be presented including experiences from the Y-12 National Security Complex’s Uranium Processing Facility Project, where the effectiveness of safety communications has dramatically improved over a three-year period after implementing these methods,” the press release said.
“These techniques can be broadly applied to any business or agency where managing safety personnel and operations is of paramount importance due to the nature of the industry or work performed,” said Miller, who is an expert on using safety culture surveys to measure the effectiveness of these types of communications.
Safety Fest TN is scheduled from September 8-12 at the New Hope Center at Y-12. It’s hosted by the Oak Ridge Business Safety Partnership for the third consecutive year.
Safety Fest TN offers a week of safety classes and seminars, along with a Safety Expo and a community Safety Forum, all free of charge, the press release said.
ORAU, a U.S. Department of Energy Volunteer Protection Program Star Site for safety since 2004, is also one of three companies sponsoring keynote speaker Bruce Wilkinson, a leadership and communication specialist, who motivates through humor, passion, enthusiasm, and authenticity, the release said. ORAU President and Chief Executive Officer Andy Page will introduce Wilkinson during the Safety Forum portion of Safety Fest TN on September 8 from 9-10 a.m.
CNS is also a sponsor and the host site for Safety Fest TN.
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