A long-held belief that it takes everyone to build a safe working environment is truth, and our facility in New Vienna, Ohio provides an excellent example.
The facility manufactures single-use plastic tableware such as Chinet Crystal® cups and plates, as well as lids for ice cream containers, our own Quikspread product, and Interstate Milk Shippers (IMS) Plugs. You can find these items in numerous grocery stores, foodservice and retail outlets.
Each employee, from the newest to join the team to the most tenured on the staff, understands that safety is the top priority, always. As proof, the team nearly reached three years without a recordable incident recently and continues to visibly support a safe work environment.
“Safety is in our culture and it’s how we go about our work every day,” Scott Cox, Production Manager said. “Our employees understand the emphasis we put on safety and all of our employees feel comfortable speaking up when they witness an unsafe situation.”
Beth Griffith, Plant Manager in New Vienna, said that it is the daily active safety participation and the willingness of all employees to assess their working environment that makes the difference.
The New Vienna facility invests in training programs and continuous safety education to ensure that everyone understands the best practices and protocols used to keep them safe. This proactive approach to identifying and mitigating risks has been instrumental in reaching the milestone.
The facility uses multiple safety reporting methods including shift GEMBA walks, STOP audits, Monthly Salary Safety Walks, rapid communications, and Safety Observations, Suggestions, and Actions (SOSA) forms to identify safety hazards and actions.
”We had a strong safety culture for a long time, but when we really took another step forward our employees started actively making the suggestions through the SOSA forms and participating in other safety activities,” Griffith said. ”We truly moved from reactive to a proactive safety culture, and we are eliminating hazards before they became an issue.”
Team mindset leads to zero waste to landfill
Like six other Huhtamaki sites, New Vienna is now sending zero waste to landfills in the area. They have maintained this accomplishment for the last six months and, like safety, teamwork plays a key role in the success.
“We have always done a great job recycling corrugate and plastic,” Cox said. “We started to make more progress by having our waste taken to a waste-to-energy facility, but we are still working on more ways to recycle and send even less to the incineration.”
One improvement that has helped with the zero-waste initiative in New Vienna is collaboration with Huhtamaki’s Coleman, Mich. plant. Clean plastic scrap is recovered from New Vienna and sent to Coleman where the plastic is used in the making of thermoformed cups.
"We have a strong staff," Griffith stated. "After setting our objectives and envisioning our desired outcomes, many individuals embraced the challenges and stepped up to help New Vienna reach our goals, advancing both our safety culture and zero-waste initiative."
Many Huhtamaki sites are looking for new team members, visit us.huhtamaki.com/careers to learn more.