When it comes to health and safety at Trihydro Corp., all workers are created equal.
“Health and safety isn't just for our employees in the field or what our clients require,” explains Todd Forry, health and safety manager. “Trihydro's largest and best asset is our employees, and we need to look after all of them.”
Laramie, Wyo.-based Trihydro provides environmental and engineering consulting services ranging from air quality, groundwater monitoring, reclamation, closed-refinery remediation, operating refinery work, waste solutions, infrastructure and sewage treatment and more. In the scope of its work, Trihydro strives to protect every worker, from the field employee to the part-timer to the office workers.
More than 100 of Trihydro's approximately 260 employees work at the Laramie headquarters, where the building features green design elements such as automated lighting and heating systems to increase efficiency. Trihydro has all its bases covered with safety programs and initiatives that include:
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An in-house, online, behavior-based safety database;
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The Trihydro Advisory Safety Council (TASC force), comprised of representatives from several business units, meets monthly to identify, discuss and consider health and safety issues;
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Extensive training opportunities that include courses in stop-work authority, cell phone usage, accident investigation, foot protection, hand and power tool safety, hearing conservation and many more;
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Weekly online safety meetings followed by a quiz on which employees must score at least 80 percent;
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Brown bag lunches that offer free training on issues such as stress management, defensive driving, wellness and more;
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Flu shots for workers and their families; and
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A “Safe Home” program to discourage employees from drinking and driving by offering cab reimbursements or the option of contacting a management member for a safe ride home.
FAMILY FIRST
“Part of the thing that makes Trihydro so special is we're so family-oriented,” explains Forry. “In order to keep good people, we had to make families part of it.”
When an employee relocates to Laramie to work for Trihydro, the company may consider hiring the spouse, if possible, out of recognition that spouses sometimes have difficulty finding suitable employment in the area. Currently, at least seven couples work at the Laramie location — including Forry and his wife, Deby.
“Family is a huge part of it,” Forry says of the company's outlook. In fact, when he recently had to travel for 3 straight weeks, the company flew his wife to him for a weekend so they could have some time together. And this year, Trihydro is bringing all employees and their families from across the country to Laramie for the annual holiday party — which will include health and safety training and complimentary child care.
That focus on family extends to the company's acknowledgement that employees have a hand in guiding safety at the company. It's a philosophy that helped Trihydro become one of this year's America's Safest Companies.
“Health and safety cannot be run by one employee or a department. It has to work its way bottom up and get employee input,” Forry says. “If we can pull our employees in to be part of the team, it helps us a lot.”