News

UAA Safety Committee Update 2015

July 20, 2015

By Will Nutter

This article was published in the July/August 2015 Utility Arborist Newsline. Will Nutter is President and COO of Wright Tree Service.

The UAA Safety Committee continues to gain traction in the short time it has been in place. Our two biggest connections to members have been through the UAA Facebook page and exposure at the regional Safety Summits held throughout the U.S.

On Facebook, we continue to post safety educational opportunities and lessons learned. We also share trends in the industry. Our posts reach thousands of people through “likes” and “shares” of our content. It has been remarkable to see how a simple photo with the question, “What is wrong with this picture?” can develop thoughtful dialogue, discussions, and gain potential to go viral. We are far from our peak and always welcome new people to explore our Facebook page. If you have something you would like to share, please e-mail Coni Arseneau at [email protected].

Another connection with members is through regional Safety Summits, which are focused on field workers. In 2015, we held summits in Sacramento, CA and Wildwood, FL. We always try to focus on information relative to the region where the meeting is held. We have plans for future meetings in Oklahoma, OH and North Carolina. Our goal is to hold two to three summits each year. The Summit in California focused on fire protection, and the Summit in Florida focused on crew resource management as well as driving safety, near-miss reporting, safety incentives, company policies, and safety issues. The meetings are typically one and a half days. For some participants, the information results in drastic life and career changing perspectives. The best feedback we receive from attendees has been how line clearance contractor and utility representatives work as a team throughout the conference to improve safety in our industry. The focus at the conference is not about titles or company colors— it’s focused on a group of individuals who roll up their sleeves to improve safety awareness and share best practices.