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Dade City Operations does safety right

With Dade City Operations, from left to right: Darren Nelson, apprentice lineman; Cameron Hall, lineman; Kelly Young, lineman; Mark Skelton, crew leader; Jarret Samanka, lineman.
With Dade City Operations, from left to right: Darren Nelson, apprentice lineman; Cameron Hall, lineman; Kelly Young, lineman; Mark Skelton, crew leader; Jarret Samanka, lineman.

Whether it’s handling heavy equipment, battling the elements or just driving from one place to another, field personnel confront safety-related challenges daily. So the fact that Dade City Operations just hit seven years without a personal injury is big news.

“The guys are proud of it,” said Rick Jackson, manager of Plant City and Dade City Operations. “It’s a big milestone and it shows just how much we’ve really embraced a culture of looking out for each other, speaking up if something doesn’t look right, and learning from near-misses.”

The team officially reached the seven-year milestone on April 26. It follows another milestone from January – five straight years with both zero injuries and zero preventable accidents (or “zero-zero”).

 On the job in Dade City.

On the job in Dade City.

John Pope Jr., line supervisor with Plant City Operations – like Jackson he also works with the Dade City team – said the area’s unique qualities bring special considerations.

“It’s a small community with a lot of hilly terrain, which is a factor you have to think about when pulling a bucket truck off the side of the road,” Pope said. “But overall, I think that part of this group’s success is that the linemen are seasoned employees who care about each other and truly believe in being safe. As a supervisor, I see it daily when visiting the crew – they look out for each other and work as a team.”

Jackson stressed that team members with Dade City Operations are doing anything but feeling comfortable with their success.

“One thing about a milestone like this is that the more you succeed, the more the urgency is there to continue to succeed,” he said. “We want to keep this thing going, obviously, and with this group and their focus on safety – both from a mental as well as a physical standpoint – I know we can.”

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