CBC Holds Shoreside GOAL ZERO Meeting

For first time in Canal Barge Company’s history, we held a company-wide “Shoreside” Goal Zero Meeting on September 25, 2015. All 8 offices/facilities gathered and joined via video conference, while others dialed in on the conference call line. In total, we had over 150 employees participate in a critical meeting to focus our company on our most important core value – Safety.

President and CEO Merritt Lane kicked off the meeting, followed by messages from Joe Tyson (Senior VP Operations), Del Wilkins (VP Northern Operations), Troy Remy (VP Human Resources), and Tom Smith (VP Quality and Customer Service). Below is a recap of the key messages from the meeting:

Safety is Our #1 Value. The safety of all CBC employees and their families, ashore and afloat, is our #1 core value. This should be evident in everything that we do. Safety leadership is expected from all of us, starting with Merritt and running throughout the organization.

Goal Zero – We are confident that Goal Zero is attainable because we believe that all incidents and accidents are avoidable. We are committed to learning from all incidents in order to raise awareness and design operational improvements that can prevent them from happening.

Safety is not a program, but a habit. Safe practices will lead to the elimination of injuries, so we are increasing our focus not just on better safety results, but on the safe practices that will lead to fewer incidents. It must be a priority to all of us, all of the time.

Safety is personal. We all can and must be safety leaders regardless of our job responsibility.

Safety matters at work and at home. Safety is not just a work-related responsibility – it’s about all aspects of our lives and the things we do every day to decrease the risk of incident. Safe practice is about focus, awareness and discipline – all of which is highlighted in the CBC S.A.F.E. program (Stop, Assess, Focus, Execute).

Stop Work Obligation – To assist all employees, we have created many tools and techniques. One of the most important concepts we have been sharing Stop Work Obligation. It is our responsibility to take action if we see an unsafe condition or behavior. It takes courage to exercise Stop Work Obligation.