Creating a Safer Tomorrow
Shapiro Metals’ Plant Safety Stand Down
Shapiro Metals recently completed its first ever Safety Stand Down project for all eleven of its locations, where each location closed operations for a day to provide safety education and training to the entire team. The training covered a variety of topics, including operations, fire safety, CPR and first aid, intruder response, ergonomics, and more.
A team from Shapiro Metals’ corporate headquarters in St. Louis, MO traveled around the country to each location to coordinate and participate in the training. They also provided breakfast and lunch for the teams and spent time getting to know people at each facility.
Safety & Operations
The teams held “I Spy” safety walkthroughs to point out and discuss solutions to potential issues they discovered throughout the locations. In many cases, the team that coordinated the day had to stage safety issues in advance to give the teams something to find!
In addition to metal handling and other scrap-specific safety protocols, the teams reviewed general safety best practices including proper lifting techniques, forklift safety, and more.
Safety trainers provided education about how to minimize distractions while on the road. They demonstrated the dangers of operating under the influence of substances by providing impairment goggles and having team members complete various tasks like stacking cups and driving go-carts on a course.
Fire Safety Training
Local fire departments sent first responders to the locations to teach Shapiro employees about fire safety both at work and at home. They covered best practices for checking smoke detectors and other fire protection equipment. The firefighters also started controlled fires in a designated area to allow Shapiro team members to practice using a fire extinguisher on a real fire.
Intruder Training
Police officers and sheriffs from each location’s area also visited to train the teams on responding to active shooter or intruder situations. The law enforcement officers allowed open discussion time for team members who had questions.
First Aid & CPR Training
One of our team members, Fred Stell-Smith, is a certified EMT and traveled with the training team to each location to provide first aid and CPR training. He also assembled and provided first aid bags with additional supplies that the plants could keep on hand along with their traditional first aid kits.
Fred had the team members practice CPR on dummies and identified at least two team members from each location to get official certification. He also educated the teams on how to apply a tourniquet and other first aid procedures, and then had the team members practice on each other.
Creating a Safer Tomorrow
The feedback from the teams was overwhelmingly positive. Team members appreciated the engaging training and enjoyed working together to learn valuable safety skills. The Shapiro team plans to implement more Safety Stand Down Days in the future!