NSC Honors ‘A Million Acts of Safety’ Participants
Today, NSC will recognize the top participants in its campaign to reduce unintentional injuries. “A Million Acts of Safety” was launched in October 2009 to challenge people to think differently about their role in safety and inspire people to get involved. The goal of the campaign is to show how small acts of safety can have a major impact. The individual and team that logged the most acts of safety and reached the most people during the campaign’s first year will be recognized during the NSC National Awards Celebration.
The campaign has been promoted in communities and workplaces across the country. As of Sept. 28, 4,270 acts were logged and more than seven million people were reached. Cathy Seifried of Severn Trent Services in Kingwood, Texas, performed the most acts and reached the most people during the campaign’s first year. The team that performed the most acts and reached the most people was the Lathrop, Calif., facility of Swift Transportation Co., which had more than 100 participants.
"In 2008, more than 25 million unintentional injuries and 118,000 deaths occurred," said Janet Froetscher, NSC president and CEO. "To change this trend, everyone needs to get involved in safety and think about how their actions can impact others. We applaud the actions of this year's honorees who spread the message of safety to tens of thousands of people."
When asked why she participated, Seifried said, "During a safety meeting, I stated we could all make a difference by reminding each other to work safely. One employee asked, 'How can one person make a difference?' That question had a profound impact on me. I decided to track my safety acts through the NSC 'A Million Acts of Safety' campaign. The smallest safety act may have the biggest impact. If I can make a difference, anyone can."
Vivian Navarro, Lathrop team leader of the campaign, said, "Swift Transportation Co. participated in the 'A Million Acts of Safety' campaign to practice and encourage others to observe safety acts on and off the job. Safety is very important at Swift, from the CEO to our drivers, shop and office staff.
"Employees were encouraged to log at least one safety act daily, including those occurring at home on the weekend," she added. "Once everyone got the idea, a few employees were even researching and sharing safety tips on camping, fireworks, and how to avoid dehydration. I believed we learned a behavior—how to identify safety acts and the impact of sharing them."