Co-op achieves 3 years working safe

Pictured: Federated Insurance’s Bubba Bailey, center, presents a certificate for three years no lost time to A&N Board Chair Add Nottingham, left, and Board Member Ted Shockley.

A&N Electric Cooperative recently reached a significant safety milestone. In late August, the cooperative celebrated its third anniversary of no lost-time injuries.

A lost-time injury refers to any work-related injury or illness that results in an employee being unable to perform their regular duties and requires them to take time off from work.

Over the three years, co-op employees have worked over 415,000 hours and driven more than 1.6 million miles without injury. A&N has been able to maintain its three-year streak, despite working in harsh weather conditions and typical electric industry hazards that are present on a day-to-day basis.

“I’m extremely proud of our employees and their dedication to safety,” says A&N President and CEO Butch Williamson. “Three consecutive years without a lost time injury is rare in the utility industry.”

“Our work schedule is 24/7 and, as A&N’s CEO, my number one driving force is to make sure that all of our employees come to work and leave work without injury, so they can return to their families,” says Williamson. “Along with this, our safety culture starts with our employees’ ‘Commitment to Zero,’ zero contacts, accidents, and incidents.

“A&N’s safety program is not just about co-op personnel. It’s about sharing safety practices with our community by providing safety demos and training that allows everyone to observe safety, not only for themselves but for first responders, friends, family, and neighbors,” Williamson says.

A&N Electric Cooperative delivers power to over 40,000 members and operates and maintains over 2,700 miles of line that serves Northampton and Accomack counties, which includes Tangier Island, Va., and Smith Island, Md., in the Chesapeake Bay.