Coaching and Collaborating Key to Sucess

Oct. 30, 2001
The CEO of the New York Power Authority shares his view of of the role management and employees play in safety.

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has won the American Public Power Association''s top safety award for the nation''s largest publicly owned utilities for each of the past five years. NYPA President and CEO Eugene W. Zeltmann attributes the wins and the company''s safety record to "personal accountability coupled with ongoing vigilance."

Zeltmann told a group at a meeting of the New York State Public Utility Safety Directors Association, "Safety isn''t the responsibility of a single person, but requires a concerted effort by all people within an organization."

He said safety efforts at NYPA involve not only workers, but management at all levels, up to the most senior executives. "At the Power Authority, I believe that senior-level commitment and support have been absolutely essential to establishing an effective safety and health program," commented Zeltmann. NYPA''s outstanding worker safety record reflects management''s commitment to "caring, coaching and collaborating," he added.

Supervisors and managers believe in coaching as a way to build awareness of safety issues, he said. "A good coach obviously wants to get the job done," he told the group. "But a good coach puts workers first. He or she consistently strives to help employees develop safe working habits and recognizes that while doing the job is important, doing it safely is even more so."

Collaborating, he said, includes building relationships with federal and state safety agencies, in addition to those built between management and employees.

NYPA has undertaken various initiatives to support safety efforts, including sharing information among its facilities, benchmarking safety performance against other organizations, and communicating with employees through an intranet Web page.

"Because we care about our employees, we aggressively address hazardous conditions and reckless approaches that may endanger them as they work to help the Power Authority attain its goals," said Zeltmann.

by Sandy Smith

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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