Today, U.S. Department of Energy - Environmental Management Associate Under Secretary for Environment, Health, Safety and Security Matthew Moury, and other SRS senior officials, joined nearly 1,500 Savannah River Remediation (SRR) employees at an event to recognize the liquid waste contractor recently setting company records by surpassing 8 million operational hours and 30 million construction hours without injury resulting in a missed day of work at the Savannah River Site (SRS).
AIKEN, S.C. (June 28, 2018) – Today, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) officials and nearly 1,500 Savannah River Remediation (SRR) and other Savannah River Site (SRS) employees, recognized the liquid waste employees for their recent record-setting accomplishments of surpassing 8.7 million operational hours and 30 million construction hours without injury resulting in a missed day of work.
DOE Associate Under Secretary for Environment, Health, Safety and Security Matthew Moury, DOE-Savannah River Manager Michael Budney, AECOM Nuclear and Environment Strategic Business Unit Chief Operating Officer Mark Whitney, and SRR President and Project Manager Tom Foster spoke to SRS federal and contractor employees, stakeholders, and guests at an event to mark these safety records and recognize the importance of the liquid waste mission at SRS.
The achievement underscores DOE’s continuing commitment to a strong safety culture.
“One way the Department of Energy is committed to excellence in safety is by fostering a safe work environment in all operations at SRS. It is an expectation that a positive safety culture is felt and communicated by every employee,” Moury said.
It’s the first time SRR crossed the 8.7-million-hour threshold under its EM contract, which began July 1, 2009. SRR recorded its previous safety record in 2015 when employees reached 6.5 million hours without injury resulting in a missed day of work.
SRR Construction surpassed the 30-million-hour mark this month, representing 20 years of construction
work without an injury resulting in a days-away case, a world-class performance. These hours were achieved under both former SRS contractor, Washington Savannah River Company (WSRC), and current liquid waste contractor, SRR. SRR is a heritage company to WSRC.
At the event, Budney said DOE places a priority on the liquid waste mission and commended employees for safely accomplishing this important work.
“The reason we are here today is because you too have a commitment to safety,” said Budney. I commend all of you on your commitment to execute this important work safely.
SRR parent company representative Mark Whitney, Chief Operating Officer of AECOM’s Nuclear and Environment Strategic Business Unit, said he is proud to be part of an exemplary workforce.
“I am very proud of SRR’s safety record and our employees’ accomplishments at the Savannah River Site,” Whitney said. “SRR’s commitment to safety excellence is world class and eight million and 30 million hours without missing a day of work from an injury is remarkable.”
Disciplined operations at SRR are woven into the safety culture, creating an environment where employees leave SRS the same way they arrived. Today’s celebration comes after the recent restart of restarted liquid waste operations after a comprehensive 15-month outage to replace and upgrade equipment and facilities in the liquid waste system, preparing for safe and continued operations for years to come.
SRR President and Project Manager Tom Foster said accomplishing these safety records is a direct result of cultivating and then passing along a safety culture, something that cannot just be learned through a handbook or procedure.
“SRR is successfully moving the liquid waste mission forward because of a strong safety culture that each of you embody and then impress upon others. This safety culture is embedded into the hearts of the workforce.” Foster said. “You are a learning organization populated with people willing to stop and answer the tough questions. You have proven that such a culture yields the most successful outcome.”
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