“Innovation and Inspiration”: The 2014 NSC Rising Stars of Safety
The National Safety Council presents the Rising Stars of Safety, Class of 2014
 |
Maryanne Martin 35 Compliance Safety and Health Officer OSHA St. Louis, MO |
| “Maryanne coordinates the office inspection targeting program focusing OSHA’s enforcement efforts in the high-hazard construction industry. To date, 531 inspections have been conducted and over 1,000 serious hazards have been eliminated under this initiative. She also conducted a fatality investigation, uncovering 18 life-threatening hazards that impacted 65 employees.” | |
 |
Sandra Merritt 36 Environmental, Health and Safety Manager Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems Fort Wayne, IN |
| “Sandra’s success can be demonstrated by the results of the July 2013 OSHA VPP Assessment, where only six 90-day items were identified. Key to that success was her development of the EHS Stewardship Program. She inspired over 100 employees to volunteer as EHS Stewards: Safety Team members that conduct monthly compliance inspections, first responders that are trained to assist co-workers during medical emergencies, and safety wardens who ensure everyone evacuates during a fire or shelters during severe weather.” | |
 |
Anthony Miller 39 Vice President, SH&E Parsons Corp. Charlotte, NC |
| “Anthony has taken the lead in establishing the Parsons’ Stop Work Initiative, a commitment signed by each member of management and communicated to all Parsons’ staff, where each employee has the right and obligation to speak up and ‘Stop Work’ without repercussion if they feel something is not right. He also led the effort in the development of the Personal Safety Action Plan for Executive Staff, which is framed and visible in each Executive’s office, highlighting his or her safety values. Lastly, Anthony engages management and staff in teaching moments about how they should bring the strong safety culture we have at work back to the home for the benefit of their families.” | |
 |
Rhonda Piggee 30 SHE Manager DSM Nutritional Products Freeport, TX |
| “Rhonda has worked on many safety initiatives in the last year. The primary initiative ... is the creation of our Custom Chemical PPE Poster. Rhonda was able to mainstream the PPE selection for over 23 of the most frequently used hazardous chemicals we use onsite, which decreased the time it takes operators, maintenance and contractors to conduct risk assessments on tasks and issue safe work permits. The Custom PPE poster is a great visual tool, which allows at-a-glance PPE selection.” | |
 |
Megan Raines 36 Global Director – Safety and Training Dresser-Rand Corp., Synchrony Business Unit Salem, VA |
| “Megan regularly serves as a team member during development of global safety procedures. Additionally, she is the subject matter expert to guide other safety personnel through compliance questions, and frequently provides other assistance to the safety team. Locally, Megan is well-known for her ability to engage employees from all disciplines to solicit and implement their suggestions to improve safety performance. Last year, her facility was one of the highest-performing across the entire company for ‘Process Innovations Per Employee,’ a leading indicator tracking process improvements implemented. Megan also regularly communicates off-the-job safety tips with employees. When presenting workplace safety training, Megan often includes information about how to apply the information off the job as well.” | |
 |
Shahzad Rasheed 28 Manager Responsible Supply Chain Bulleh Shah Packaging Pvt. Ltd. Punjab, Pakistan |
| “Shahzad believes in changing systems on practical grounds. To date, he has suggested a number of improvements to change the safety behavior of shop floor workers. He makes people understand how important safety is for themselves and their family. He has trained new employees and teams visiting the site. He has also developed an employee safety training module according to company demand, which is now helping in developing valuable resources. He organizes 30-minutes sessions on behavioral safety each week to educate different department individuals in improving company safety culture.” | |
 |
Dustin Richartz 36 Senior Loss Control Consultant Lockton Companies Denver, CO |
| “Dustin led the ASSE Colorado Chapter in the 2011/12 chapter year as president and served on the PDC Planning Committee. He was able to facilitate the necessary volunteers to make the events successful, while also earning a Chapter Star Designation. Not only was the PDC a huge success, but it also included the formation of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of ASSE, which was previously the Northern Colorado Section of the Colorado Chapter. In his role on the PDC Planning Committee, Dustin gained participation from the two Colorado Chapters to successfully plan 13 technical tours and recruit over 100 volunteers to serve on the Meet and Greet Team and to fill the Session and Technical Tour Moderator needs.” | |
Post a comment to this article
Safety+Health welcomes comments that promote respectful dialogue. Please stay on topic. Comments that contain personal attacks, profanity or abusive language – or those aggressively promoting products or services – will be removed. We reserve the right to determine which comments violate our comment policy. (Anonymous comments are welcome; merely skip the “name” field in the comment box. An email address is required but will not be included with your comment.)