A LETTER TO THE EMPLOYEES OF D&B:

My most important duty as the President of Dunkin & Bush is to ensure that each and every one of you returns home, having worked safely that day, to your family at the end of your shift. And, as one of the tools that I rely upon to help me carry out this duty is the right I give you to Stop Work anytime you are doing or witnessing something you feel is unsafe, or just doesn’t feel right. But, until I met with our entire crew in Bakersfield, CA on December 3, 2010, I had never personally heard of an employee of D&B stopping work for this reason. Maybe those actions weren’t making their way to my desk, maybe they weren’t being publicized, or maybe you didn’t know you had that right. Nevertheless, what it means to me is that I have not properly empowered you with this right and I have not continued to re-affirm its importance in our safety culture. Sadly, as mentioned, maybe you never knew.

We talk about the “Three Steps to Working Safely” – Stop, Analyze and Act. This is part of your new-hire orientation, and you receive a wallet card to carry. Our new-hire orientation and our handbook talk about reporting unsafe conditions, but never, until the meeting of December 3rd, did we say you had Stop Work Authority (SWA) in such clear and concise language. On the back of your Three Steps to Working Safely Card you carry, there is a statement about “each and every one of you having the authority and responsibility to stop any activity you believe is unsafe”. But, is that enough? No, I don’t believe it has been.

December 3, 2010, started a new chapter for me. I take my duties very seriously, and as stated above, my primary duty is to ensure that you work safely and you return home to your family at night in the same condition as you left them. I, along with the Bakersfield workforce signed a series of posters that are now hanging on the office walls where we all committed to our use of our Stop Work Authority. I promise, as the leader of our management, that hearing stories of work stoppage as a result of this empowerment will be recognized and rewarded. I also promise, that our various orientations, handbook, training and other means to communicate with both new employees and existing employees will stress this right and responsibility. My hope is that after this newsletter is published, every employee with D&B will know what Stop Work Authority means and that they truly believe they have this right, and this responsibility. In fact, it is an obligation and commitment.

It is truly my belief that your SWA is the single greatest tool we all have to ensure our own safety as well as those that we supervise and work side by side with. Michael “Shane” Zike exercised this authority on the night of January 10th while preparing to unload three semi trucks of scaffolding at the Snoqualmie Power Plant. The cranes that were being used to accommodate the lifts did not have adequate footing; this coupled with poor lighting, high winds and freezing weather created an unsafe jobsite. He notified his supervisor that he would like to stop work due to unsafe conditions. Shane, his Supervisor, Safety Representatives, and our customer worked together to rectify the situation until all felt satisfied that their jobsite was once again safe. On the morning of February 2nd, Clint Bayless stopped work when he observed a welder working in an overhead structure above our paint crew. The welder was not using welding blankets or shields and sparks were simply falling down below him, dangerously close to our painters’ cans of paint, solvent and rags. Clint saw this and asked all four painters to stop work, grab their supplies and wait at the ground level until he had a chance to speak to their supervisor who agreed it was a dangerous situation and moved our people to another area. Shane and Clint have both been with D&B only about six months. Being the “new guys”, it took courage for them to speak up. Thank you Shane and Clint for doing the right thing and possibly saving our employees from injury.

To all of you, please know that the best lessons learned on how to keep ourselves safe, are the stories that come from people that have exercised this right, the circumstances surrounding the work-stoppage, and the corrective actions taken to create a job site that was once again safe to work on.

Please take a time to re-read this statement, and to realize that it is both your right, and your responsibility.

STOP WORK AUTHORITY

Our work is never so urgent or important that we cannot take the time to do it safely.

As an employee of Dunkin & Bush, Inc. you are accountable for the safety of your work environment and you have the authority and responsibility to stop any activity that you believe is unsafe.

Deidre Dunkin
President
Dunkin & Bush, Inc.

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