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Members of Liberty Tire Recycling’s Health and Safety Team meet in the hotel lobby at 4:30 am to finalize the schedule for their visit to the Baytown, Texas facility. At the facility, they check in with site security and assemble in the common area to help the local team facilitate morning safety meetings, a pre-shift facility walk-through and the Stretch and Flex Program. Six separate safety meetings will take place today. Later that week, operations will be shut down for a day for the Operation Clean Sweep Event, in which the safety team and all site employees spend the day cleaning the entire facility. “To be successful in promoting safety it is vital to show added value and build trusted relationships,” says Mike Herbert, Liberty Tire Recycling’s Director of Safety. “Many safety professionals make the mistake of visiting a location with the sole purpose of identifying discrepancies. Although this is important, it is not always the best approach. Our corporate team is onsite to offer specialized safety knowledge and be an extension of the local team. We intentionally don’t walk around with a clipboard—we lace up our boots and get involved with day-to-day operations.”

Our Health and Safety Team completes a comprehensive review of the fire prevention, detection and response systems at our Salt Lake City location. The review was completed as a group activity and continued over several days. Jim Gilbert, Facility Manager, led a final walkthrough of the facility to review all systems procedures and proper protocols.

Our safety system continues to focus on proactive measures, as described at the Baytown facility. Research suggests that 90% of all injuries occur because of lack of knowledge, shortcuts and/or poor decisions. Recognizing this, our Health and Safety Team focuses on hands-on, practical employee training, hazard recognition, behavioral observations, suggestion programs, coaching effective safety committees, and if there is any doubt, employee Stop Work Authority. Many individuals in leadership positions at Liberty Tire Recycling were previously facility owners and have 25 years of experience in the industry. They understand the tire recycling process and have insight into operations, specific equipment, potential hazards and risk management. Our Health and Safety Team recognizes this unique aspect of the company and works closely with leadership to share knowledge and best practices to implement a solid safety program. Safety awareness and development for employees starts on their first day on the job. Everyone completes a documented, comprehensive new hire orientation, which includes a message from the CEO, facility introductions, classroom instruction, facility walkthroughs, site-specific safety videos filmed on location, quizzes, a Q&A session, and assignment of a “friend” who works a similar position. Safety awareness and development for employees starts on their first day on the job. Everyone completes a documented, comprehensive new hire orientation, which includes a message from the CEO, facility introductions, classroom instruction, facility walkthroughs, site-specific safety videos filmed on location, quizzes, a Q&A session, and assignment of a “friend” who works a similar position. Each employee at Liberty continually strives to implement “best-in-class” operating systems. Barry Mathis, Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Operational Excellence, says, “Liberty Tire Recycling is determined to mitigate risk to our people. We are committed both personally and financially to this objective.” If you have any questions, concerns or ideas for improvement, contact a member of our corporate Health and Safety Team at safety@libertytire.com