Currents
Related Photos
Discussion
An important choice
Cristal Global professionals stress safety to ACJVS students
JEFFERSON — Students in the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School’s skilled trades classes heard from Cristal Global safety professionals last week.
Russ Wagner, a lab technician; Dan Hotaling, maintenance mechanic; Pete Nakoski, chief of the SHEBA (Show How Everyone Beats Accidents); and Steve Mathys, engineer; spent Thursday talking with students and demonstrating safety and accident-response gear. Their visit was made possible with the cooperation of the United Steelworkers’ Local 7334.
The professionals presented two sessions for the juniors and seniors.
“My message is for them to get involved in their own safety, to impress upon them how important it is make safe choices,” Nakoski said, summing up the presentations.
He introduced each session with a surveillance-camera video that shows an electrical worker cranking a feeder breaker into an industrial panel. Unknown to the worker, the panel was energized, which resulted in arcing and violent death.
“Where did the guy go?” asked a student as a blast of flames shot out of the panel.
“I hate to say it, but he was probably vaporized,” said Nakoski. The heat from the blast was similar to that on the sun’s surface, about 35,000 degrees.
“What really disturbs me is the choices he made,” Nakoski said as he analyzed the video for the safety errors.
That’s an activity Nakoski and the other Cristal employees are familiar with. Nakoski, an industrial instrumentation journeyman, heads up the behavior-based safety program at Cristal Plant 1.
“We’re kind of our brothers’ keepers,” Nakoski said, explaining how the SHEBA works. “We watch out for each other.”
Nakoski said one employee will observe another one as he or she works for several minutes, then critique the performance from a safety perspective.
“It’s a fantastic process. It’s really helped us reduce the injuries in the plant,” he said.
The professionals demonstrated safety gear provided by Cristal for its employees, including an electrical high-temperature suit that the worker in the video should have been wearing. Students volunteered to suit up so they’d get a sense of how little time it takes to test and dress in the appropriate safety gear.
“It isn’t that I’m trying to teach you about electricity,” Nakoski said. “It’s about choice.”
He said the plant has at least 20 of the suits, each one costing $3,500, a price that “doesn’t even come close to the cost of that accident (on the video).”
Wagner, the lab technician acquainted students with the first-responder training that Cristal requires all 12 Plant 1 technicians attain as a condition of continued employment. The certification ensures that the plant has qualified, trained workers who can respond to a wide range of injuries and medical conditions.
The first responders can provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation, deal with inhalation incidents involving chlorine or titanium tetrachloride, treat cuts and other trauma, or address an underlying medical issue, like a sudden drop in the blood sugar of a diabetic employee. Wagner said the trained staff is like a “security blanket.”
“It’s a comfort to know someone is there who can help them until (a paramedic) crew can arrive and take over,” he said.
Wagner told students they should take every opportunity to get safety and lifesaving training, as it could not only help them save their own life, but also that of a loved one or neighbor when they are at home. Employers also see that kind of training as a plus when considering an applicant.
Likewise, Wagner encouraged students to ask questions about a prospective employer’s safety programs when interviewing.
“Don’t be afraid to ask how their safety program is. How are they looking out for you?” he said.
Nakoski said the workers first presented the safety program at the invitation of the Erie County (Pa.) Vo-Tech School and, with the support of the Cristal and the Steelworkers local, offered it to ACJVS.
“The company absolutely supported it,” Nakoski said.
- Currents
-
-
Two tickets to Interlochen
When Valerie and Matt Nousak’s 14-year-old daughter, Samantha, told them she wanted to apply for a Summer Arts session at Interlochen Center for the Arts, Valerie turned to a friend for guidance.
-
Ashtabula dancer stretches muscles and horizons at Michigan program
An artist can claim a significant measure of success when an audience member is so impressed by a performance, he offers the artist a scholarship to a prestigious school.
-
Captain Floyd lands in Madison
Jason and Trinity Williams were driving to his grandparents’ house in Geneva the conversation turned to Trinity’s frustration with all the toys Jason had stashed around the house with the idea of one day opening a retro toy store.
-
Jefferson couple to mark 72nd anniversary
Erma Welser fell ill with scarlet fever on a Tuesday. Three days later, the 20-year-old mother of two young boys was dead.
-
A journey of faith and physical endurance
Ken and Cathe Dickey of Kingsville and three of their 16 children took a step back in time last week as part of a youth pioneer trek. More than 200 youths and their adult leaders put modern conveniences aside for three days to gain a deeper understanding of their pioneer heritage, a greater appreciation for family and develop a stronger faith in the Savior.
-
From quilts to encaustics
After years of struggle, Monroe Township fiber artist Sandy Shelenberger is letting go and going with the flow.
-
Embossing Lady Liberty
It’s the Fourth of July, a holiday when Americans’ thoughts turn to liberty — specifically being free from the chains of the job for a day or long weekend.
-
ACJVS students among the best in the nation at SkillsUSA Championships
Students from the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School showed they have the skills to match the best in the nation after competing at the SkillsUSA Championships in Kansas City, Mo., last week.
-
Who will feed the poor?
The soup kitchen at G.O. Ministries will be suspended starting July 1 unless significant funding can be found in the interim, says Bill Hubler, president of the G.O. Community Development Corp.
-
North Kingsville veteran speaks freely
The U.S. Army soldier had planned to save the box of Whitman’s chocolates for Christmas; amid the frozen desolation of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, those little pieces of candy would bring a small taste of home to the front-line on Christmas morning.
- More Currents Headlines
-
