Clayton County Water Honored with 2024 WEF Safety Award for Innovative Safety Program
October 25, 2024 – (Morrow, GA) – Clayton County Water Authority (CCWA) recently earned the 2024 Water Environment Federation (WEF) Safety Award for its innovative safety program that fosters a culture of safety in the water industry and the community it serves.
According to WEF, this award encourages active and effective safety programs in the water environment field and recognizes entities that not only invest their resources to develop high-quality safety programs and adopt them within their own culture but also actively seek out opportunities to share these programs with others in the water industry for the benefit of all.
“Safety is our highest priority, and we are always striving to improve our safety program,” says CCWA CEO H. Bernard Franks, “I am very proud of the innovations we have made over the past few years, and it is a tremendous honor to be recognized at the national level. We always value people over property and are committed to investing in a culture of safety to protect our Clayton County Water Authority family.”
CCWA has implemented several innovative initiatives/safety equipment to ensure employees stay safe, including:
- MITCH™ (Mobile, Illuminated, Traffic Control Hub). MITCH is a mobile hub equipped with internal and external LED lighting, flashing strobes, and LED arrow board, all of which are powered completely by solar energy. It is stocked with the latest innovations in traffic control devices. MITCH was recognized on the national level as one of three finalists for the 2023 National Safety Council’s Green Cross Safety Award for Innovation. CCWA has two of these mobile hubs which are regularly used by CCWA’s Distribution & Conveyance maintenance staff and Stormwater maintenance staff.
- The Speed Shore hydraulic shoring system was incorporated into operations to supplement other engineering controls for trench protection. Excavating crews have the necessary hydraulic shoring components to be kept on each crew truck so that a means of trench protection is always on hand.
- The AF-100 automated flagger by Synergy Technologies for use in flagging operations that have been assessed to be too hazardous for human flaggers. It is operated via wireless remote by a single certified flagger stationed out of harm’s way. Two signal trailers, each equipped with a traffic signal and control arm, are deployed at opposite ends of a two-way one lane closure to control traffic.
- Blackline Safety G7 gas detectors have been implemented to ensure compliance with OSHA standards for bump testing and calibration. Plant maintenance technicians were issued individual Lockout Tagout kits to prevent lock and key sharing.
According to CCWA Safety Specialist Scott Cantrell, education and training are necessary to give employees the knowledge and skills required to perform their duties safely. CCWA certified instructors conduct First Aid, CPR, AED, Defensive Driving, Flagger Certification, Confined Space Entry, and Forklift Safety courses at regular intervals. Employees also attend specialized safety training as needed, such as Competent Person Excavation and Arc Flash. Additionally, each month, low hazard and high hazard safety bulletins are created in-house for review by all safety teams. Key information is shared on CCWA monitors and posted as safety flyers throughout all facilities.
Outreach within the water industry and the local community is also a high priority. CCWA is a member of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals and actively works with other organizations within the water industry to promote and improve safety.
Pictured: WEF President Aimee’ R. Killeen presented CCWA Safety Specialist Scott Cantrell the 2024 Water Environmental Federation (WEF) Safety Award during WEF’s Technical Exhibition and Conference Awards Ceremony on October 8.