September/October 2016 | The Davey Bulletin 7
Safety performance, a Davey Personal Excellence Principle, is a constant topic
of conversation at Davey and throughout the entire tree care industry.
For that reason, Davey's safety specialist team is dedicated to supporting
the education of each region's employees on a regular basis. In February,
Vice President Phil Snyder's Mid-Atlantic territory took part in a Davey Skills
Enhancement Program.
These enhancement programs focus on one of three modules centered on
arborist skills. This year's focus was climbing and work positioning.
"The intent is to collaborate with operations and model coaching behaviors,"
said Corey Shepard, regional safety specialist. "We take already established
arborists and enhance their understanding of key principles and techniques to
prepare them to coach others in the field."
The program's goal is to challenge attendees' boundaries and motivate them
to build a culture of open communication and feedback between them and their
crew, Shepard said. The goal is for them to "consistently coach others, so their
teammates will have the same mental tools to recognize errors and provide
feedback when performing climbing activities," he said.
A total of 16 Davey employees traveled from all across the Mid-Atlantic territory
to gather at the Freedom Foundation, a national educational non profit, in
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Davey's trainers have created a mutually beneficial
relationship with the Freedom Foundation – trading free tree care for use of the
non profit's grounds and indoor classroom.
"We want to increase employee engagement through this program to achieve
higher safety performance," Shepard said.
ADVANCING DAVEY'S SAFETY PERFORMANCE
Davey employees practice safe climbing
techniques during the Arborist Skills
Enhancement Program at the Freedom
Foundation in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
Davey employees gather for a group photo at the Northeast Operating Group's Arborist Skills Enhancement Program, including (pictured
front row, left to right) Matthew Keeley, John Schlieman, Erik Winter, Joseph Pokrzywa, Alex Sotnyk, Dave Mullin, Florentino Beltran, and
(pictured back row, left to right) program leader Roy Montan, senior safety specialist, program leader Charles Deonarine, foreman at the
Long Island R/C office, program leader Paul Herb, sales arborist at the North Baltimore R/C office, and attendees Christopher Nichols, Dan
Barnes, Shawn Welch, Lukas Suzano and Dave Frost. Not pictured: Jason Rizzo and program leader Corey Shepard, regional safety specialist.
