PCEMC claims coveted Statewide Safety Trophy

    Pointe Coupee Electric recently claimed the coveted Statewide Safety Trophy presented each year by the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives (ALEC) in Baton Rouge.

    The locally-owned cooperative was recognized at ALEC’s annual membership meeting held at the Baton Rouge Hilton July 25-27. It was PCEMC’s sixth time to take home the trophy since 1987.

    PCEMC was recognized for working 81,110 man-hours from June 2009 to May 2010 without a lost-time accident, a figure that includes emergency restoration work after storms and other adverse conditions. Nearly 300,000 miles were also driven by PCEMC personnel without an accident during that time period.

    PCEMC General Manager J.H. “Jodie” Cotten, along with several employees and board members were on hand to accept the Statewide Safety Trophy on behalf of everyone involved with making the co-op a leader in safety.

    “There’s no doubt that safety is a true team effort, and the credit goes to all of our employees who make safety a priority in performing their day-to-day tasks,” Cotten said. “Our success begins with our member-elected leadership at the board level and runs throughout our organization. Everyone plays a role.”

    Cotten said the co-op places a premium on safety not only to protect the health and well-being of employees, members and the public at-large, but also because it makes good economic sense.

    “When you can create an effective culture of safety, everybody wins,” he said. “Not only do all of our employees get to go home to their families at the end of the work day, but it also keeps our costs down when it comes to insurances rates and other expenses.”

    The Statewide Safety Trophy is determined by using a comprehensive formula that accounts for safe operation on the job including field work, warehouse work, transportation and all other aspects necessary to deliver reliable, affordable power to PCEMC members.

    The award affirms PCEMC’s standing as a statewide leader in safety. The co-op recently earned its re-accreditation through a nationally recognized safety program.

    PCEMC Safety Director Joe Langlois said, “I want to thank our board, management and employees, everyone for making safety an important part of what we do. We sometimes lose sight of the fact that working around electricity and power delivery equipment can pose a great risk to life and limb. It’s vital that we respect that and do what’s necessary to make sure our men and women are aware of the dangers, are well-trained, and operate with caution and care.”

    In demonstrating its commitment to safety in the workplace, in the field and in the community, PCEMC frequently conducts free safety classes and demonstrations for school groups and other groups throughout the tri-parish service area.

    Langlois and PCEMC Member Services representatives recently conducted a series of free safety demonstrations at local libraries where attendees watched a short video, participated in a group discussion and saw a real-time example of what happens when contact is made with an electrical line.

    Those who took part in the sessions were also given valuable information and activity books to take home.

    “In fulfilling our responsibility to help educate the children of our community, we’re proud to make these presentations and we hope our program will help prevent accidents from occurring,” said Cotten.

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