For PCCA’s Safety and Compliance Director, Forrest Doshier, safety is synonymous with service. He’s spent his life dedicated to keeping others safe: first as a firefighter and intermediate paramedic, then as a safety consultant for large corporations in Oklahoma. Now, his days are filled with keeping PCCA employees safe and bringing added value to every bale that passes through the Warehouse Division’s doors.
“Safety protects company growth,” Doshier explained. “It also protects jobs, revenue, institutional knowledge, and business continuity. My prime motivator is for employees to go home at the end of the day and enjoy their families and friends. That’s why we are all working, after all, to provide for our families and experience life with them.”
For Doshier, safety is a labor of love, but he also says it’s a living, breathing program that must continue to adapt to changing regulations, processes/procedures, and the company environment.
“One has to keep in mind that OSHA and other regulations are the bare minimum that can be done to keep employees and companies safe,” he said. “We should always strive to improve through a constant review of processes, policies, documentation, and technology.”
A recent safety improvement is that every on-foot employee must wear a guardian light – a flashing strobe light that’s visible even during daylight hours. This technology, combined with high-visibility safety vests and shirts, can make all the difference for warehouse workers on foot scanning bale tags.
This is just one example of Doshier’s belief in not doing things “the way we’ve always done them.” It’s a common misconception that implementing additional safety protocols will slow production. In fact, the opposite is true.
“We weigh the production times against the lost time of the incident,” he continued. “When we evaluate changes to our programs, we must also consider the impact on production and any additional hazards that may be introduced, but by working together, we find achievable solutions. I’ve seen firsthand how keeping an open mind and being a champion of change can lead to amazing improvements for companies.”
One new effort Doshier has started is having a safety committee at each PCCA plant and office location. He says this is an excellent way to foster a positive safety culture across the company.
“Through safety committees, you often learn of improved ways for production to flow, gaps in training, and hazards that employees observe while doing their jobs,” Doshier said. “It also helps establish two-way communication between employees and management and creates ownership of the safety programs with the employees.”
Doshier’s collaborative approach and the success he has had with the safety committees at each location make one thing clear: the people doing the work often have the best ideas for making their jobs safer.
Safety is an investment, but it’s one well worth the cost. Reduced downtime enables cotton to move more efficiently through the supply chain, benefiting everyone from the farm to the warehouse and beyond.
