To be the top direct marketing solutions company, we need to have the top people in every department. How do you attract the top people – you give them an environment where they feel safe, heard, and appreciated. We’re honored to have consistently been awarded a Printing Industry Midwest Best Places to Work designation. Prioritizing the safety of our employees is always top-of-mind and a practice that we see flow naturally out of our team.
1. Committed Safety Team on Production Floor
When I started at Nahan in 1989, safety was controlled under department managers, the changes made to having a designated Safety Coordinator helped streamline safety policies. To raise more awareness of Nahan’s safety policies and to ensure employees are following best-practice procedures, we developed a Safety Team that comprises of employees across departments. This team serves as a link between employees and management where anyone can bring their safety ideas and suggestions to be brought up in Safety Meetings.
2. Monthly Online Safety Training
Working in a production facility naturally brings up many safety topics. We feel it is important to keep all of our employees updated on safety measures by using monthly, online safety training. Preventative measures like this can help us reduce injuries and time away from production, leading to more satisfied employees, and higher quality work for customers.
3. Monthly Safety Audits
To make sure that safety measures are being implemented consistently, monthly safety audits are completed. The results of these audits are shared with the Production Department to make any changes that are needed to minimize hazards, if not entirely eliminate them.
4. Priority of Safety Work Orders
At Nahan, safety is not an after-thought – our entire team is committed to it. Safety Work Orders are given top priority and are completed immediately by our Maintenance Department.
Helping employees recognize hazards, learn how to minimize them, and keep themselves and their teammates safe is why I love what I do. Nahan’s commitment to training employees on best practices and ensuring the safety of all, is a big reason I have been on the Nahan team for over 30 years.
Author Bio: Doug Roob started at Nahan in 1989 and began his role in Safety in 1992. His favorite part of the job is teaching people how to keep safe in the work environment, and the challenges that it can bring.
Safety at Nahan is our top priority. Operating our business in this way allows us to attract and maintain our amazing employees and serve our customers in the best way possible. Our devotion to safety is made possible by our Safety and Environmental Compliance Coordinator, Doug Roob, as well as Nahan’s Safety Team, comprised of a team of dedicated employees. To learn more about how Nahan ensures a safe environment, I interviewed Doug to get his perspective on safety in the printing industry and how Nahan rises to the occasion.
Doug Roob – Safety and Environmental Compliance Coordinator
Can you tell me a little about your work experience prior to your current position?
Doug: While I was finishing my degree studying Physical Education and Health with a minor in Business Management, I began working part-time at Nahan. The strong “family feel” made me enjoy working here so much, that I decided to stay. While it was a smaller company at the time, it had such a great potential to grow that I went full-time in the fall of 1989. From 1989 to 1992, I handled the production scheduling. At this time safety was controlled by the department managers.
What led you to become the Safety and Environmental Compliance Coordinator?
Doug: As the company was rapidly growing, I was asked in 1992 if I would be interested in taking over safety matters. Since my background is in education, I saw the opportunity to be able to help educate employees on safety and to teach the necessary skills to work safely. I have seen how an injury from unsafe conditions can not only affect the individual but how it affects an entire family. My father was injured on the job while working in construction. He was out for almost two months and continued to suffer from nerve damage. He went through physical therapy to strengthen his right leg after not being to use it fully until he was healed up. His frustration with not being able to work and the effects it had on our family is a memory that sticks with me, and one that I don’t want others to have to deal with. Helping employees recognize hazards and how to minimize their exposure or eliminate the hazards on the job is what I love to do. At the end of the day, if everyone goes home the same way they came to work I am very happy. If they don’t, I wonder what could I have done differently. I still love it today.
What are the benefits of a Safety Team at Nahan?
Doug: At Nahan the benefits are many. The team is a link between the employees and Management. Employees bring their safety ideas, suggestions, and input to the Safety Team members who in turn bring those items up during the Safety Team meetings. They then review and discuss those items to find solutions and make recommendations to management to make Nahan more safe. The team is our on-the-job safety advocate. During these trying times with the COVID-19 pandemic, they are amongst their peers promoting social distancing, washing of hands frequently, covering your cough, staying home if not feeling well, and general safety all the time. They help promote the safety culture that is needed for us to be our safest and healthiest.
Are there any stand-out moments that made you proud of the accomplishments of the Safety Team or a particular way they improved safety at Nahan?
Doug: The Safety Team has a few new members and I am happy with the passion each one has for safety. The willingness of the team to listen to the employees about their safety concerns and the willingness to help in any way they can to help improve safety is so great to see. They are willing to take action if need be and to work with the leaders and employees if asked. We have started a new program that the team is very excited about. The program consists of Safety Team members making Safety Observations weekly of their peers. When the observation is over, the Safety Team member meets with the individual they observed and discuss the great things the employee is doing safely and things they can do differently to stay safe. I see great things coming out of this program going forward with this group.
How can safety benefit Nahan’s customers?
Doug: The benefits of safety and a safe work environment carry over to the improved quality of service and a satisfied customer. When you have a safety culture that stresses safe work practices and having a clean/safe work environment, it carries over to a work behavior of paying attention to detail and to the quality of products being produced while completing jobs to the satisfaction of the customer without worrying about being injured. The employees can truly focus on the customer’s needs and expectations.
Here are our amazing and dedicated Safety Team members!
Thank you, Doug, for telling us about how the Nahan Safety Team
works for the good of our employees and clients. We appreciate all that you and
your team do.
If you are interested in working with great people like Doug, view our career page for current openings.
Bio: Camille Lehmann is
on the Marketing team and started with Nahan in January of 2020. Camille is
responsible for assisting in Nahan’s marketing strategies and goals. She is
currently pursuing her master’s degree in Marketing with a specialization in
Project Management. In her spare time, Camille enjoys writing, going to coffee
shops, and spending time with friends and family.
