REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – Safety is often measured by a lack of bad things happening, but at the U.S. Army Materiel Command, Soldiers and civilians are being recognized for their contributions to being proactive in preventing accidents.
For William Zaharis, Safety Director, Army Materiel Command, the Safety Awards are a way to recognize the workforce for acts that may otherwise go unnoticed.
“What really gets safety done is the interface between Soldiers and commanders to make sure they are doing things by the book,” said Zaharis. “The Army Materiel Command Safety Awards help bring their contributions to light.”
Limiting accidents and performing day-to-day tasks in a safe way contributes to overall readiness. Adam Crafard, the safety director at Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, said submitting his organization for these awards acts as a self-check.
“I look at this as an award that captures what we have been doing as a command over the last few years,” said Crafard. “We have brought everybody together to work toward a common goal.”
Winning awards like this shows the workforce is taking on safety as a priority, Crafard said.
“It tells me safety is important to the command, and more importantly, to the workforce,” he said. “What we are doing is the right thing.”
The Army Materiel Command Safety Awards coincide with the Army-wide awards. Tank-automotive and Armaments Command won three. The major subordinate command won exceptional organization safety award for two-star commands. Red River Army Depot received the brigade-level award. Clayton Nagel, a supervisor quality assurance specialist and compliance officer, received the individual award for excellence in safety.
“I couldn’t have won this award without the support of management, employees and higher headquarters safety management,” said Nagel.
Standardizing training across the command’s facilities and implementing new programs, like the 5S program, has made a difference, Nagel said. The 5S program involves sorting, setting in order, shining, standardizing and sustaining equipment, contributing to both equipment readiness and safety.
Army Materiel Command’s Safety Award recipients will compete in the Army-level competition. The full list of award winners are:
– Army Materiel Command Individual Award for Excellence in Safety – Senior Department of the Army Civilian: Erik Wrobel, Armaments Research, Development and Engineering Center, Research, Development and Engineering Command
– Army Materiel Command Individual Award for Excellence in Safety – Junior Department of the Army Civilian: Clayton Nagel, Fleet Management Expansion, Fort Leonard Wood, Tank-automotive and Armaments Command
– Army Materiel Command Individual Award for Excellence in Safety – Company Grade Commissioned Officer: Capt. Christopher Kempf, 839th Transportation Battalion, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command
– Army Materiel Command Individual Award for Excellence in Safety – Noncommissioned Officer: Sgt. 1st Class Darnell Jones, 950th Transportation Company, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command
– Army Materiel Command Exceptional Organization Safety Award – Battalion Level: 403rd Army Field Support Battalion-Northeast Asia, Army Sustainment Command
– Army Materiel Command Exceptional Organization Safety Award – Brigade Level: Red River Army Depot, Tank-automotive and Armaments Command
– Army Materiel Command Exceptional Organization Safety Award – 1-Star Commands: Joint Munitions Command
– Army Materiel Command Exceptional Organization Safety Award – 2 Star-Commands: Tank-automotive and Armaments Command
– Army Materiel Command Industrial Operations Safety Award: Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, Research, Development and Engineering Command
– Army Materiel Command Excellence in Explosives Safety Award: Joint Munitions Command
Source – https://www.army.mil/article/216351/amc_announces_winners_of_command_safety_awards
