Andy Close
WARREN, Pa. – Pennsylvania American Water is not only doing good work in the community, but they are doing it in a safe and efficient manner.
A day after their generous donation of $15,000 to fund a new trail at the Trails at Jakes Rocks, the Warren District of PA American Water celebrated 10 years accident-free.
“That’s a tremendous goal,” said PA American Water Senior Manager. “No matter where we’re at or what we’re doing, safety is paramount. We’ve accomplished all that through the people that we’re hiring and the great relationships that are being fostered through supervision. Big applause to Ryan (Irwin). He’s well-trained, as well as maintains excellent rapport with everybody. Our focus is that all our employees should leave in the same shape they came in. That’s a philosophy we absolutely adhere to.”
Ryan is Ryan Irwin, a supervisor in the Warren District. As he points out, the run of a safe working environment actually extends much longer than that.
“Prior to 10 years ago we had one accident, which was a rolled ankle,” Irwin said. “Prior to that, we had nine years since our last back injury. We’re one rolled ankle away from being almost 20 years accident-free. Guys all look out for each other. We’re a family.”
But it’s much more than just safety in the workplace. Irwin described two recent instances in which Warren District PA American Water employees went well above and beyond.
“One employee was just doing work on Conewango Ave. and a local plumber had an issue with his van,” Irwin explained. “Our employee was just doing normal work, smelled smoke, and could tell there was a fire in the van. So he ran over and started pulling a bunch of stuff out of the van, and put the fire out. The van was in the driveway, no more than 10 feet from the home. That could have been tragic.”
Another incident involved a car accident on Route 59 by Kinzua Dam.
“There was a bad car wreck a couple of weeks ago here on Route 59,” Irwin said. “A car split a gap in the guard rail and ended up going over the edge. One of the first ones on site was one of our employees who lived across the street. He ran over the bank, stabilized the car, and kept the two women inside the car calm. Long story short, they brought a tow truck to stabilize the car and cut the car to get the two women out.:”
“In the community, these guys are just unbelievable,” Lobaugh said. “They are not just great workers, but great citizens and neighbors”
Sean Graves, PA American Water Senior Director of Operations, couldn’t be more proud.
“The culture in the workplace is what drives this,” Graves said. “It’s people watching out for one another. They have each other’s backs.”
