Injuries aren’t statistics – each one impacts a fellow shipbuilder, their family and their team.

As shared during the Safety Stand Downs in July, NNS is refocusing on safety and recommitting to a higher safety standard. As such, NNS is launching a shipyard-wide safety visual campaign designed to make personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements more consistent, visible and easy to understand across work sites.

As part of this campaign, shipbuilders will notice:

• Standardized PPE signs at shipyard gates and facility entrances identifying the basic PPE required in production areas: hard hats, safety glasses, steel-toe boots and hearing protection.

• Project-specific PPE signs identifying additional protective equipment required based on the safety hazards we might face with a particular type of work or job site. Examples you may encounter include elevated work, hot work and confined spaces.

• Craft-specific life-saving statements written by shipbuilders in each trade reinforcing our personal responsibility to wear required PPE, understand the hazards of our work, and protect ourselves and our teammates.
• Updated and replacement safety signage throughout the shipyard to improve visibility, remove outdated signs and ensure posted requirements reflect current standards.

Look out for one another and hold yourself and others accountable when standards are not being met. The work shipbuilders perform is complex, demanding and inherently hazardous.

If you see a safety issue or something that is not as it should be, please remember the ways to share these observations:

• Immediately notify your direct supervisor.
• Call the O27 Health and Safety Main Office at 757-688-5523.
• Call the OpenLine at 1-877-631-0020 (safety concerns can be made anonymously).