March 21, 2019

Standing in front of a backdrop of We Have the Power banners, FirstEnergy President and CEO Chuck Jones recently addressed a crowd of more than 500 leaders from our company, our contractors and building trades labor at the Tripartite Safety Forum.

“There are thousands of people working on thousands of projects to help make our company successful,” said Chuck. “We want our partners to know that there is nothing more important than executing each one of those projects safely and sending every employee home to their family, every day.”

The Tripartite Safety Forum – held just outside Pittsburgh – was the largest gathering of safety leadership hosted by FirstEnergy. Guests were able to attend safety presentations, participate in panel discussions and breakout sessions, visit vendor booths, and network with industry peers.

With more than 500 people in attendance, the Tripartite Safety Forum was the largest meeting of safety leadership hosted by FirstEnergy.

One of the presentations that resonated with attendees was given by Scott Wyman, regional president, Penelec. Scott discussed the importance of identifying exposures – and improving decision-making – before an injury occurs.

“The only way to truly improve safety is to control, reduce or eliminate exposure to injury,” said Scott. “Workers face a variety of hazards in the field and getting employees to recognize their exposure and make the necessary adjustment is the key to keeping them safe.”

Previous safety forums have been held for FirstEnergy Generation and FirstEnergy Transmission (FET) personnel, but this year’s event also included FEU and the company’s Vegetation Management Department.

“We are thrilled by the interest our employees, contractors and labor representatives have shown in this event, and their commitment to protecting workers from injury,” said Shelley Baber, manager, Contractor & Public Safety, and one of the event coordinators. “Our goal is to partner with our contractors and building trades to ensure safety excellence in every job that is performed.”

Linda Moss, president, Pennsylvania Operations, and George Farah, vice president, Utility Services, were executive sponsors for the forum. In addition to Shelley, Dave Brahosky, manager, Construction Management Support, co-coordinated the event.

FEU President Sam Belcher delivers opening remarks to kick off the Tripartite Safety Forum.

Chuck Jones (center) pauses for a picture with event co-coordinators Shelley Baber and Dave Brahosky.

Laura Redenshek, director, FEU Safety & Human Performance, facilitates a discussion with forum attendees during an exercise designed to help identify exposures that workers might encounter in the field.

As part of the forum, vendor booths were set up outside the meeting room to provide information about the various tools, safety equipment and resources available to FirstEnergy employees, contractors and building trades labor.