Original Date: 03/01/1993
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Prior to 1989, occupational safety and health (OSH) was not an area of emphasis at Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP), Jacksonville. However, attention was focused on this area when the command received a low rating for OSH during inspection by the Navy Inspector General. Since that time, this area has received top level management attention with strong support and more resources bringing dramatic improvements in the last several years through the OSH office.

The key element in these improvements has been effective communication. Major campaigns promoting health and safety have been conducted involving banners, posters, frequent articles in the employee newsletter, and aggressive use of the closed circuit cable television system. Top level support has been a critical factor, with NADEP, Jacksonville's Commanding Officer acting as a spokesperson for the program emphasizing its importance and benefits.

Training plays an important role in maintaining the high level of safety and health awareness while continuously improving the program. The OSH office determines course content and target audience for mandatory training, and training is conducted on a scheduled basis. Individual supervisors monitor tasks requiring special training to ensure that those tasks are not performed by untrained employees. Training is tailored to guarantee that employees receive specific training required and do not attend unneeded courses. Thus, training is welcomed as a definite value - added activity. A variety of training and educational aids are available from the OSH office such as videos, slides, books, magazines, and information folders on a variety of subjects.

The local closed circuit cable television system is one form of communication that is particularly effective and successfully applied by the OSH program. The system provides three channels, serves 18 buildings with 140 TV receivers and reaches every work center. One channel is dedicated primarily to scheduled programs on safety, health and the environment, and two others, called poster channels, carry posters on subjects such as industrial safety and environmental concerns. The posters change approximately every five minutes so as not to distract workers from their jobs. The locally produced weekly news program features safety information and was used as the primary medium to introduce and focus attention on ergonomics. Filmed features on innovative improvements led to acceptance of the concept of saving time, money, and effort while improving safety and productivity through simple ergonomic improvements. In addition to its value as a training tool, video is also used to record tasks for analysis by safety specialists and for clarification at mishap review boards.

One of the most visible aspects of the effective OSH program are colorful and often humorous posters produced by a NADEP, Jacksonville employee. These pieces of hazard-specific original artwork address areas of safety in an effective and unique way that is not commercially available. This medium communicates realistic hazards and precautions in a way that workers can relate to and appreciate.

These and other elements of the program led to outstanding OSH achievements by NADEP, Jacksonville in FY 90. The command exceeded the Navy's accident/illness case rate reduction goals by more than ten times the target amount - a 70% reduction since 1989. There was an improvement in lost workday mishaps from 1989 to 1992. NADEP, Jacksonville was the Naval Air Systems Command Industrial Activity co-nominee for the Secretary of the Navy Award for Achievement in Safety Ashore for FY 91 and the single nominee for FY 92. A Navy OSH Inspection Program inspection conducted in May 1992 rated NADEP, Jacksonville an outstanding 94% with an unequaled score for an industrial activity of 100% in program administration. NADEP, Jacksonville has reduced the number of unabated OSH deficiencies facility-wide by nearly two-thirds since FY 91.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.