by Diana Anderson
Several members of Argonne’s Performance Management Assurance (PMA) division have taken the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) pledge to drive phone free.
Carole Onik, lead principal internal auditor, encouraged her colleagues to take the voluntary pledge at a monthly division staff meeting where she gave a presentation on distracted driving.
“It’s a topic that’s near and dear to me,” said Onik. “I’ve seen firsthand how people’s lives can change in an instant because of an accident. It’s a tragedy when a loved one is injured or killed. And this is something we have control over — we can put our phones down.”
During the meeting, staff members shared stories that hit close to home about experiences they had.
“It was something we all connected on,” said Onik.
The signed pledges are currently displayed in a common work area.
“It’s nice to have the pledges hung up,” said Alicia Soto, executive secretary. “It’s nice to do something as a cohesive unit. And it’s important that people be aware that Argonne has a no cell phone policy when driving on site — not even with hands-free devices.”
First row left to right: Caroline Ng and Denise Price. Second row left to right: Alicia Filak, Renee Salazar-Romero, Sandy Buckley, Carole Onik, Alicia Soto and Laura Ellman. Third row left to right: Laura Guest, Stuart Meredith, Suellen Cook, Asu Alp, Robin Colglazier, Jon Grochocinski and Mike Pakan.
PMA has a long tradition of sharing safety topics at staff meetings. In 2015, they decided to formalize the process by including a safety presentation in each monthly division meeting. All staff members have an opportunity to prepare remarks and give a presentation. Volunteers are asked to self-nominate and prepare a presentation that coincides with the month’s national safety awareness topic.
“This helps align what our division community is doing with the rest of the lab and the country,” said Laura Ellman, environment, safety and health multifunctional assessor.
Ellman helped develop PMA’s monthly safety presentation process.
“I encourage my team to take a leadership role in Argonne’s safety culture,” said Division Director Denise Price. “These presentations are a good opportunity for people to get public speaking experience, and the safety shares have meaningful topics that are in line with Argonne’s goals and priorities.”
“In the end, we want people to go home in the same condition in which they came here,” said Price. “It’s because we care, not because of a statistic. Spurring thought and generating discussion helps keep the safety at the forefront of our minds.”
Additional information about the NHTSA distracted driving pledge is available online.