Tiverton Power Company Achieves 10-Year Safety Milestone

Capital Power’s Tiverton power generation facility recently achieved a significant safety milestone, going 10 years, or 3,651 days, without a single recordable safety incident.

The power company made the announcement earlier this year, and was also recognized by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) for reaching the mark on Feb. 4. A recordable incident is reportedly any occupational injury or illness that requires medical treatment more than simple first aid and must be reported.

The former company, Tiverton Power, Inc., was .

“Capital Power is committed to a culture of zero injury and occupational illness and Tiverton is a shining example of the safety culture that we seek throughout our operations,” said Todd Gilchrist, vice president of environment, health and safety at Capital Power, in a press release. “For employees of this facility, safety is a discipline and an integral part of their work which has allowed them to achieve this tremendous milestone.”

Apart from the standard safety policies, procedures and housekeeping practices, company officials said the Tiverton employees have tremendous pride and are committed as a team to perform their work in the safest manner possible to keep the facility running safely and to protect the health and well-being of their community.

“Safety is an attitude in which all Tiverton employees take pride and ownership of and hold each other accountable to,” said Tricia Keegan, Tiverton’s plant manager. “Ten years is more than a great safety record. Over 5 million minutes of safe work means the employees went home to their families after every shift in the same condition they arrived that day. They know that working safely takes commitment, know-how and continuous effort.”

Keegan said heavy industry presents hazards such as exposure to rotating equipment, high voltage, high noise, heavy lifts and handling of various materials. 

"Actions are taken by contractors and employees at this facility to prevent such hazards from resulting in injury," she added, noting confined space entry, lock out tag out, hot work permit (welding and grinding), fall arrest and pre-job briefing are among the various procedures that are in place at the OSHA VPP Star facility.

"OSHA statistics are measured as recordable and lost time injuries," Keegan said. "The experience, diligence and execution by the skilled employees have resulted in a 10-year record of zero lost time and zero recordable injuries for employees at the power plant. We never rest on the record, rather we strive for continuous improvement."

The company has about 950 employees, with 175 in the U.S. and 20 at the Tiverton power plant.