The Plymouth, Mass. Wastewater Treatment Facility received the George W. Burke Jr. Facility Safety Award from the New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA). This award recognizes a municipal or industrial wastewater facility for establishing and maintaining an effective safety program. The award was presented at NEWEA’s January 2025 meeting.
“Our team in Plymouth has done an outstanding job of implementing the safety program we use at all our projects,” said Robert Scott, Woodard & Curran’s Area Manager responsible for overseeing the facility. “Every single person on staff works to keep themselves and their coworkers safe so they can serve the community of Plymouth and go home safe at the end of the day.”
When Woodard & Curran was hired to operate the facility in 2020, the firm’s standard comprehensive health and safety program was implemented. As part of this process, procedures were customized to the unique needs of the Plymouth facility and all staff underwent training relevant to their roles. Staff developed site-specific programs to address a wide range of potential hazards. An ongoing training program, hazard identification and control processes, and accident reporting system help maintain a philosophy of safety consciousness and a practice of safe job performance.
In addition to required training, every member of the plant staff participates in daily safety meetings to discuss safety topics, routine tasks are constantly re-evaluated to determine whether they can be made safer. Every staff member is considered an advocate for their own safety and the safety of their coworkers. If anyone observes what they consider unsafe conditions or behavior, they are encouraged to stop work and raise the issue immediately with the person responsible.
Safety awareness is a key element of the new employee orientation process and includes rigorous training and a mentoring system. Each new member of staff is mentored to ensures that the new employee can perform his or her tasks safely before the new employee begins to work alone.
“We are extremely proud of our safety record in Plymouth,” said Sean Driscoll, Woodard & Curran Project Manager at the facility. “We’ve had zero OSHA recordable safety incidents in the past five years, and we’re fully committed maintaining our high standards and the success of our safety program.”
About NEWEA
Founded in 1929, NEWEA is a volunteer organization of over 2100 highly qualified and motivated water and wastewater professionals throughout New England. The organization’s mission is to promote education and collaboration while advancing knowledge, innovation, and sound public policy for the protection of the water environment and our quality of life.
