Safety is a core value at Dominion. Each and every employee is responsible for putting safety first, all the time. A heightened companywide emphasis on awareness, prevention, training and accountability has improved our overall safety performance in recent years.

Sadly, however, we have suffered employee fatalities in each of the last four years. These tragedies underscore the hazardous nature of our business. Working around electricity, natural gas and heavy equipment unavoidably puts some of our people in potentially dangerous environments.

Employee deaths are pointed and painful reminders that when it comes to safety, there can be no compromise. They challenge us to communicate more clearly, work smarter and do better.

Fostering the safety culture we seek requires ongoing close collaboration between company management and employees. Four interdependent components anchor our program:

• Management commitment and involvement. The company’s management team sets expectations and performance standards and takes responsibility for creating safe work environments.
• Employee commitment and involvement. Every Dominion employee is expected to know and follow safe work practices and be accountable for his or her actions. Ownership for safety is shared by all levels of the work force.
• Hazard analysis, prevention and control.
• Training and education.

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Safety awareness, prevention and training are a top priority due to the nature of our business. Here, Don King secures a line from the Bilbao Knutson LNG tanker to the pier at Dominion’s Cove Point import terminal on the Chesapeake Bay.

We use analytical tools from our Six Sigma business excellence program to sharpen our safety focus and enhance performance over time. We also share best practices from our various business units across the Dominion enterprise.

Here are a few of the specific ways we’re working to achieve the safety improvements we seek:

• Many company managers and supervisors participate in weekly safety meetings conducted by members of the senior management team. If a safety incident has occurred, the supervisor of the affected employee(s) presents the facts, and the group discusses ways to prevent a re-occurrence. Identifying the root cause is the best way to eliminate problems at their source. Findings are shared with the entire organization.

• Power station managers and electric and gas transmission supervisors conduct regular safety observations, intensifying the focus on safety throughout the ranks.
  
  
• Employees who support our operating businesses receive targeted safety training, in areas such as defensive driving and forklift safety.

The bottom line is this: When safety is compromised, everyone loses - employees, friends, families and community. At Dominion, zero injuries will always be our target.

When we fall short, we will work to uncover the root causes and modify our procedures accordingly to prevent a re-occurrence.

The focus we place on employee safety extends to the gas and electric service we provide our customers.

Safety topics are featured prominently and regularly in our print and electronic customer communications — everything from indoor/outdoor safety tips to emergency preparedness to portable generator use. And we work closely with the educational community to teach students how to stay safe around electricity and natural gas.

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Left: When disaster strikes, Dominion is ready to send line crews to repair damaged power lines — even outside its own service area to assist other utilities.

Above: All Dominion employees share the responsibility for knowing and following safe work practices. Here, a welder removes the outer coating from a natural gas pipeline in preparation for tests to detect possible internal corrosion.