Safety Award
Joey Thompson, Signal System Supervisor with Public Works
Joey Thompson is a Traffic Operations supervisor, and regularly performs unannounced on-the-job safety inspections to observe and ensure that employees are wearing proper personal protective equipment, working in an appropriate work zone, and checking to make sure that overall jobsite safety procedures are being followed.
"Joey leads by example when it comes to safety and is always looking for opportunities to improve job safety and safety awareness," Councilman David Humphries said during the Employee Awards presentation on Feb. 20th.
Recently, an accident occurred when an employee was lifting the hydraulic hammer up off the bed of the service truck with the truck’s crane to drive a sign post into the ground. The hammer got stuck, shifted forward and broke the back glass of the truck. Joey had the garage modify the bracket that holds the hammer in place so that when the hammer is lifted from the bracket, it can't get stuck or shift, thus preventing a situation where someone could get injured or the truck could be damaged, Councilman Humphries said. He changed the SOP for operating the crane while lifting the hammer to the side of the truck, and had a steel mesh welded behind the truck’s rear window to protect it from potential damage in the future.
Joey regularly reminds employees to work safely, and cautions them on potential job specific hazards as a part of his pre-planning “tailgate discussions.” In addition to the division’s monthly job safety training program, Joey also holds quarterly traffic operations-specific safety training for his employees, the award nomination stated.
Joey worked with the Traffic Operations Manager and Division Manager to develop a safety policy for operating a bucket truck during after-hours calls. The new policy requires that a spotter be on-site while an employee is working in a bucket truck making repairs to the traffic signal system.
"I work with a bunch of great guys and I'm very honored to receive this award," Joey said after receiving the award at the City Council meeting.
