Submitted by: Ronald Siau

Location: Harleyville, SC

Situation: General Safety Concern

The NFPA decals on the chemical shed have faded, making it hard to determine the health hazard. We had the decals available, and we replaced them immediately.

Submitted by: David Turberville

Location: Sparta, GA

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

Found a can of window cleaner on a transformer that generates heat. Removed the cleaner.

Submitted by: Damon Barton

Location: Harleyville, SC

Situation: General Safety Concern

During a routine facility safety inspection, the railroad crossing and STOP signs were significantly faded and weathered. The deteriorated condition reduces sign visibility and could impact drivers’ ability to recognize and respond to required traffic controls when approaching the railroad crossing.

The Safety Department was notified of the faded railroad crossing signs, and corrective action was added to the maintenance work list for replacement. The item remains open pending completion.

Submitted by: Damon Barton

Location: Harleyville, SC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

During a routine safety walk inspection, several fire suppression cylinders were observed stored upright without being properly secured with chains or other approved restraints. This condition creates a tipping hazard that could injure employees or damage the cylinders and valves.

Stopped work to address the unsafe condition and notified employees of the importance of properly securing stored cylinders. Secured the unsecured cylinders with appropriate restraints to prevent tipping and reinforced proper cylinder storage expectations with employees.

Submitted by: Sonja McAlhany

Location: Harleyville, SC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situations

Noticed some holes in the floor. Recommend replacing the flooring in the Admin building.

Submitted by: Sheryl Judy

Location: Harleyville, SC

Situation: General Safety Concern

Noticed the cabinet door could fall and hurt someone.

Submitted by: Harold Davis

Location: Tyrone, GA

Situation: Excellence in Safety Practice/Procedure

Identified the need for hard hat chin straps to improve head protection and prevent hard hats from falling off during work. Chin straps were added to enhance PPE. 

Submitted by: Damon Barton

Location: Harleyville, SC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

During a routine safety walk inspection, an employee’s respirator was found lying openly on a shelf inside their locker instead of being stored in its designated protective pouch. Improper storage could expose the respirator to dust, contamination, or potential damage, compromising its effectiveness and respiratory protection.

Work stopped, and employees were made aware of the improper respirator storage. Supervisors coached the employee on proper respirator care and storage requirements. The respirator was decontaminated and stored properly in its designated protective pouch to prevent contamination and ensure readiness for future use.

Submitted by: Leonard Kitchens

Location: Sparta, GA

Situation: General Safety Concern

The truck driver was too close to the gab pile while working on his tailgate. I asked him to get back in his truck and pull forward.

Submitted by: Scott Mixson

Location: Demorest, GA

Situation: General Safety Concern

Steve was running the jaw when he heard a piece of metal go through the jaw. Steve shut off the feed and stopped the C1 conveyor, where a piece of metal was found. If Steve hadn't been paying attention, the metal could have gone through the surge pile and into the cone crusher, causing it to back up and lock down. Steve stopped the conveyor and removed the metal from the belt.

Recognizing: Steve Collins

Submitted by: Jerry Young

Location: Raleigh, NC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

Rock hanging on Conveyor 12. Stopped work and corrected the issue.

Submitted by: Shanteace Sulton

Location: Lexington, SC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

Chairs were removed from the conference room for renovation. They were partially blocking the way to the kitchen. I temporarily moved the chairs to an office until renovations are completed.

Submitted by: Jeff Roberts on behalf of Chris Satterfield

Location: McConnells, SC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

The catwalk at the top of C2 was bent and coming loose from the framework. The catwalk was secured back to the framework. New sections were ordered and will be changed when they arrive.

Submitted by: Shanteace Sulton

Location: Lexington, SC

Situation: General Safety Concern

While walking behind the fence at Spherix, an employee had a close call when a Cintas truck came through the area at a high rate of speed. The driver was unaware anyone was nearby and later admitted he never saw the employee. Fortunately, no one was injured.

This incident is an important reminder that employees may work in or around traffic areas while taking out trash, moving pallets with forklifts, relocating samples, or performing other routine tasks. Drivers must slow down, stay alert, and watch for pedestrian activity at all times to prevent a potentially serious incident. We are purchasing “slow down” signage for the site.

Submitted by: Caroline Marchant

Location: Harleyville, SC

Situation: Excellence in Safety Practice/Procedure

The control room operator was bringing the kiln up when power was lost in ER 2, ER 3, and the Administration building. He immediately radioed to evacuate the tower and burner floor. His gut told him to check the burner gas. Radioed to get it checked, and upon inspection, the gas was on and had to be shut off. The gas is supposed to shut off automatically during a power loss, but it didn’t. Had he followed protocol and fail-safes instead of relying on his gut and doing his due diligence, the results could have been catastrophic.

Submitted by: Matt Barczynski

Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

A blind corner at the end of the berth created a potential for vehicle-pedestrian interaction. We installed a convex mirror to improve visibility around the corner and help prevent incidents.

Submitted by: Clay Reichle

Location: Sims, NC

Situation: General Safety Concern

While walking the plant, noticed a break in the frame of the #57 stacker. Discussed with the Plant Manager. Reinforcement and repairs are being performed right away.

Submitted by: Jerry Young

Location: Raleigh, NC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

While walking the plant, I discovered that the C 28 belt had a hanging return roller, which I immediately fixed. Removed the roller and installed a new one.

Submitted by: Jesse Barr

Location: Jenkinsburg, GA

Situation: General Safety Concern

While cleaning off the dust collector hood for ductwork repair, I noticed parts of the hood are rusted out. This could cause the hood to fall. I roped off the area and notified all plant personnel. Gathered measurements and a plan to build a replacement. Replacement has been built and scheduled for installation.

Submitted by: Jesse Barr

Location: Peachtree City, GA

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

The Sealtite connection separated, exposing wires. I turned off the power and repaired the connection. With power off, I was able to put the Sealtite back into the connector and tighten up the connector, fixing the problem

Submitted by: James Walker

Location: Durham, NC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

I observed a Mayo Transport truck dumping a load of ABCm transfer on top of the stockpile right at the edge of the vertical loading face. Under normal conditions, a berm on the pile prevents transfer trucks from getting close to the face. I had the loader operator reestablish a berm. The root cause of the missing berm is likely that the contract loader operator filling in for vacation last week did not put the berm back after working the pile. Work was stopped, and the issue was corrected. The berm was re-established, preventing dumping trucks from getting too close to the loading face.

Submitted by: Lisa Bauman

Location: Sparta, GA

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

Noticed bench-to-shot access was open on level 340. Secured the bench with 3 barrels across the access.

Submitted by: Jonathan Hildebrand on behalf of Lee Iannantuono

Location: Goldsboro, NC

Situation: General Safety Concern

We have chains around the reactor on the NC Star plants due to hot surfaces, but there are no chains on the ground level to keep personnel away from the eductor lines, only signage saying hot surfaces. Will suggest to add chains on the ground level to keep personnel away from hot surfaces.

Submitted by: Jonathan Cherry on behalf of Jerry Graham

Location: Sims, NC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

While operating the rock breaker/hammer, the operator saw a piece of metal fall off the machine. The operator got to a safe area and called me to come look at the problem. After inspecting it, I told the operator to park the machine out of the way, and I would work with the mechanic to order the parts to fix it.

Submitted by: Harold Davis

Location: Peachtree City, GA

Situation: General Safety Concern

Built a cage for cylinder tanks.

Submitted by: Leigh Morgan

Location: Lexington, SC

Situation: General Safety Concern

I noticed that a tree limb fell in a recent storm & was hanging on the power line connecting my office building to the transformer. I immediately reported it to Pete Murphy, who contacted a contractor to have it removed over the weekend.

Submitted by: Jeff Roberts on behalf of Danny Howe

Location: McConnells, SC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

The inside rear tire was flat once loaded. The tire appeared to be inflated until the truck was loaded. The loader operator noticed it was flat and notified the driver. The tire company was called, and the pressures were adjusted.

Submitted by: Jeff Roberts on behalf of Danny Howe

Location: McConnells, SC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

Signs were not easily visible in their current locations. Moved the signs to improve visibility for customers and employees.

Submitted by: Billy Polk

Location: Harleyville, SC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

Found a broken roller hanging overhead from the conveyor BC-14. After proper LOTO, removed the roller to prevent further damage or injury.

Submitted by: Mike Hair on behalf of Mickey Pipkin

Location: Rocky Mount, NC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

While greasing the bearing at the 7 ft tower, Mickey found the feeder's electrical junction box was missing bolts. Bolts were replaced.

Submitted by: Nathan Duryea

Location: Holly Springs, NC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

EE had a honeybee on his vest and is allergic to bee stings. After observing this, I removed the honeybee from the vest without a sting.

Submitted by: David Perry

Location: Bunnlevel, NC

Situation: Excellence in Safety Practice/Procedure

Instead of using a rag to apply oil to the crusher bowl during manganese installation, the employee uses a sprayer. This way, oil doesn’t get on his hands, metal burr won’t cut him, and he doesn’t have to be close to or under a 12k-pound cribbed-up bowl.

Recognizing: Brandon Brooks

Submitted by: Brandie Fritts

Location: Salisbury, NC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

The B-side washout catwalk pulls up when the drivers step off of it onto the trailer, even with the brake on. The catwalk is then difficult to pull back down because it went up with the brake on. Then the brake won't release again without bouncing the catwalk.

Additionally, the hose and nozzle at washout are not sufficient to rinse off. Both sides drop a lot of ash onto the trailers, and there isn't enough water pressure or volume to rinse it off, especially since the nozzle was changed a couple of weeks ago to some random garden hose nozzle.

Recommendation: Fixing the catwalk instead of relying on the brake, and changing out at least the nozzle so there is adequate flow to rinse the trailers.

Submitted by: Charles Horton

Location: Holly Springs, NC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

The return roller was hanging from one end on C3 conv. This created an unsafe condition for anyone walking below. The area was blocked off to foot traffic

Submitted by: Charles Horton

Location: Holly Springs, NC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

A contractor installed the conveyor drive motor and failed to remove the lifting eye. this could cause an unsafe condition if it were used to tighten vbelts. The night shift will remove the eye at the end of the production shift.

Submitted by: Charles Horton

Location: Holly Springs, NC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

The gearbox shaft had an unguarded keyway cut, which could have caused injury. The area was blocked off until the night shift could build a guard.

Submitted by: Charles Horton

Location: Holly Springs, NC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

Safety catch cable on the surge feeder was clamped incorrectly; never “saddle a dead horse “ photo of correct and incorrect clamping attached. Night shift will correct at the end of the shift.

Submitted by: Jeff Roberts

Location: McConnells, SC

Situation: General Safety Concern

A small tree had grown in front of the "one way, do not enter" sign. Could have caused a vehicle to exit the wrong way into oncoming traffic. The tree was cut and removed from blocking the sign.

Submitted by: Jeff Roberts

Location: McConnells, SC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

The tarp rack at the entrance road had overgrown shrubs and trees growing through the stairs and railing, blocking access to the platform. Cut and removed the trees and shrubs. Access is now restored for proper use.

Submitted by: Jeff Roberts

Location: McConnells, SC

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

The electrical switch cover was unsecured and could have been pulled off, exposing a potential electrical hazard. Tightened the screw and secured the cover.

Submitted by: Christopher Collins

Location: Toccoa, GA

Situation: General Safety Concern

Step broke on the scalping screen platform. Work was stopped; the issue was not immediately corrected, but we caution-taped off the area until repairs are completed.

Submitted by: Christopher Collins

Location: Toccoa, GA

Situation: Unsafe Condition/Situation

Fellow employees weren’t wearing their gloves while unclogging the 4.25 crusher. Stop work authority was exercised, and we discussed the importance of hand safety. I went to the office to retrieve some gloves for the employees.

Submitted by: Eddie Hernandez

Location: Sims, NC

Situation: Excellence in Safety Practice/Procedure

The new water truck lacked wheel chock brackets and wheel chocks. Installed and ready to run.

Submitted by: DeCarlos Macon

Location: Moncure, NC

Situation: Excellence in Safety Practice/Procedure

During a recent Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) activity, the supervisor provided his team with clear direction and expectations regarding the safe execution of the work. Despite these instructions, he discovered that two team members were not following the established LOTO safety requirements.

This was an excellent safety catch because the supervisor recognized a serious LOTO violation and took immediate action before it could result in an injury or serious incident. Despite providing clear expectations, he identified two employees not following established procedures and immediately stopped the work.

Rather than allowing production pressures or limited staffing to influence his decision, he put safety first, coached the employees, and enforced accountability through appropriate disciplinary action.

What makes this a great catch is that the supervisor didn't just identify an unsafe condition; he took ownership, eliminated the immediate exposure, and prevented the situation from escalating.

This is proactive safety leadership at its best: recognizing the risk, having the courage to intervene, and proving through actions that no production goal is worth compromising someone's safety.

Recognizing: Thomas Edwards

Submitted by: Justin Gordon on behalf of Clarence Stephens

Location: Bolingbroke, GA

Situation: General Safety Concern

Spot that needed a handrail at the jaw. Stopped work; corrected the issue by adding a handrail.

Submitted by: Matt Bowen

Location: Athens, GA

Situation: Excellence in Safety Practice/Procedure

Chris was inspecting stockpiles on a customer’s staging yard. He noticed a truck driver having a heart attack. He immediately called 911 and administered aid until paramedics arrived.

Recognizing: Chris Worley

Submitted by: Samuel Justice

Location: Leeds, AL

Annual Fall Festival

Situation: Community Engagement

Leeds Plant 120th Anniversary 1906-2026

Submitted by: Eddie Hernandez

Location: Sims, NC

Annual Fall Festival

Situation: Community Engagement

Sims, NC, 6th Annual Fall Festival. HM donated 500 Pumpkins and was present to hand them out to the community. We also donated 450 Candy bags and 350 HM bookbags with a hard hat, safety glasses, and a coloring book. We also donated a Pellet Smoker for the raffle giveaway.

Recognizing:

• Chris Cheshire

• Cheryl Floyd

• Tommy Lee Edmundson

• Noah Stancil

• Elizabeth Hernandez

• Haylee Hernandez

• Debra Whitley

Submitted by: Samuel Justice

Location: Leeds, AL

Backpack Buddies

Situation: Community Engagement

Leeds Plant hosted its Annual Charity Golf Tournament at the Silo's Golf Club for employees and vendors, raising $5,500 for Backpack Buddies.

Backpack Buddies is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting childhood hunger by providing food to students who face food insecurity outside of school hours. Inspired by a nationally adopted model, the program discreetly supplies children with backpacks filled with easy-to-eat, nutritious food each weekend, ensuring they return to school on Monday ready to learn, grow, and thrive.

Recognizing:

• Samuel Justice

• Kimberly Rose

• James Stiles

Submitted by: Christina Hartigan

Location: Sumter, SC

Sumter eSTEAM Festival

Situation: Community Engagement

Members of the GRR Sumter, "Activities and Awareness Team" participated in the local eSTEAM festival where they shared their love for science and manufacturing by making slime with 1000+ children and adults. They went above and beyond, making the event fun and engaging for children while also educating visitors about GRR and environmental sustainability.

Recognizing:

• Terry Blakely

• Drico Talford

• Bethany Laverdiere

• Rahdajah Mickens

• Natasha Atkins

• Victoria Duncan

• Christina Hartigan

• LaTonya Pugh-Corbett

• Brianna Washington-Stuart

• Kitani Martin