(The following story by Mark Young appeared on The North Platte Telegraph website on June 7.)
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — He’s called the John Wayne of safety facilitators for Union Pacific and that’s because it took “True Grit” to get accomplished what few thought could happen – 1.3 million man hours without an injury and cooperation between union and management.
Dave Gilbert is quick to remind everyone that it was the unions of the railroad that stepped up to a former shop director’s challenge in finding a way to enhance safety, but the challenge of building a bridge between union and management often inspire legendary stories.
Gilbert was the man who facilitated the new safety system recommended by the unions, but that meant that he often had to work closely with management to get the job done and that created some difficult times.
“Everyone that has been here long enough remembers some very dark days through this process,” said Joe Santamaria, vice-president and head of transportation for Union Pacific. “There were a lot of trust issues, but there was one guy that was able to bridge that gap.”
Turning to Gilbert at Thursday’s retirement party where the machinist officially ended a 40-year career with Union Pacific, Santamaria said, “You hung in there when no else would. Everyone in the Union Pacific owes you a debt of gratitude.”
Approximately 11 years ago, Union Pacific was still dealing with a lot of injuries that were historically high while working in an extremely dangerous environment. Gilbert, who began his career in 1968 recalled one year where there were 1,300 injuries among the 5,000 employees working in Union Pacific shops in North Platte, “most of them severe injuries,” he said.
It seemed that the five different unions representing employees of Union Pacific and management just couldn’t come up with a way to improve safety and a former shop director finally put the challenge forth to the unions, saying, “If you can find a better way, then do it.”
And they did.
According to Larry Earnshaw, director of safety and environment for the mechanical department, the unions found a company called Safety Perfect Solutions, which specializes in changing the thought process within a working environment.
The end result was a process called Total Safety Culture, or TSC and Gilbert became the facilitator of the program in 1996. Earnshaw said Gilbert deserved to be recognized for his 40 years of service, but also deserved recognition for bringing management and employees together to meet a common goal.
“We were struggling in this shop with safety issues,” said Earnshaw. “The TSC process is basically four steps. First, show you care about safety for one another. Second, get feedback from one another. Third, change your behavior and the last step is empowerment.”
Earnshaw said that what the program comes down to is to look out for one another at all times.
“Previously, it was kind of up to the manager, but now it’s everyone’s responsibility and that change in thinking has led to 1.3 million of man hours injury free. It all started at this shop and now it’s spread to 64 shops across the company and several service shops. Dave was the first facilitator for the process.”
Earnshaw said that it took Gilbert’s determination to stay the course during rough times that made the program what it is today.
How rough it really became wasn’t something either side wanted to talk about in detail, but both sides acknowledged that it was a rough time period as unions and management clashed, with only Gilbert in the middle, steadily building a bridge while on an island between the two sides.
Gilbert acknowledged that it was rough at times, but will look back over his 40 years with great fondness.
“It’s been fun, a great ride,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of changes over my 40 years. It’s a lot safer now because we worked together. It was a team effort between management and employees. Now it’s everybody working together to be safe.”
Brian Odell spoke with Dennis Duffy, Vice President of Union Pacific. Odell delivered a message from Duffy who said because of Gilbert’s efforts, this is how Union Pacific will do business in safety.
“He was at the helm when TSC started,” said Odell.
Gilbert was honored Thursday morning at the Diesel Facility at Bailey Yard where many employees, managers and family stood at his side. The program implemented is working well in keeping Union Pacific employees safer and Gilbert continued to say that the credit goes to the unions.
But the honors given and words spoken up through the ranks of Union Pacific tell the real tale. Without Gilbert’s efforts, the program had no chance of blossoming into the safety procedures in place today.