BNSF Railway Co. has named 15 safety coordinators in its south region as Safety Employees of the Year. They were all recognized for their efforts at BNSF’s annual Employees of the Year ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas.
John Krueger, locomotive engineer and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen safety coordinator, accepted the honor on behalf of his 14 co-workers in the south region.
The annual Employees of the Year program is designed to recognize employees who demonstrate BNSF’s vision and values through their commitment, leadership and focus on working safely and efficiently to meet customer expectations. Their achievements positively affect BNSF customers, fellow employees, owners and the communities served by BNSF. Of the more than 40,000 team members across the company, 52 employees were recognized during the ceremony for their individual and team achievements in 2015. An additional 40 BNSF employees were acknowledged for their safety leadership last year – all of whom led teams that worked throughout 2015 without a reportable injury.
“Our Employees of the Year program is a way to recognize our people for outstanding efforts and results. I’m grateful for the south region’s safety coordinators’ hard work and dedication,” said Carl Ice, BNSF president and chief executive officer. “They are a reflection of our entire team’s commitment to always remaining focused on safety, serving our customers, and delivering on the integral role we play in moving our global economy forward.”
Based in Kansas City, Kan., Krueger joined BNSF nearly 40 years ago and started his current role as a safety coordinator for the Kansas Division’s BLET 11 years ago. Krueger is responsible for establishing a weekly communications to track the division’s safety issues resolution process. “My goal is to make a difference and I want people to go home and have no life-altering events,” Krueger said.
For well over a decade at BNSF, a team of safety coordinators, jointly chosen by their unions and management, have been focused on reducing risk and creating a safer workplace. These safety coordinators represent and support safety initiatives for their respective unions, divisions and regions. They have played a crucial role in building a safety culture of commitment by helping facilitate training, sharing ideas for making the workplace safer and engaging employee-led site safety teams.