For the second time this month, officials from across Shell Oil Co. are travelling to Arkansas for a comprehensive safety training seminar hosted by Coulson Oil Co.
On Tuesday, June 28, Coulson Oil will lead a safety class as part of Shell’s Global HSSE (Health, Safety, Security and Environmental) initiative. The meeting will focus on best practices in regard to safety for all employees. Earlier this month, on June 8, Coulson Oil presented a safety class for Shell and Coulson Oil employees as part of Shell’s National Safety Week.
“We are honored that Shell has asked us to help lead them in these safety training workshops,” said David Zakrzewski, president of Coulson Oil Company. “Safety is one of our four core values at Coulson Oil, along with integrity, service and innovation. Whether we are loading a tanker, driving to customer stores or repairing equipment, the safety of our team, our dealers and their customers is our top priority. It’s a commitment we share along with Shell Oil.”
According to Shell, the company has launched a nationwide program to strengthen its safety culture for all its employees. Known as Goal Zero, this initiative includes a pledge on the company’s behalf to attain no lost-time accidents throughout 2011. Last year, with its strong emphasis on safety, Shell achieved its best-ever year in safety performance.
“Goal Zero captures the belief that we can operate without fatalities or significant incidents despite the often difficult conditions in which we operate,” said Shell’s Area Manager, Rick Powell. “This includes improving our safety leadership skills. The training offered through Coulson Oil is most helpful in that effort.”
This is the first year that Coulson Oil has hosted safety training for Shell representatives. The day-long session, held the first week of June, included a variety of topics, ranging from the basics of first aid treatment to performing CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and the proper use of an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) machine.
Richard Cannon, Coulson Oil’s safety director, said the classes were aimed on how to immediately handle on-site injuries or health issues before seeking medical attention from a doctor or while waiting for emergency health professionals to arrive on the scene. In the area of first aid, topics covered things from simple cuts and abrasions on how to stop or minimize bleeding, and from animal bites to sprained joints, or how to handle patients in shock.
“We offered hands-on training on all the safety topics we covered,” Cannon said. “This wasn’t just verbal instruction. Members of the class acted as the injured persons, and the other members administrated the first aid techniques, including performing CPR.”
While the June 8 session was Shell’s fifth official Safety Day, Powell said that no other session was as informative – or hands-on – as the training the Coulson Oil team provided. The training day was held at Coulson Oil facilities in North Little Rock, as is the one scheduled for June 28. Employees participating from Coulson Oil came from all areas of the company. This included executive staff, field representatives and fuel tanker drivers.
The trainer for the CPR and AED sessions was Danielle Duncan, account representative for eMED, Inc. Based in Little Rock, Arkansas, eMed Inc. is a life-enhancing company and leading provider of automated external defibrillators and emergency response products. eMed Inc. is on the forefront of improving the lives of those facing sudden cardiac emergencies.
Coulson Oil is well-known for its focus on safety. In 2010, the company achieved a milestone in the safe transportation of gasoline and diesel fuels, completing more than 1,200 days of operations without a lost-time accident. In an average year, the company carries as many as 170 million gallons of fuel and travels as many as two million road miles.
The company has received numerous awards in recognition of its safety record. These include:
• The Grand Champion Award for Safest Fleet from the Arkansas Trucking Association.
• First Place for the Safest Tank Truck in the Intermediate Carrier Division from the Arkansas Trucking Association.
• Fleet Safety Award by Raffles Insurance Ltd., given in recognition of driving between one million and four million miles without a single accident.
• Silver Safety Award by Raffles Insurance for achieving the second-highest points score for the wholesale operations category for 2009.
North Little Rock-based Coulson Oil Co., founded in 1969, is a multi-branded distributor of gasoline and diesel fuels in Arkansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma. Through a network of more than 200 dealers, Coulson Oil markets branded fuels from Shell Oil, ConocoPhillips, Valero Energy and Sinclair Oil, as well as unbranded fuels.
