Today is World Day for Safety and Health at Work. This is a day that promotes the prevention of occupational accidents, injuries, and diseases globally, and to celebrate we wanted to share with you some “behind the scenes” of our Health and Safety Program. At Vitalus Nutrition, the safety of our employees is essential to us because we know that caring for each individual’s physical, mental, and emotional health enhances our work culture, reduces workplace injuries, and increases productivity. We do this through a robust Health and Safety Program that is supported by our management team. Our CEO, Phil Vanderpol says, “We want our employees to arrive at work healthy and ready for their day ahead and to leave equally healthy to enjoy time with family.” 

We want to introduce Jenna Clarkson, our Health and Safety Officer at Vitalus Nutrition.  Jenna is invested in each employee’s well–being through her dedication and engaging work style. She is very reliable, personable, and charismatic within her role. She is instrumental in ensuring that the foundations of our program remain compliant with regulations, our staff continues to be trained, and it can protect our people during a crisis. COVID-19 has not only emphasized this but validated the value in investing in a robust Health and Safety program to protect our employees.  

Jenna’s job is more important than ever. She continues to focus on enhancing our workplace inspection programs, promoting monthly safety crew talks, leading the Joint Health and Safety Committee, and completing daily walk-throughs of the Dairy Plant promoting communication amongst our employees and Managers. 

Workplace Inspections  

We don’t complete workplace inspections to meet regulations; we do them because we care. We are proactive and communicative with employees as we know it is crucial to include all employees within the inspection process. We believe regular workplace inspections are not only a compliance requirement but serve a higher purpose of reducing injuries and improving productivity.   

Safety Topics 

Training is essential; it helps to prepare employees to perform their job duties safely and to build a strong safety culture. Jenna issues two safety topics per month for the Supervisors and Employees to review. Jenna makes these topics relatable to work and are usually based on our Health and Safety Program elements. These topics include training on subjects such as “Pallet Wrapper Safety” and “COVID-19 Office Safety”.   

Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC)  

We believe a successful Joint Health and Safety Committee helps develop proactive workplace attitudes, build stronger relationships between employees and management, and opens the lines of communication. The focus for our JHSC this year is to further develop the committee by providing additional training opportunities to all members, as well as frequently reviewing and providing input regarding our Health and Safety Policies and practices.    

Daily Walk-through   

Daily walk-throughs are an easy and effective way to connect with employees daily. Jenna completes one daily walk-through each shift. She looks for potential changes and hazards, which is a critical task for identifying risks within the facility. She also connects and builds relationships with each employee who is working on the plant floor. The employees are welcome to provide feedback and encouraged to share when they see possible improvements. 

Jenna believes we are all better together, working together, to a safer and healthier workplace. We are thankful to have someone passionate about keeping our employees safe so that we can be confident in how to safely perform our roles at Vitalus and know that our well–being is a top priority!