The Team concept has given us numerous opportunities for improvements over 
the past several years with Team members continuing to be recognized and 
rewarded for their positive efforts and accomplishments. As accomplishments 
are made, trust and responsibilities increase, and the Team experiences 
growth, maturity, and the associated rewards.

A part of this growth and maturity must include the realization and 
acceptance of the Teams responsibility to monitor and enforce Company 
policies and procedures. As you heard from me in 2000, I will protect those 
who are complying with and enforcing our requirements, but I have zero 
tolerance for those who choose not to do so. Along with the rewards for 
positive efforts, there are also consequences for those who fail to act when 
circumstances call for action. 

During the year 2000, several ETS employees received disciplinary action as a 
result of their failure to act and/or ignoring safe work practices. These 
cases were distributed to all employees in the form of a Safety Bulletin. It 
has been my intention that we all learn from these instances to make our work 
place even safer. 

As we publish this first, and hopefully only, Safety Bulletin in 2001, I 
would like to share with you two instances from last year.

After repeatedly counseling a fellow team member observed violating several 
safety requirements (including hard hat, safety glasses, FRC), one Team took 
action, which ultimately resulted in this person being discharged. While this 
may seem to be a harsh outcome, it is much better than the person injuring 
themselves, or even worse, a fellow team member. This person had others 
expressing concern over his well-being and chose to ignore the warnings. 
Individual team members acted on their responsibility and the team as a whole 
accepted their accountability.

In the second case, a team member chose to drive a Company vehicle without 
using a seatbelt. The employee was involved in an accident ejecting him from 
the vehicle, causing injuries that could have been prevented if the seat belt 
would have been properly used. This employee is lucky to be alive. Use of 
seat belts by all occupants of Company vehicles is one of the most basic 
elements of our program and has been a requirement for over 20 years. As the 
use of seat belts is habit forming, could this have been the first time the 
employee failed to use them? Is it possible that other Team members had 
observed this failure in the past and not acted? Could this have been 
prevented through positive interaction? Had positive interaction been taken 
but ignored?

When the Declaration of Interdependence was introduced in 1998, we made the 
commitment to each other that we would be our Brothers and Sisters Keeper and 
to remind each other of the need to comply with safety requirements at all 
times. While some employees may feel uncomfortable enforcing our 
requirements, that does not relieve the person from their responsibility. 
Likewise, a Team is responsible and accountable for the actions (or lack of a 
required action) of each Team member. Each individual team member and the 
team as a whole are responsible for the outcome and any disciplinary action 
that management may be required to take.

Please assist us in creating the safest work environment possible.  Our most 
important personal goal should be to do whatever it takes to arrive home 
safely each and every night, and should expect nothing less from peers or 
members of your leadership to hold you accountable for doing just that.