Spectra Energy Presented with the NETS Road Safety Achievement Award
Vienna, Va. – Spectra Energy is the recipient of the inaugural NETS Road Safety Achievement Award. The award was presented at NETS’ 9th annual STRENGTH IN NUMBERS® Fleet Safety Benchmark Conference in Chicago, Ill., October 14. Kevin P. Wright, manager, corporate environment, health and safety, accepted the award on behalf of Spectra Energy, one of North America’s leading pipeline and midstream companies.
Motor vehicle crashes are consistently the leading cause of death in the workplace. The NETS Road Safety Achievement Award recognizes a member company for advancing the road safety of its employees, their families and the communities where employees live and work.
Spectra Energy received the award for its “Driven 2B Safe” program, implemented over a four-year period. Starting in 2011, with leadership support, the company provided resources and assembled a team that spanned the organization, including members from the communications, operations, health and safety, fleet, project management, human resources, and labor relations groups. Spectra Energy also benchmarked other NETS member companies, across industries, to identify areas for improvement and subsequent implementation.
“Driven 2B Safe” has three main components: Branding and organizational focus, training, and the use of telematics technology to provide drivers with immediate feedback following a high-risk driving act. Since the program’s implementation, the preventable collision rate has dropped 36 percent across the Spectra Energy organization, which manages a fleet of approximately 2,500 vehicles, most of which are light duty.
“Our singular objective throughout the process of implementing ‘Driven 2B Safe’ was, and continues to be, safety above all else. We want our employees to get home safely at the end of each day,” said Paul Rietdyk, vice president, engineering, construction and storage and transmission operations at Union Gas, a Spectra Energy company. “During the program’s development phase, we had the invaluable opportunity to work with fleet safety professionals from other organizations. We identified a number of best practices used by other companies and applied them to our program. We wrapped these proven initiatives together in a way that integrated communications and change management with training and technology. Applying the best of what others do today has allowed us to be successful.”
“We were pleased to receive a field of nine very competitive submissions from NETS member companies, all advancing road safety within their respective organizations,” said Jack Hanley, NETS’ Executive Director. “Spectra Energy’s program stood out because it was a long-term project with significant leadership engagement that combined people, processes and technology. It was also an excellent demonstration of what can be accomplished when you look outside of your own organization to learn from others.”
About Spectra Energy
Spectra Energy Corp (NYSE: SE), a FORTUNE 500 company, is one of North America’s leading pipeline and midstream companies. Based in Houston, Texas, the company’s operations in the United States and Canada include more than 22,000 miles of natural gas, natural gas liquids, and crude oil pipelines; approximately 300 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas storage; 4.8 million barrels of crude oil storage; as well as natural gas gathering, processing, and local distribution operations. Spectra Energy is the general partner of Spectra Energy Partners (NYSE: SEP), one of the largest pipeline master limited partnerships in the United States and owner of the natural gas, natural gas liquids, and crude oil assets in Spectra Energy’s U.S. portfolio. Spectra Energy also has a 50 percent ownership in DCP Midstream, the largest producer of natural gas liquids and the largest natural gas processor in the United States. Spectra Energy has served North American customers and communities for more than a century. For more information, visit www.spectraenergy.com and www.spectraenergypartners.com.
About NETS
NETS is a 501(c) 3 organization, a partnership between the U.S. Federal government and the private sector. Established in 1989, NETS is dedicated to improving the safety of employees, their families, and members of the communities in which they live and work by preventing traffic crashes that occur on-and-off the job. The NETS STRENGTH IN NUMBERS® road safety benchmarking program brings together socially responsible companies in a collaborative spirit prepared to compare findings and share what they’ve learned. The program is for all types of companies and organizations— large or small, U.S. or global, public or private. NETS Board member companies include Abbott, AmeriFleet Transportation, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, The Coca-Cola Company, Hess Corp., Johnson & Johnson, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, Monsanto Company, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Group, Shell International Petroleum Company and UPS. In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health serve as federal liaisons to the board of directors.
