Several members of the SPX Transformer Solutions’ North Carolina operations and management teams attended the Eastern Carolina Safety Council’s Quarterly Meeting and Safety Talk Contest on March 22, 2018, including Bill Weidner, who won 1st Place in the regional competition by presenting his original Safety Talk entitled, “You Don’t Know or You Don’t Care”. Bill works in Final Assembly in the Goldsboro plant on 2nd shift and now has the honor of representing the company and regional council at the statewide competition being held on May 16, 2018 in Greensboro.
Safety talk contests occur annually in the state of North Carolina, first at the regional level and then at the state level. Each regional safety council conducts a Safety Talk Contest, with the winning speaker participating in the Statewide Safety Talk Contest. This statewide contest is a major event in conjunction with the annual North Carolina Statewide Safety Conference, where regional winners deliver their safety and injury prevention messages to thousands of employees throughout North Carolina. Both the North Carolina Statewide Safety Conference and the regional safety councils promote participation in these annual contests.
Each year, all regional safety councils certify their winners to participate at the next statewide conference. Any employee up to a first line supervisor is eligible to participate except training personnel and safety/health professionals. The participant may choose any topic addressing on-the-job accident prevention as long as it is directed to the speaker’s fellow employees, and the message can be delivered within 5 to 7 minutes. Additionally, the presentation must be original for that year’s regional contest.
Bill developed his presentation based on personal experiences while serving in the U.S. Air Force on the flight line, where he handled and delivered bombs to fighter planes. “My staff sergeant at the time had a very simple philosophy when it came to safety: either you don’t know or you don’t care,” said Bill. Throughout his presentation, Bill shared stories from his military days that easily relate to all work environments. These clear examples made a big impression on the regional safety council’s judges and should translate well at the upcoming statewide competition, where he will compete against seven other participants from across North Carolina for the top award.
