Rockford maintenance site earns Illinois Tollway Extra Mile for Safety Award
Illinois Tollway Maintenance Section Manager Brian Fuqua and Maintenance Section Supervisor Aaron Myers give staff at the Rockford (M-7) maintenance facility a lot of leeway in performing their duties as long as it can be done safely.
Equipment laborer operators are asked to provide their input on how to best get the work done, which could include picking up roadway debris, plowing snow, mowing grass or routine maintenance and repairs of electrical equipment, guardrails and fences in the section of the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) from around Genoa Road in Belvidere to near the Wisconsin state line.
“We let them come up with a game plan, but the first question we always ask is can you do it safely?” said Myers.
It’s that “safety-first” approach that helped the Rockford maintenance facility capture the 2023 Go the Extra Mile for Safety Award. Created in 2018, the annual safety performance award is presented to one of the Tollway’s 12 maintenance facilities that achieves the highest cumulative score based on three safety criteria: incident rate, Toolbox Safety Talks and positive feedback from managers and supervisors who observe and document outstanding safety practices.
“All our roadway maintenance staff do truly incredible work on our roadways,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse. “Every day, these professionals rise to the many and varied challenges of maintaining our roadways while putting safety for themselves and their colleagues top of mind. Congratulations to M-7 for taking home the 2023 Go the Extra Mile for Safety Award.”
The Marengo (M-6) and Dixon (M-12) maintenance facilities both had zero injuries in 2023 – a remarkable accomplishment that helped place them second and third, respectively, in the rankings.
What set the Rockford maintenance facility apart in 2023 was the amount of positive feedback staff received for completing tasks safely. M-7, which previously won the award in 2020, recorded 52 instances of positive feedback, twice as much as any other m-site. Positive feedback not only rewards staff, but also reinforces safety performance on the job, said Fuqua.
“That injection of positivity tells our staff that we appreciate the work they do,” said Fuqua. “They put in long, hard hours and you need to pat them on the back and tell them we’re proud of you. Positive feedback goes a long way with these guys.”
In 2023, the Rockford maintenance facility also conducted 56 Toolbox Safety Talks, more than twice as many as the required 24 talks. Once a week, M-7 conducts training sessions on the operation and maintenance of various tools and equipment and discusses various situations maintenance crews might encounter on the roadway. Last year, training included greater emphasis on the safe operation of heavy roadway maintenance equipment such as snowplows, skid steers and dozers.
Toolbox Safety Talks are training resources available to maintenance facilities. Each month, the Tollway Security and Safety Department recommends safety topics for discussion. Topics include the three-contact rule for entering or exiting vehicles, back safety and proper handling of materials and tools such as chainsaws, woodchippers, lawnmowers, jackhammers, concrete saws and acetylene cutting torches.
It also includes watching and discussing the Protect Your Assets series of safety videos, which cover topics including roadway debris removal, proper lifting techniques and moving equipment.