At UPS, we are serious about safety. This year we are welcoming more than 1,600 building mechanics and porters from around the world into the inaugural class of Safe Work Heroes. These UPSers have all worked at least five years injury-free and now proudly wear a patch showing off that honour.
The new programme specifically recognises professionals from Buildings & Systems Engineering (BaSE) – the global team behind the scenes that keeps more than 60 million square feet of UPS facilities in tip-top shape.
Working around heavy machines and powerful tools means safety is vital. That is why in the U.S. alone, we invest more than $260 million and operations employees participate in five million hours of safety training per year.
Watch the video to see how these UPSers earned their distinction.
Bob Olson joined UPS in 1972, and can often be heard reminding his partners, ‘don’t rush … do it as fast as you can, as safely as you can’. Over those 50 years, he has had three daughters and a granddaughter.
When he is not cracking jokes, Bernard Horbrook uses his position as Local 701 lead shop steward to be a safety role model. Outside UPS, Bernard oversees 33 youth programmes for different churches in the Chicagoland area, starting up trade programmes for at-risk and urban communities with the help of volunteer tradesmen and tradeswomen.