POWERGRAMS

6 Take several tennis balls, basketballs and buckets, add some motivated Supply Chain Management professionals, deem it a competition and you have the makings of Alabama Power's first-ever Safety Skills Challenge. Western Division kicked off the competition that is making its way to other divisions before pitting the winner of each later this year. "This is a great opportunity to show off some of your skills and have some fun," Ed Barnes, area inventory manager for Western Division, told the competitors as they kicked off the event. Participants are challenged to navigate forklifts through orange safety cones topped with tennis balls both forward and backward, careful not to knock any of them off. All the while, they are moving a pallet stacked with buckets or picking up and moving basketballs using only the forks. Once on the forklifts, the balls are deposited in a garbage can in one of the challenges or elevated and dropped through a 12-foot-high basketball hoop in another. Beyond the dexterity and concentration required on the three timed forklift events, the challenge includes a walk through the warehouse, where workplace hazards have been intentionally created in hopes competitors will recognize and identify them. After tallying up the points earned from the hazard recognition along with any penalties that came from bumped tennis balls or dropped basketballs, the competitor with the best overall time is crowned the winner. In the Western Division after the three forklift events, a single second separated the two leaders, making the hazard recognition all the more important. In the end, Tom Fondren, materials coordinator in the Centreville/Reform center, claimed the top prize, edging out Danny James, utility assistant in Tuscaloosa. Matt Roberson, materials coordinator in Tuscaloosa, came in third. Others who competed were Bryan Argent, materials coordinator in Tuscaloosa; David Blanton, materials coordinator in Fayette; John Evans, materials coordinator in Jasper; Bob Fuller, materials coordinator in Haleyville; Marvin Johnson, materials coordinator in Demopolis; Marion Scott, materials coordinator in Tuscaloosa; and Bobby Swindle, materialman in Tuscaloosa. Argent was the newest Western Division employee in the competition, having started in the last month. He said the competition is a unique way to reinforce safety. "I think it's great," he said. "We get to work on safety skills almost without realizing that's what you're really doing." Scott was the only female to compete. She said going up against the 98-degree temperature was worse than going up against her male colleagues. "It was challenging and the heat didn't make it any easier," she said. "But I would have to say it was fun." Johnson has been working at Alabama Power for 30 years. He likes seeing the new Safety Skills Challenge add a competitive element to the workplace. "We're not lifting and hauling basketballs every day, but we do drive forklifts every day," he said. "This made it more interesting." Coy Fredd, Storeroom Operations manager, said mixing fun and competition with useful safety training is a great way to deliver the safety message in a different way. "They've been talking smack to each other leading up to the competition," Fredd said. "But they understand this is a piece of our safety plan. It gives them the lesson of safety while they try to have a little fun." Supply Chain Management Director Jim Scott said he embraced the idea of the Safety Skills Challenge. "To focus in on safety and have fellowship with one another like this is really great," he said. "Everything we do revolves around safety, and this is no different. The approach to it is what's different." Once the winner in each division is crowned, all of the winners will square off in a finals competition. (See Powerlines for a complete list of winners.) By Mike Tomberlin May the fork be with you TARGET ZERO SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS PUT SKILLS TO THE TEST Photo by Mike Tomberlin Materials Coordinator Argent maneuvers forklift to pick up a basketball in one of the challenges.

• Cover