Monica Shaw
is Technical Editor
Pulp & Paper

Bill Johns and the basics of safety

With all the attention paid to product prices, industry consolidation, and other topics relating to financial performance, the topic of safety--one with very personal implications--can often get lost in the shuffle. Although poor safety practices can have a negative financial impact, their most visible and immediate effects are on the person injured and those around him or her.

While giving the keynote address at the Pulp & Paper Safety Assn.’s Professional Devel-opment Conference this May in San Antonio, Serge Sorokin, vice president and operations manager for Champion Inter-national in Sartell, Minn., noted that managers must approach the subject of safety “personally and with a lot of dedication.” Also, he expressed his vision for safety at the Sartell mill: “I expect all employees, including myself, to spend time and personally get involved in safety every day.”

As Sorokin points out, safety truly comes down to the behavior of the individual, whether manager or employee, as well as that person’s individual commitment to and knowledge of safe working practices.

ABOVE AND BEYOND. One person who has truly embodied this personal commitment to safety within the paper industry is the outgoing executive director of the Pulp & Paper Safety Assn. (PPSA), Bill Johns. Since he took the position in 1987, Bill, with the help of his wife, Mary, has dedicated extreme amounts of time and effort toward the PPSA’s goal of helping its member locations, both large and small, reach safety excellence.

The PPSA was originally formed as the Southern Pulp & Paper Assn. in 1943. In the early 1950s, Bill became an active member of the organization while working for the Georgia Kraft Mill in Rome, Ga. After holding several positions as a member, he was appointed the full-time position of executive director in 1987.

Through Bill and Mary’s leadership, the association has grown from 187 member locations in 1988 to 371 in 1999. During their tenure, the association’s incident rate de-creased from an average of 10.031 to 4.847. At its 50th annual conference in 1993, the association dropped its designation as “Southern,” reflecting its expanding membership base.

Many of these improvements can be attributed to the hard work Bill and Mary put forth towards developing and organizing the association’s annual conference, which provides presentations on safety and regulatory topics, as well as awards for safety excellence among its members. In addition, Bill and Mary also arranged quarterly meetings and produced quarterly reports. During their tenure, these reports grew from stapled sheets containing incident rates and lost time accidents to a color magazine format that also incorporated OSHA topics and other educational information.

A LEGACY OF COMMUNICATION. Despite the work in collecting and disseminating safety data, a somewhat impersonal task, Bill retained a very personal atmosphere of sharing and communication within the PPSA. Former general chairman Mike Osteen of International Paper notes that “with Bill, there is always communication. You can disagree and there are no hard feelings.” While known for his professionalism and attention to detail, something that has surely been a factor in the success of the association and improved safety programs at member locations, one important contribution has been in the organizational culture Bill initiated.

By creating an open and family-like atmosphere, as many PPSA members describe, Bill and Mary continually emphasized that data they reported had very real implications for those involved and injured. As past general chairman Jerry Reynolds, formerly of Union Camp, noted, “Bill allowed the PPSA to grow while maintaining a family culture. I thank him for teaching us how to take care of our own.”

Reynolds’ comments came as part of special recognition and farewell presentation to Bill and Mary at the May conference. Many others pointed to the type of culture the two have fostered for the association, such as former general chairman Frank Cordier of Smurfit-Stone Container, who designated Bill and Mary’s legacy as “the personal and caring nature” that pervades the PPSA.

It was very appropriate for Sorokin to stress personal involvement in safety on the eve of Bill Johns’ PPSA retirement. By dedicating his time and knowledge, as well as fostering communication within his own organization, Bill has impacted the lives of thousands of paper industry employees by exemplifying the very basics of safety.