Document p6bVRmXRYMV6KVqX3LqzwZ3j

Author: BETH L RUSERT at MONSL316 Date: 12/10/97 3:10 PM Priority: Normal TO: SUSAN M CANNON at MONSL316 TO: GLYNN PUBLIC AFFAIRS YOUNG at MONSL316 CC: CHRISTY BETH BECKMANN at MONSL316 CC: GLENN S RUSKIN at MONSL316 Subject: Solutia Now Article --------------------------------------------------------------- Message Contents ------------------------------------------------- Below is an article for Solutia Now. Please publish as soon as possible AFTER Dec 12. Thanks. Beth Anniston Plant Reaches One Year Without a Recordable Injury On Dec. 12, the Anniston, Alabama, plant became the first manufacturing site in the new company Solutia to reach one year without a recordable injury or illness. "Our employees should be very proud of this significant accomplishment," says Blake Hamilton, site manager. He explains that there are three activities that assisted Anniston in reaching this safety milestone. First, the site leadership team and the local 125 International Chemical Workers Union committee accepted leadship for safety and worked hard to ensure that ownership was felt throughout the entire plant. Second, the site established a network of safety business teams with individuals representing all functions of the plant to address safety issues and concerns. Third, a team of employee volunteers reviewed the behavior based safety processes, and spent a great deal of time discussing the concept with other employees. This helped begin the education process on how positive behaviors drive and facilitate the prevention of injuries and illnesses. The Anniston site will actually implement this program beginning in 1998. "We are focusing on encouraging safe behaviors and preventing unsafe behaviors at all of our sites throughout Solutia. Good safety numbers are important, but our energies need to be directed to encouraging the safe behaviors that lead to good numbers," says Max McCombs, environmental, safety and health director for Region I. He explains that the process for implementing a behavior based safety program includes identifying safe and unsafe behaviors, gathering appropriate data on existing behaviors, providing positive feedback on those existing behaviors, and removing barriers that prevent people from exercising safe behaviors. "I'm proud of the active management commitment to safety that we have at Anniston," says Hamilton. "I'm equally proud of the high degree of employee involvement in our site's safety process. We'll continue to improve and I'm confident we can become the first plant in Solutia to go two years without a recordable." DSW 133571 STLCOPCB4033529