Port Of Virginia Strengthens Safety Culture To Reduce Injuries And Lost Workdays

The Port of Virginia® is using a layered approach to strengthen safety throughout its operation by identifying the most common critical risks at its terminals and offices, emphasize safety as a core value and creation of an internal safety brand that serves as a continual reminder for everyone on port property.

The effort was recently recognized by Signal Mutual, the insurance carrier for The Port of Virginia, which presented its Executive Leadership Award to Virginia International Terminals Chief Operating Officer Joseph P. “Joe” Ruddy.

The award recognizes the effort underway at the port to emphasize safety and reduce the number of injuries, reportable incidents and lost workdays. (Virginia International Terminals, LLC, is the privately-held terminal operating company for The Port of Virginia.)

“This award is not about an individual, but what The Port of Virginia® is doing, as an organization, to get better and create a culture of safety across the entire operation,” Ruddy said. “It is our goal to eliminate injuries, lost workdays and the like, and become the safest port in North America.”

“Safety is a core value here and as a team we are coming together to ensure that we protect what matters, which are the people that work here, our labor partners, our guests and the contractors coming to and from our facilities and offices. At the end of every day, of every shift, people should be going home in the exact same condition in which they showed up.”

Lost workdays is one of the safety metrics used by the industry and during the last four years, the number of lost workdays at The Port of Virginia, as the result of on-the-job industry, is decreasing. (Lost workdays are measured in the total number of days an employee could not work against every 200,000 hours worked.)

The Port of Virginia, lost workdays by fiscal year, July 1 – June 30:

• 2022 = 1.82 days
• 2023 = 1.83 days
• 2024 = 1.37 days
• 2025 = 1.04 days
• 2026 = 1.09 days (as of Feb. 2026)
• 2026 goal = 0.91
• OSHA industry average = 1.4 days

“We are trending in the right direction, in terms of lost workdays, and have been for the last four years, but the goal is zero,” said Sarah J. McCoy, the interim CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority.

Last fall, port leadership announced an organization-wide initiative to ingrain safety even more into the port’s culture. Since then, the port has created a safety brand, We Protect What Matters, and has collaborated with local ILA leadership (International Longshoremen’s Association) and port team members from across the organization to better understand where the highest risks are and how best to mitigate them.

The safety effort includes:

• Creation of critical risks and life-saving rules
• Recognition for those going above-and-beyond standard safety practices
• Identifying and marking potential hazards
• Safety audits
• Safety briefings for guests
• Annual safety training (CPR, first-aid, etc.)
• We Protect What Matters messaging campaign

“We had a lot of conversations, grounded in real experience that led to the identification of our Seven Critical Risks and Six Life-Saving Rules,” McCoy, said. “These risks and rules are not about adding complexity or checking a box. They are about clarity, using common language to recognize risk, communicating more effectively and focusing our attention on the situations where the potential for serious harm is greatest.”

“This organizational effort reflects our shared commitment to care, consistency, and accountability. Care for one another, consistency in how we approach safety and accountability to make sure everyone goes home safe at the end of the day.”

Signal’s Executive Leadership Award is an annual award given to an executive who advances employee safety and health through a strong safety culture and a sustainable safety management system.

“The recipient sets high safety standards grounded in personal values, demonstrates a sustained commitment to preventing workplace injuries and illnesses, leads safety efforts in a visible, hands-on manner, and develops effective safety initiatives that are implemented across the organization,” said an award description from Signal.

Press Release

Source: Maritime Shipping News