WHO WE ARE

At Philly Shipyard, Inc. (PSI), safety is personal and our credo is clear: We fundamentally believe that all incidents are preventable and safety is everyone’s responsibility; and we promise to be relentless in our pursuit of an injury-free workforce by creating and maintaining safe working conditions and never compromising safety for anyone, anywhere, at any time.

And yet, in 2023, PSI experienced its first fatality in the history of the organization. There remains a void in our hearts and our yard, and we will never be the same as we were before that day. We carry on with our unwavering commitment to the above credo. We are still united by our pledge to protect one another, and to be allies, in our pursuit of an injury-free workforce.

Throughout the year, PSI dealt with challenges big and small; however, along with those challenges came many rewards. From increased challenges with subcontractors to addressing increased regulatory requirements, the Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) department helped guide the organization toward continuous improvement by utilizing industry proven best practices.

In July, the shipyard had five vessels under construction at various stages throughout the yard. This is the highest amount of activity the shipyard has ever had, and in correlation, the highest recorded number of man-hours and a record number of workers. In the post-pandemic era of labor shortages, the workforce mix was made up of more subcontractors and less PSI employees than we have seen in the past.

One of the biggest safety challenges with this type of workforce mix is contractor safety management. To address this challenge, PSI’s HSE team worked closely with the contractors providing assistance to ensure all workers have the knowledge and tools necessary to work safe on a daily basis.

To further support the workforce, the HSE Department added a bilingual trainer to our staff to conduct a variety of classes for our non-English speaking employees and subcontractors.

This included courses in general shipyard safety, forklift operation, fire watch, mobile elevated work platform operation, and more. The HSE team conducted a record number of trainings in 2023, leading approximately 70 classes. The Emergency Response Team (ERT) continues to play an important role in the shipyard.

In 2023, the total number of ERTs increased to over 30. This is an all-volunteer force with members comprised of production supervisors, material control specialists, outfitters, and apprentices. ERT drills were planned and conducted on a monthly basis to give team members practice on techniques including high angle and confined space tank rescue, fire and medical emergencies and chemical spills.

PSI also underwent safety and environmental audits performed by regulatory and insurance agencies. As with any audit, there is always room for improvement, but no significant findings were noted. PSI also witnessed a significant uptick in safety observations in 2023 as more users were added to the reporting system. This is a positive sign as the HSE team uses these leading indicators to prevent incidents at the shipyard.

As the company’s formal ESG program developed last year, the HSE department was proud to be track leaders supporting the various environmental material topics, including water impacts, air emissions, and climate and greenhouse gases (GHG). Elevating the “E” in HSE is something we are honored to team up for, and we are looking forward to the journey.

As we move forward in 2024, I look forward to working with management, employees and subcontractors on finding ways to continuously improve worker safety to ensure everyone goes home safely.

Carl W. Danley

Health, Safety and Environment Director

This statement was originally published in Philly Shipyard’s 2023 Annual Report – view here.