November 12, 2024 - “Safety is everyone’s responsibility” was the underlying message at Freeport’s recent Health and Safety Summit. The three-day event held at the company’s Hub in Phoenix in late October brought together more than 100 health and safety professionals from company sites around the globe.
The summit provides a forum for health and safety professionals to discuss common issues, industry best practices and opportunities for improvement through presentations and panel discussions. The event kicked off with a keynote address by Kathleen Quirk, President and Chief Executive Officer.

“I like to think of this group as our guardian angels – you keep us all safe,” Quirk said. “But the safety team is not solely responsible for everyone’s safety … safety is everyone’s responsibility.”

Reinforcing that sentiment on day two of the summit was Maree Robertson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, who reiterated safety is integral to every aspect of the business and everyone’s responsibility.

“I’m a very big, passionate believer in managing risk,” Robertson said, stressing the importance of embracing safety every day. “I truly believe that safety should be a value. It is our priority. It should be something that we should truly hold very close to our hearts.”

Being the best at the basics
The theme of the summit was Being the Best at the Basics in Support of Safe Production. Presentations and discussions covered a range of topics, from training and technology to setting clear expectations and measuring success. Some session highlights included:

• A presentation from motivational speaker Garrison Wynn, who shared that while rules and processes are important, it’s ultimately up to employees to drive safety culture and establish the best chance of success.
• Conversations lead by international site representatives on safety programs, technology and best practices.
• A panel discussion of site general managers emphasizing the importance of leadership involvement in safety and being vigilant in identifying risks.
• A Fresh Voices panel featuring newer employees and their first-hand perspective on onboarding, the company’s safety culture and areas for improvement.

Employees also had the opportunity for networking and learning more about one another through fun team-building activities. In her closing remarks, Stacey Koon, Vice President-Safety, Health and Technical Training, encouraged the team to continue to get to know the people they are working with and trying to keep safe.

“We need to think about the different ways we engage with people, the different things that are important to them, the things that make them tick,” Koon said. “They want to be safe. They want to do good work. When we talk about being the best at the basics, it means doing the work in a safe manner, not something extra we do on the side.”