Community quality of life begins with safety

Good jobs are essential. They provide income and security to people and families, which strengthens communities. That is why the new Panasonic electric vehicle battery facility in De Soto, Kansas matters.

When the project was announced in 2022, Panasonic Energy said in a press release that the facility “could create up to 4,000 new jobs.” Rick Walker, the mayor of De Soto, wrote in a commentary that the benefits of this facility go beyond the jobs. Those benefits include diversified income for the community and new infrastructure, among others. Walker describes development projects like this as “the surest way to enhance a community’s quality of life.”

Before the community sees those benefits, it will see the benefits of a safe workplace during the construction of the facility. This is due to a safety partnership agreement that the contractor Turner-Yates signed with the OSHA Wichita Area Office and the Kansas Department of Labor Division of Industrial Safety and Health.

The partnership establishes safety goals and outlines strategies to achieve them. Some of those strategies are conducting regular safety reviews and meetings, ensuring that workers and supervisors are appropriately trained in safety practices, and allowing worker involvement in the safety process.

“This agreement shows TY’s commitment to workers throughout this project. All workers, including the subcontractors, will be safer on this jobsite because of this agreement,” said David McDonnell, OSHA compliance assistance specialist in the Wichita area office.

There will be some specific benefits for Turner-Yates and its workers because of this partnership. For example, TY will prioritize safety and health complaints by phone in lieu of on-site inspections. Also, TY can contact the Wichita area office to clarify any workplace safety and health issues. OSHA will also connect the contractor to the area safety consultation program as an additional safety resource.

“Strategic partnerships help employers protect their workers by allowing OSHA to be part of the safety solution from the beginning,” said Todd Underwood, OSHA area director in Wichita. “This partnership creates opportunities for everyone involved.”

Mayor Walker sees this battery facility as something that will enhance the quality of life for the community. The partnership agreement that TY signed with OSHA says that, “Creating a working relationship between OSHA, TY, and trade partners will enhance employee safety and health specific to this project and nationally through education and the sharing of best practices.” Long before the community sees all the benefits of the quality of life that the mayor wrote about, the community will benefit from a safe jobsite because the workers who go to that site every day will go knowing that everything is being done to make sure they go home at the end of their shift.

Visit osha.gov/partnerships to learn more about the OSHA Strategic Partnership Program.