Bickers Compressor Station’s long-term milestone underpinned by long-time employees

Kenny Snow has been Bickers Compressor Station’s Maintenance Mechanic for all 27 years of the streak and then some.

6月19日是弗吉尼亚州比克斯压缩站一个普通的日子.

普通之处在于它标志着该站的10分,美国规定的连续第000天无可记录伤害.S. 职业安全与健康管理局. That means there hasn’t been a work-related injury or illness resulting in medical treatment beyond first aid or days away from work since 1993.

肯尼·斯诺, 谁的记忆和闪电本身一样令人印象深刻, 碰巧还记得受伤的地方.

“A young employee who had only been here a short time slightly injured his hand while we were moving some inventory around. He was only off for one day of work,” recalled the station’s long-time Maintenance Mechanic.

The employees overseeing Bickers’ operations have since become accustomed to “living safety.” They show up prepared to do their job and leave the station each day healthy and happy. 但他们并不认为安全是理所当然的, and the streak is only growing longer—around 170 days have passed since the station hit 10,000.

It’s no coincidence that the streak parallels the 30 consecutive years Kenny has served as Bickers’ Maintenance Mechanic. He began his career at the station in 1980 but worked elsewhere on the Columbia Gas Transmission footprint after the station was shut down in the mid-‘80s amid poor natural gas market conditions. He rejoined the station in his current role after it was rebuilt and commissioned in 1990.

In total, Kenny has dedicated almost 36 years to Bickers and nearly 40 to Columbia. 在那段时间里, 他“很幸运能为很多好人工作, 有很多好的监督,他说. “We’ve worked well together, and management has given us what we’ve needed to do our jobs 安全.”

肯尼很快就把功劳给了他的队友, 尤其是现任接线员杰森·克莱恩, 和他一起在比克斯工作了12年. 目前安全记录的其他贡献者是团队负责人Bill Isner, 工程师特洛伊·哈洛, A&电子技术员Shannon Dean和管道工Kenny Deavers.

Another Bickers mainstay and key contributor to the station’s safety record has been Greg Claytor, 东区安全顾问. 在哥伦比亚大学的33年里, 格雷格负责从切萨皮克开始的区域, 维吉尼亚州, 对花岗岩, 马里兰, 比克斯在他的职责范围内待了15年.

Greg’s observed that the attitude of the station’s employees has been instrumental to its safety success. 这是对细节的关注, 专注于手头的任务, 还有永远守望彼此的承诺, 他说.

“这些压缩站与世隔绝，”格雷格说. “So, other than contractors or other people from the outside who come in to do work, 他们基本上每天才见面. 那个车站就是他们的世界.”

An aspect that’s unique about Bickers’ culture is the camaraderie among its staff. “和我一起工作的大多数人都是当地人，”肯尼说. “有些人是一起上学的. 我们一起做家庭活动——一起打球. 随着时间的推移，你们开始关心彼此.”

The positive environment is a big reason Kenny has remained at the station for so long.

“I turned 65 a couple months ago, and I said I’d never work a day over 65,” said Kenny. “但是，你知道，我真的很喜欢我的工作. I'm in my hometown—born and raised here—and take a lot of pride in the station.”

肯尼计划继续工作到2021年，然后将其称为职业. 在这一点上, 他会过上他应得的退休生活，包括打猎, 钓鱼, and farming amid the picturesque backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains as well as traveling to other, 不太熟悉的地方.

在这篇文章发表的时候, Greg has already ridden off into the sunset and officially retired—streak intact. 他和他的妻子计划回到西弗吉尼亚州住几年, and "golf will be at the top of my list when the weather breaks in the spring,他说.

在过去三十年左右的时间里，比克斯发生了很多变化. 这是20世纪80年代末的情况(左). 今天(右)从类似的角度来看.