A Visit With INSafe | Westfield Steel

Maintaining a safe and healthy work environment is something that is always on my mind as Manager of Quality and Environmental Health & Safety at Westfield Steel. It is what I care about the most and honestly what I focus a majority of my time. Making sure we have, and continue to have, a culture of safety is something always on my work agenda.

Recently, we had the Indiana Department of Labor’s INSafe team come and visit our Westfield facility for a safety consultation and assessment. Together we walked through our warehouse and shop to learn what we could do to further improve the safety measures in place for our employees. INSafe consultants survey work areas just like an OSHA inspector, but instead of divvying out hefty fines for safety infractions, they give you guidance on how to correct hazards before someone gets injured. Often times it’s easy to overlook a potential safety hazard when you work around it every single day, but INsafe brings in a fresh, seasoned, set of eyes that can spot things we don’t always see. What we gain is a step forward in ensuring our employees have the safest workplace possible.

We believe safety isn’t something that should stay the same year to year, but that it is something we want to proactively improve upon. Safety is ultimately a part of our culture at Westfield Steel. Taking proactive measures towards safety helps us dig into what potential hazards exist and diminish their chances of affecting our employees.

At Westfield Steel we don’t want to get caught up in getting products moved in and out so quickly that we forget to do it safely. Following safety rules and guidelines should not be viewed as just a legal requirement for our industry. It should be viewed as good sense and ingrained within each steel service center’s culture.

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About Fritz Prine

Fritz is the President & CEO at Westfield Steel. He oversees the daily operations and is involved with the strategic vision of the company. Fritz has been with Westfield Steel since 2007. Before joining the team, Fritz worked with General Electric and GE Capital for 16 years. He started in finance through GE’s Financial Management Program after graduating from Syracuse University. At GE, he successfully moved from finance, to manufacturing, to sales, and then to acquisitions. He relishes in change and enjoys developing people.