Coworkers: Dave Dobson

Keeping a proactive safety attitude is something we encourage for all our coworkers—not just for individual safety, but for the safety of everyone. Dave Dobson in Strategic Development recently took it upon himself to ensure safety was put first.

When the Ozinga headquarters parking lot reached capacity, we worked with the Village of Mokena to use part of a neighboring Metra commuter lot to help with overflow. The new parking situation helped to ease parking needs, but now meant coworkers would need to cross the street and traverse the existing parking lot to get to the building.

On paper, the plan seemed simple enough: The Village would provide a crosswalk so Ozinga coworkers could safely walk from the street to the office. However, there was one persistent issue: Rough terrain with protruding tree roots between the crosswalk and Ozinga lot. It was a trip hazard waiting to happen.

Dave was quick to notice the issue. “As we were looking at the installation of the new crosswalk, I could tell it wasn’t enough; people needed a safer route.”

Dave talked to Greg VanderVelde, VP of Strategic Development, and was encouraged to find a solution. “We called PDJ Contractors and came up with a safer solution,” said Dave.

A new sidewalk clear of any hazards or obstacles went in almost immediately.

“It’s nice to see that someone already had a safe solution in mind before I even brought up the issue,” said Jeff Emrick, Director of Safety and Compliance.

Ozinga cares about and invests in maintaining the safety of our workplace, and the path our coworkers take to get there. Keeping proactive safety at the forefront of all we do benefits us all and leaves a positive impact on other coworkers.