Washington, D.C. — The American Gas Association (AGA) today announced its continuing commitment to promoting a culture of safety among its member company employees and throughout the natural gas utility industry.
During a meeting this week in Washington, D.C., the AGA Board of Directors issued a formal safety statement outlining its commitment to safety across all aspects of the industry.
“A positive safety culture must always begin with the organization’s top leaders,” said John Somerhalder, AGA chairman and president and CEO of AGL Resources, Inc. “Under no circumstance should the safety of our customers, employees or contractors ever be compromised, and management from all our member companies must continue to emphasize and demonstrate that the safety of employees, customers, the public and our pipeline systems is a value that is paramount.”
The AGA Board of Directors’ safety statement highlights a number of key factors that promote and facilitate a culture of safety, including open and honest communications across all organizational levels, empowering employees to identify and act on potential hazards, effectively and appropriately managing the risks inherent to operating natural gas assets and actively engaging in continuous improvement of safety programs.
“As this statement makes clear, AGA and all of our member companies believe that a positive safety culture is one where each individual takes responsibility and accountability for safety in their day-to-day work activities—this is a priority we all share,” said Dave McCurdy, AGA president and CEO.