School is Back; The Weather – and Clocks – are Changing, but Safety is Still First

School has started, the Pacific Northwest rains have arrived and the clocks are changing. For Comcast technicians, those factors combined means making sure we’re practicing safe habits and being extra careful on the roads.

We take different approaches depending on the seasons, which each have different challenges. With winter comes harsh weather, but autumn brings us our most unpredictable pedestrians; rambunctious school kids heading on and off buses, walking to school, and running around near busy roads. We train our drivers each school year so that we can make sure they’re prepared and contributing to Comcast’s culture of safety—one that continually evolves and improves.

“Safety is about employees and the communities where they work and live,” explains Jamal AbuSneineh, Comcast Oregon/SW Washington’s safety manager. “Making sure everyone, especially children, are safe and our employees go back home to their families are our top priorities.” With 400 Comcast trucks on the road in this region on any given day, Jamal has safety on the mind every moment.

At Comcast, we’ve set our sights on word-class safety standards, and we work tirelessly to achieve our goals. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

“Everyone must be involved and participating from the top to the bottom of the organization,” explains AbuSneineh. “There’s a focus on culture and compliance with leadership and a focus on well-being and competency with the front-line.”

Mindfulness may be a popular buzzword these days, but it’s not psychobabble. Mindful driving is a way to increase awareness in the vehicle and prepare for split second reactions that can be the difference between a sudden stop and a collision.

“A mindful driver is someone who’s alert, who’s always scanning, who’s always looking for potential hazards,” explained AbuSneineh.

Friendly competition is another way we encourage our employees to engage with trainings and stay enthusiastic about being cautious. The coveted Monthly Golden Safety Award recognizes the team that accomplishes the most safety activities and has the best safety record. In addition to encouraging employees to meet standards, we empower them to go above and beyond.

We also invite our communities to be the judge of our driving. Every time an Xfinity truck passes your home, take a look at the “How’s my driving?” sticker on the back door. While 20% of the calls we get are compliments, we take the ones that aren’t very seriously. We process them as they’re received and make sure that there’s coaching and training assigned to drivers as needed.

Safety is important to us. Each employee has their own reasons to be cautious on the road, and ensure they go home to their families. “At the end of my safety presentations I often show a picture of my two year old granddaughter,” said AbuSneineh “I work safely for her.”