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In the News

Another day, another reminder that industrial safety isn't optional.

Two steelworkers died and ten were injured in an explosion at U.S. Steel's Clairton coke plant in Pennsylvania this week. The blast happened at coke oven batteries 13 and 14 during a Monday morning shift.

Now, this is a 392-acre facility with nearly 1,300 workers. That's a massive operation where any safety failure cascades quickly.

The Chemical Safety Board is investigating, but here's what every plant manager should be thinking about right now:

When did you last walk your most hazardous operations?

Timothy Quinn, one of the victims, worked that plant for nearly two decades. Two decades of showing up. U.S. Steel's CEO said all the right things about safety being their "number one priority." But priorities get tested when production targets loom and maintenance windows shrink.

The investigation will reveal what failed mechanically. The harder question is what failed systematically - because explosions like this don't happen in isolation.

Your safety protocols are only as strong as your worst day. Make sure your people get to go home to their families every shift.

"Did you hear that Sam quit last week? That’s three this month. I’m **** tired of training newbies who leave in six months."

Ouch.

I don't think we are alone though. I hear about this exact situation in most plants I go to.

Here's why it's a big deal...

Every time someone walks out that door, you're not just losing a body on the floor. You're hemorrhaging institutional knowledge and sowing discontent in the operations org with each one.

But most companies just treat turnover like bad weather. Something that just happens to them.

That's the wrong mindset. Because it's fixable.

Your people don't leave because of money.

They leave because of managers. Specifically, managers who think leadership means telling people what to do instead of showing them where they're going.
I've watched plants turn this around in 90 days. The secret isn't complicated:

Stop managing tasks.
Start developing people.

Give them real responsibility, not just busy work. Show them how their role connects to the bigger picture. And for the love of all that's holy, start paying people more.

Because the math is brutal.

Replacing that Sam probably cost you 50-75% of his annual salary in recruiting, training, and lost productivity. Multiply that by three departures, and you're looking at six figures walking out your door.

That's not a people problem. That's a leadership problem.

The plants that get this right don't have retention issues. They have waiting lists.

Which category are you in?

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And that’s all folks!

Till next week,

The Industrial Executive