Congratulations to FieldCore’s team who have managed the Santa Catarina, Wind Site in Mexico! 5 Years, 0 Accidents!
Santa Catarina is an eight-wind unit site located near Monterrey in northern Mexico. Gabriel Jimenez and Gabriel Coronado have been in charge of this wind farm since 2013 as resident engineers supporting GE Renewables and recently, they achieved five years accident-free!
Santa Catarina Wind Story: 5 Years, Zero Safety Incidents from FieldCore on Vimeo.
Santa Catarina is the first wind farm installed in the north of Mexico and the first one in the country for GE, starting up production on June 1, 2013. Since day one, both engineers encouraged each other and the team to perform at their best to reach the highest levels of quality and keep the site accident-free.
What were the key activities they focused on to stay safe? “I guess there is not a single ‘key’ to reaching No Harm,” said Gabriel Jimenez, electrical TFA of FieldCore Latin America and EHS Coordinator at Santa Catarina. “I am convinced that safety is the most important aspect for any person even when it is not a conscious concern.”
“I am convinced that safety is the most important aspect for any person even when it is not a conscious concern.”
Both Gabriel Jimenez and Gabriel Coronado (“los Gabrieles” as the people of FieldCore Latin America call them), are professionals with a solid background who began work in Santa Catarina almost six years ago. Los Gabrieles were convinced that they were the right people to be hired for the project because of their experience and mindset. Both were hired as Wind Entry Level Technicians, trained in the ELC in Schenectady, New York, USA and performed their OJT in Caithness Shepper Flats in Arlington, Oregon.
They were then integrated into the Santa Catarina project as technicians. Because of their great performance and commitment to delivering world class execution for the client, they were asked to assume the roles of EHS Coordinator (Gabriel Jimenez) and Quality Coordinator (Gabriel Coronado).
Even when one Gabriel oversees EHS and the other one Quality, they consider that both aspects – EHS and Quality – are a joint commitment, because they are a team.
They focus on communicating safety measures to the whole team and visitors and know how critical it is keep everyone safe, not only to reach a goal (five years with no accidents), but also because “safety is for the people, people are not for safety.” Among the actions they took were:
- Developed a flyer which included the key aspects that visitors should know to be safe: to do’s in case of emergency; high risk activities; evacuation route; EHS rules, emergency contacts, etc.
- Conducted safety introductions to all visitors and contractors, focusing on the relevance of go safe to go home. “If in doubt, stop work and ask. It doesn’t matter if you ask one thousand times because of your safety,” they said. “Our main concern is that you go back home, happy and safe to your family and your beloved ones who are awaiting you at home.”
“Our main concern is that you go back home, happy and safe to your family and your beloved ones who are awaiting you at home.”
