National Safety Month: Fayetteville Works Builds a Stronger Safety Culture Through Employee Participation
A strong safety culture is built when every employee has a voice.
At Kuraray America, Inc.'s Fayetteville Works site in Fayetteville, North Carolina, safety is not viewed as one person’s responsibility. It is part of the site’s daily rhythm, shaped by employees at every level who are encouraged to speak up, ask questions, and take ownership of safer work.
For Ross Crews, Plant Manager at Fayetteville Works, every workday starts with safety in mind. That mindset is reflected in how the site talks about safety, reviews concerns and involves employees in identifying opportunities for improvement.
As part of the sites First Impression Analysis (FIA), Fayetteville identified both strengths and growth opportunities to continue improving. The FIA highlighted:
✅ There is a high safety awareness across the work process
✅ A strong speak-up culture
🛠️ Opportunity: Further strengthen confidence that employee input consistently leads to visible action
As Fayetteville begins launching its Safety Culture Improvement Team (SCIT), the site is using those FIA learnings to continue strengthening how employee safety input is discussed, reviewed and acted on.
One action item tied to that opportunity is making employee safety input more clearly connected to action. At Fayetteville, near misses are taken seriously, reviewed and shared with the plant through one-page summaries. During monthly safety reviews, employees are invited to discuss near misses, review action items, and provide input based on what they see in the field. Safety is also discussed daily and remains the first topic during quarterly plant meetings, reinforcing that employee input is part of an ongoing conversation, not a one-time report.
This focus builds on an employee-led foundation that was already in place before SCIT officially launched. Fayetteville had an Employee Safety Team made up of employees from across the site, including shift technicians, lab employees and staff members. Team members had the opportunity to participate in field audits, identify hazards, and bring safety concerns back to the group.
One Area Safety Audit identified the hazard of stacking items on high shelves. While it may seem like a small observation, it served as an important safety reminder and raised awareness around the everyday hazards that can be easy to overlook.
As KuraSafe continues to evolve at Fayetteville Works, the focus is not only on strengthening systems, but on strengthening the everyday conversations that protect people. For Ross and the Fayetteville team, safety starts before each shift, before each task and before each decision. It is built through employees who are willing to speak up, look out for one another, and take action when something does not feel safe.
At Fayetteville, “safety is the cornerstone of everything we do” means safety comes first, every time.