Entergy 2005 Annual Report Download - page 13

A REVIEW OF
SAFETY
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SAFETY DEFINES OUR SUCCESS. PERIOD.
Of all the bad news we experienced last year, the worst was the
loss of six lives – one Entergy employee and five fellow industry
employees – in the service of our customers. Three of these
fatalities occurred during storm restoration efforts. Nineteen of
our employees and 35 contractors experienced a lost-time
accident in 2005 – far too many. Again, a substantial number
occurred during storm restoration, but that is no comfort
or excuse.
Nothing good ever comes out of an accident unless it means
future accidents or injuries are prevented. By the nature of our
business, the margin for error can be very small. Yet we firmly
believe that every accident is preventable. Since people make
mistakes, accepting the idea that every accident is preventable
means every person has a responsibility to look out for every other
person. Our employees understand and accept that responsibility.
We have set a company-wide goal of an accident-free work
environment and we are developing system-wide solutions to
meet our goal. In 2006 and beyond, we will continue to re-examine
our procedures and re-double our focus on safety.
end of 2005, $1.8 million had been awarded to more than
2,200 individuals and families – including 293 Entergy
employees – all thanks to your generous contributions.
TURNING LOSS INTO OPPORTUNITY
The costs of Katrina and Rita are too large to fully
measure. Lives lost, families scattered, property damaged
or destroyed – it’s difficult to truly comprehend the
magnitude of the loss. Yet we – as a company and as
individuals – have come through this experience stronger
in many respects.
We learned ways to improve our safety practices and
we will continue to relentlessly focus on safety until we
can perform every job without accident or loss of life.
We gained a greater appreciation for the improbable and
will develop new strategies to mitigate risk throughout our
organization. We learned much about how to respond to
overlapping catastrophic events that we will incorporate
in our future planning and preparations.
Most importantly, we came to appreciate that building
a diverse culture where everyone is valued and feels
appreciated is an investment that never fails. We will build
on that culture with the limitless individual human
potential to do better what we do best – safely generate
clean, reliable, affordable power for our customers.
We can use the experiences of 2005 to build a stronger
Entergy. And that is just what we are doing.
Robert v.d. Luft
Chairman
J. Wayne Leonard
Chief Executive Officer
marks for its initial response.”
– The New York Times
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