Our business employs people who routinely work near energized wires, intense heat, nuclear fuel, heavy equipment, moving vehicles, pressurized pipes, and under other conditions that require exceptional safety attitudes and measures. Though it is vitally important to provide electricity to our customers, there is no occupation worth risking the safety of an individual employee.

Target Zero

A few years ago we adopted Target Zero, a company program aimed at instilling individual responsibility for safety. Now, safety briefings are the first order of business at large employee meetings. And for many employees whose jobs carry a higher risk of injury, that's how they start each shift. It's a simple reminder to these employees of how important they are to the company and to their families and coworkers.

No matter the job function or the level of risk a job carries, every Southern Company employee is reminded often that working safely is a requirement. Before each job, we identify hazards and determine how to avoid them. We go over safety details with all employees who will perform the work. While working, we watch out for each other and start corrective actions if we see unsafe conditions. Reporting safety concerns is rewarded and protected, to remove any fear from employees to do so.

In 2009, Plant Bowen, the fourth largest electric plant in the nation (source: eia.doe.gov), operated without a recordable incident. The employees at Plant Bowen serve as an example. In total, more than 25,000 employees across our system achieved Target Zero.

Incremental targets have been in place since 2006. In 2009 we met our lost workday rate target of 0.1 (0.09) and approached our ambitious recordable incidence rate target of 0.62 (0.67), both considerable improvements over past years. See Performance for details.