April 1, 2025  | Charmaine Skoubo

Metro Water Recovery has long been recognized for its dedication to safety and employee well-being. Through innovative programs, proactive training, and a strong safety culture, Metro ensures that employees and contractors work in an environment where safety is second nature. We talked with Sunny Bradford and his colleagues at Metro Water Recovery and explored the key safety challenges Metro faces, the measures in place to mitigate risks, and the impact of their wellness initiatives—including a powerful success story that underscores the life-changing value of their health fair.

Building a Strong Safety Culture

One of the biggest challenges Metro Water Recovery faces is fostering an environment where safety becomes second nature. This means ensuring that employees instinctively follow safe practices without hesitation—whether it’s choosing the correct ladder, wearing gloves for a task, or buckling a seatbelt.

To achieve this, Metro’s Safety Team continuously refines company-wide goals that prioritize simplicity, clarity, and engagement. By embedding safety into daily operations, the organization strives to make safety effortless and automatic for everyone.

Addressing Contractor and Employee Safety

Metro’s operations involve multiple ongoing construction projects, bringing a high volume of contractors to its sites. Keeping both employees and contractors safe is a priority. Metro’s approach includes:

• Partnering with the Engineering department and front desk personnel to ensure all contractors receive necessary safety information.
• Having Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) team members attend preconstruction meetings to set clear safety expectations.
• Expanding the requirement for unescorted contractors and vendors to complete a 13-minute Safety Awareness video before receiving a badge.

Additionally, ensuring employees receive up-to-date safety training is a continuous effort. Metro has taken significant steps, including:

• Adding a full-time training position dedicated to safety in 2024.
• Creating a robust training calendar for easier scheduling.
• Moving equipment training offsite to accommodate more employees.
• Implementing diverse training methods, including hands-on sessions, interactive lessons, and coaching.

Proactive Safety Protocols to Reduce Workplace Accidents

Metro operates in both administrative and industrial environments, each presenting unique hazards. To address these, Metro developed a Dynamic Safety System in 2021, moving beyond static, compliance-driven safety programs. This system focuses on real workplace risks rather than just meeting regulatory standards, ensuring that safety measures are both practical and effective.

One example of Metro’s proactive approach is its back and upper body strain prevention program:

• 100% of employees completed site-specific Back Injury Prevention training.
• Metro partnered with Backsafe® to provide hands-on lifting training tailored to real job tasks.

These measures have significantly reduced workplace strains and injuries, demonstrating Metro’s commitment to employee safety.

Health Fairs: A Long-Standing Commitment to Employee Wellness

Metro Water Recovery has hosted an annual health fair for more than 25 years, offering employees and their significant others access to free or low-cost health screenings. What began as a simple blood test has expanded to include:

• Lung function, bone density, and skin analysis screenings.
• Mammograms and hearing tests.
• Immunizations, including flu, TDAP, and pneumonia vaccines.

The health fair provides a critical opportunity for early detection of serious health conditions. Employees who might not otherwise schedule regular check-ups can receive essential screenings conveniently at work.

A Life-Saving Success Story

One of the most compelling testaments to the impact of Metro’s wellness initiatives comes from Ruth Kedzior, Senior Administrative Manager. At a past health fair, a phlebotomist discovered that Ruth had dangerously high blood pressure and urged her to seek medical attention immediately. Ruth recalls:

"The words he used were haunting. ‘Your blood pressure is so dangerously high it is like having a heart attack in the emergency room high,’ he said. I was stunned."

Unable to secure a doctor’s appointment for a month, Ruth eventually sought urgent care after experiencing a vague but persistent “funny” feeling. When an EKG was performed at the ER, it confirmed she was having a heart attack.

Thanks to the early warning provided by Metro’s health fair, Ruth took the symptoms seriously and sought care in time. Today, she is enrolled in a three-month cardiac rehab program and adjusting to life post-heart attack. She expresses deep gratitude for Metro’s investment in employee health:

"Without the information I received through Metro’s wellness program, I would have dismissed an intuitive feeling that something wasn’t right."

A Model Return-to-Work Program

Metro’s commitment to safety extends beyond accident prevention—helping injured employees return to work safely and efficiently is also a priority. Studies show that maintaining a regular work schedule shortens recovery time, so Metro has redesigned its return-to-work program to offer light-duty positions in any department when needed.

Key improvements include:

• Developing a task database that can be filtered by physical restrictions (e.g., seated tasks, one-handed tasks).
• Assigning injured employees productive tasks, such as creating Safety Talks for team meetings.
• Ensuring that no lost-time claim exceeds 24 hours in recent years.

By closely collaborating with healthcare providers and supervisors, Metro ensures that injured employees stay engaged and reintegrate smoothly. Open communication with medical providers helps keep employees at work under safe, modified-duty conditions whenever possible.

A Holistic Approach to Safety and Wellness

What truly sets Metro Water Recovery apart is its Total Worker Health (TWH) philosophy—an approach that integrates safety, health, and well-being into workplace culture. Recognizing that employee safety is linked to overall health, Metro partners with Health Links® from the Colorado Center for Health, Work & Environment to continuously improve its wellness offerings.

By combining physical, mental, nutritional, and financial wellness initiatives with traditional safety programs, Metro ensures that employees are not only protected from hazards but also supported in their overall well-being.

Advice for Other Districts

Metro’s success in safety, wellness, and return-to-work programs can serve as a model for other organizations. Their key recommendations include:

• Engage employees in hazard identification and program development.
• Leverage external resources such as networking events and safety organizations.
• Ensure leadership buy-in to foster a strong safety culture.
• Use innovative training methods to keep safety education engaging and accessible.

As an industry leader in workplace safety and employee wellness, Metro Water Recovery continues to set the bar high, proving that a proactive, people-first approach creates a safer, healthier, and more productive workforce.

For organizations looking to enhance their safety programs, Metro’s success is a testament to the power of investing in employee well-being—a commitment that, as Ruth’s story illustrates, can truly save lives.