Devon Energy Emphasizes Safety in San Angelo Training

Fleet trucks gleamed in the morning sunlight in the McNease Convention Center parking lot Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, when Devon Energy josted safety meetings for their direct employees and subcontractors.

Over a three day period, Devon Energy, ranked 56 in Fortune’s Top 100 Companies to Work For, brought 1,100-1,200 employees from as far away as Odessa into San Angelo for the training. In addition, Devon Energy invited the Concho Valley Workforce Development Board and Chamber of Commerce to be present for questions.

“We’ve been fortunate to work with Devon ever since they started looking for east Permian regional offices,” said Phil Neighbors, President of the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce. “They’ve already had a big impact on the community, funding things like stock show and rodeo premium sales, chamber events and community events.”

Neighbors had information on rentals, organizations and other useful information about San Angelo, as well as being there to answer any prospective questions a Devon employee might ask.

Mike Buck, Executive Director of the Concho Valley Workforce Development Board, was present at the meetings to answer questions as well. Buck was impressed by the company’s attitudes toward safety, as well as San Angelo.

“Devon is very safety conscious,” he explained. “They used three days to bring safety to mind, and address all the safety issues for the past year.”

Buck detailed one thing the company emphasized, known as the ‘stop work call’, which means, that if someone thinks that something is not right, they have the ability to shut everything down to make sure everything is functioning as it should be. 

“It could be that someone’s not wearing their hard hat, or that a machine doesn’t seem right,” Buck explained. “Even the low man on the totem pole can voice concern.”

Buck mentioned that just the economic impact of Devon hosting the safety meetings in San Angelo is quite a sum, and Neighbors agreed that the meetings were good, but building a headquarters was that much better.

“Devon has chosen to make this the regional office and they’re building a 40,000 square foot building on Christoval Road,” he said. “They are going to continue to have a major impact on San Angelo.”

Neighbors and Buck explained that Tim Raley, Production Supervisor of Devon Energy, loves San Angelo and wants to bring more of Devon Energy to town. The meeting was a part of a continued effort on both parts to make the safety-conscious company a part of San Angelo.