The Day We Will Remember: Ricky Rollins Talks Safety at PNSY

Over four days in early May, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard hosted keynote speaker Ricky Rollins, who gave a presentation he calls "The Day We Will Remember" on the importance of safety.

After 36 years of working in the steel industry, Rollins became a motivational safety speaker, sharing personal accounts of events that have affected him, family, friends and co-workers.

To a crowd of civilian and military shipyard workers, Rollins shared a few stories about severe injuries that he and his coworkers endured because they weren’t taking the correct safety measures required for their job.

Throughout the presentation, he focused on key themes that he summarized as "Ricky’s Serious Seven" at the conclusion of his presentation.

Ricky’s Serious Seven

1. Learn from others. If you or a co-worker has an idea to make a job safer, speak up or listen to their suggestions. Teammates understand their day-to-day work best. Use your influence.
2. Set a positive example. A choice made in a single second can have lifelong ramifications. Every individual must take responsibility to protect those around them.
3. Don't let ego, pride or stubbornness interfere with safe operations. Take time to plan correct procedures and never take shortcuts, regardless of experience level.
4. It’s not about you — it’s about making the right choice to put safety above everything for everyone to be safe. Prioritize the safety of the entire team. A moment of negligence is never worth the burden of explaining a serious injury to a teammate’s family.
5. Be your brother’s keeper — it takes two. Safety requires active partnership. Familiarity with a specific procedure does not mean it remains the safest or most effective method.
6. Just do your job. Professional execution requires safe execution. Individual choices in the workplace carry direct and lasting consequences.
7. We will never remember what we did that day. Production, time and financial metrics are never worth risking a life. Shortcuts do not justify the risk of serious or fatal injuries.

These seven guidelines serve as important reminders for every employee across the shipyard. Rollins urged the audience to carry these lessons forward into every shift, emphasizing that as the backbone of shipyard operations, everyone plays a critical role in looking out for one another and maintaining a safe work environment.