Education Leaders Get Safety Lessons From Toyota To Be Used On Campuses

BLUE SPRINGS, MISS. (WCBI) – Some North Mississippi education leaders are getting a lesson in safety at the Toyota plant in Blue Springs.

The company had a brief shutdown during the pandemic, but reopened with new policies and procedures to ensure a safe working environment. Now, plant workers are sharing their expertise and assistance with local schools.

Representatives from North Tippah, Monroe County and Tupelo schools were outfitted with masks, face shields and caps, before they saw the safety protocols Toyota put in place to keep its workforce safe.

Some of those measures include thermal imaging cameras, which records a person’s temperature and displays it on a screen, an isolation area for anyone who may feel sick, and barriers at desks, tables or other areas where people may gather.

“The barriers in place, we have set a standard across the shop, said Jerry Bailey, who is Senior Manager of Safety at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi. He helped develop the “Safe at Work” plan. He led the tour of school administrators to show them what can be duplicated on their campuses and how Toyota can help put it into place.

“We’re open to discussions of any way we can help, whether it’s funding, materials, education, we also have some very skilled individuals that can help build some materials for the schools, there’s a lot we can provide the community, we want to make sure we’re there for them,” Bailey said.

In fact, Toyota team members have made and donated thousands of face shields for teachers in schools across the area. All school administrators say this school year is unlike any other and any assistance and advice from Toyota will mean safer schools and communities.

“Getting some new ideas on how they work in the process, of how they are keeping their staff safe so they can continue production, several items we will take back to the team, discuss those and try and implement some of those across the district,” said Charles Laney, director of operations for the Tupelo Public School District.

“Very impressed about the strategies, and protocols Toyota has put in place, there are some things we can take back to our schools for consideration, such as barriers, looking at thermal imaging, something we are interested in,” said Monroe County School Dist. Supt. Brian Jernigan.

Each school district representative on the tour got a copy of Toyota’s “Safe at Work’ Playbook. The automaker says they will help other school districts implement safe policies and procedures on their campuses.

Toyota Mississippi is running at full capacity, with about 750 cars coming off the assembly line daily.