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Posted On: 2/23/2026, 3:00:25 PM
Last Update: 2/23/2026, 3:00:25 PM
The Port of Virginia® is enhancing safety through a multi-layered strategy that identifies critical risks at its offices and terminals, emphasises safety as a core principle, and fosters an internal safety brand as a constant reminder for all individuals on port property.
Notably, the Port of Virginia®'s insurance carrier, Signal Mutual, honoured Virginia International Terminals COO Joseph P. “Joe” Ruddy with its Executive Leadership Award for recent efforts.
The award acknowledges the ongoing efforts at the port to enhance safety and decrease injuries, reportable incidents, and lost workdays. Virginia International Terminals, LLC operates The Port of Virginia®.
According to Ruddy, this award reflects The Port of Virginia®'s organisational commitment to enhancing safety culture and operational improvements. He emphasised the objective of eliminating injuries and lost workdays, aiming to position the port as the safest in North America.
Moreover, he indicated that safety is stressed as a fundamental value, with a collective commitment to protect everyone involved with the organisation, including employees, labour partners, guests, and visiting contractors.
The goal is to ensure that all individuals return home in the same condition as when they arrived, highlighting the importance of safety at the end of each day and shift.
Over the past four years, The Port of Virginia® has seen a decline in the number of lost workdays due to on-the-job incidents. Lost workdays are quantified by tracking the total number of days employees are unable to work for every 200,000 hours worked.
Workdays lost in the Port of Virginia® by fiscal year, July 1–June 30:
A Vision for Zero Lost Workdays
Remarkably, Sarah J. McCoy, the interim CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority, reported positive trends in lost workdays over the past four years, underlining the organisation's ultimate goal of achieving zero lost workdays.
Last fall, port leadership launched an initiative to enhance safety culture, creating the brand “We Protect What Matters.” Collaborating with local ILA leadership (International Longshoremen's Association) and various port team members, the initiative aims to identify and mitigate the highest safety risks within the organisation.
The safety initiative consists of:
The ISPS Code Course in London tackles marine security management, which includes threat identification, plan development, security assessments, and authority coordination. It teaches participants how to manage security strategies, increase awareness, conduct assessments, and communicate during security crises.
The Value of Safety in Everyday Homecoming
McCoy highlighted that the Seven Critical Risks and Six Life-Saving Rules were developed through substantial discussions and real experiences. He clarified that these guidelines aim to enhance clarity and effective communication regarding risks, rather than introducing unnecessary complexity or mere compliance. The focus is on identifying situations with the highest potential for serious harm.
He added that this organisational initiative underscores a collective dedication to care for each other, maintain consistent safety practices, and ensure accountability, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that everyone returns home safely at the end of each day.
Every year, Signal presents its Executive Leadership Award to a leader that promotes worker health and safety by establishing a robust safety culture and an enduring safety management system.
Overall, a Signal award description stated, “The recipient sets high safety standards grounded in personal values, demonstrates a sustained commitment to preventing workplace illnesses and injuries, leads safety efforts in a visible, hands-on manner, and develops effective safety initiatives that are implemented across the organisation.”
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