Safety-First Choice

As a safety management major at Slippery Rock University, Shayla Wilkinson used the same equipment that professionals are using on the job. Her experience would not be possible without the mutually beneficial partnership that SRU has with MSA Safety, a global leader of products used in the safety industry to protect people and facility infrastructures.

MSA is one of several companies that sees SRU as a first choice for partnering. They’ve donated equipment, offered training, funded professional development opportunities and provided other resources to SRU, along with having their name on the high bay construction lab in the Strain Safety Building.

When Wilkinson started her internship in the safety department at Vesuvius Penn, a local manufacturer for the steel industry, she was already trained on MSA products that her company uses.

“I’m a hands-on learner and using this equipment set me up to be successful in my internship,” Wilkinson said. “Everything that I used in the lab at SRU we use at Vesuvius Penn, from the cranes and the forklifts, to having the confined space training.”

In her classes at SRU, Wilkinson used the MSA XTIRPA confined space entry and rescue system which is used to lower workers vertically into tanks, manholes and other confined spaces. The system alone is worth $13,000 and is part of the more than $450,000 that MSA has donated in the last decade.

“For more than 100 years, MSA Safety has been a company dedicated to one mission, and that’s helping to keep people safe at work,” said Becky Trimpey, director of global training and Americas services and solutions at MSA Safety. “By providing the SRU safety management program with equipment that students can use for experiencing real-life safety situations, we’re able to extend our mission by helping to train the next generation of safety professionals.”

SRU’s commitment to collaboration has expanded educational, learning and growth opportunities that benefited other industry partners. They include 70E Solutions, Falcon Power, Fire Fighter Sales & Service, Holder Construction, Kokosing Construction, New Pig and Rockford Systems, all which have naming rights for spaces in the Strain Safety Building, as well as more than 20 other companies that have donated everything from safety harnesses and lifts to computer software. Representatives from these companies regularly speak to SRU classes and provide training.

“These partnerships bring a lot of notoriety to SRU and our program,” said Joe Cali, professor of safety management and department chair. “We are recognized as one of the best safety programs in the country because our students benefit from us having top-notch instructors, a network of alumni working in the field and access to equipment and training. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.”

SRU students like Wilkinson see the benefits and are getting involved. Wilkinson was president of the SRU student chapter of the American Industrial Hygiene Association, and she pursued several trainings and certification outside of her course requirements.

“We have a great program at SRU that goes beyond gaining knowledge,” said Wilkinson, a native of Washington who will graduate after her internship is completed this fall. “Without all the connections I’ve made and the experience with the equipment, I would be lost.”