Erick celebrated his 35-year anniversary in June.
When Erick Cooper onboards new hires at our lumber mill in Plymouth, North Carolina, he makes sure to emphasize his favorite motto: Make safety personal.
“I tell them, ‘If you don’t remember anything else I go over in this week’s activities, I want you to remember one thing, and that is to make safety personal,’” he says. “If you make safety personal when you come to work every day, you’re going to do everything within your power to do your work the right way — the safe way.”
Erick says this approach also enables employees to look out for themselves and their coworkers, creating a safer workplace for all.
As Plymouth’s safety lead, this goal is always top of mind for Erick, who’s responsible for providing safety leadership and guidance for the mill’s approximately 165 employees.
“The proudest moment of my career was when we received a 2024 safety award for going 362 consecutive days without a recorded injury,” he says. “My personal goal is for us to go a full calendar year without anybody getting hurt. I really believe we can get there.”
In his free time, Erick is assistant coach for the Washington County High School Panthers boys’ basketball team.
MEET ERICK
Your title is safety lead. What do you do?
I’m pretty much the righthand man to the safety manager. When we have new hires, I handle their onboarding. I like to tell them, “We want you to come and put forth an effort safely and leave safely — maybe a little dirty, maybe a little tired, but taking home everything that you brought.”
On a week when I don’t have new hires, I attend a morning meeting to talk through any issues our night shift had and to discuss any upcoming issues for the day shift. Then it’s boots-on-the-ground time. I visit every department in the mill. And that’s why I really like my job — I get to interact with everybody.
I may start in the sawmill, then I’ll go to the kilns, then to shipping, and end my day in the planer. The next day, I’ll reverse that. What I’m basically out there doing is looking for hazards, helping keep people safe and safety-minded. Just my presence on the floor will have people safety-conscious because they know I’m out there. Not that I’m trying to be a safety cop — I’m just there to make sure people don’t get themselves in a position where they could be in harm’s way. When I’m done with all that I keep up with audit materials, such as auditing for hot work permits.
You’ve been with Weyerhaeuser for 35 years. What was your career journey like?
I started as a utility worker, and within a month I was promoted to lumber puller on the pull chain. This was in 1990, when Plymouth only ran 1x4s, 2x4s, 2x6s and 4x4s. Each piece of lumber was manually graded with a different crayon color. We had about 12 people on a line, and each one had a specific crayon color to pull and stack in a cart.
I drove a forklift for the kilns, then I was a stick layer at the stackhouse — before the mill modernization, we placed sticks by hand between layers of wood. I operated every machine center in the sawmill and then became a quality technician for about 12 years. I was chairman of the safety committee for several years, as well, which helped catapult me into my current role in 2019.
Erick spoke with third graders in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, for career day.
You must have some challenges. What are they?
Relaying safety information in a way that new hires can really understand it. I try to get them to remember what they learned in orientation, to do things the way they’re taught and to put safety before speed. That way, they’ll be safer, and they’ll come out in better shape than trying to take a shortcut. My biggest opportunity is to keep people focused.
What’s your favorite part of the job?
Interacting with people every day. Safety is my passion, and I like to pour that passion into people when I’m out on the floor. I’m a people person, and my coworkers know they can open up to me. If somebody’s having a bad day or if they have something on their mind, they’ll pull me to the side and take a few minutes to vent. And then they can get back to work, and they’ll feel a lot better. And if someone has a life event, they’ll come tell me about it. I really enjoy that, and I don’t take it for granted.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a safety coordinator?
Don’t look at safety roles as just a job opportunity. It’s a position where you can change somebody’s life. And get all the training that’s out there so that when you do step into the role, you know what you’re looking for. You need to know the hazards, to see where a guard is missing. Knowledge is more important than anything.
Erick, his wife Juanita, and their youngest son, Evrick.
Tell us about your other interests. What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
I’m an assistant coach for the Washington County High School boys’ basketball team here in Plymouth. I enjoy writing poetry, which relaxes me, and spending time with my family. Everything I do revolves around my family.
I have seven kids total — four girls and three boys. I have four kids, and my wife had three when I married her nearly 13 years ago. One of my bonus kids, who’s 26, works here at the mill with me. My oldest daughter is 31. My son is 28, and my youngest daughter is 25. The oldest bonus daughter is 28, and the youngest girl is 22. And my youngest is 12; he keeps me busy!
