July 20, 2026

Saddle Up for Summer Safety 2026

This year, we’re expanding from education and events during National Safety Month to a Summer of Safety with Ryerson! Inspired by the determination of the men and women of the American Frontier, the Summer Safety 2026 theme is True Grit Means Working Safe Each Day.

Summer Safety – Part II begins July 20 and ends August 15. During this time, we’re focusing our education and tasks on Material Handling Safety. Just like the first four weeks with Hand Safety, we’ve divided tasks into three categories to earn points for your team.


WIND & LIMB

A good cowboy or cowgirl is never without their horse. It’s important that the horse is in good shape as it provides the means to conduct their work. At our facilities, cranes and powered industrial trucks (PITs) are necessary to perform our work. To earn points, complete tasks around identifying hazards related to material handling with cranes or PITs.

BE AWARE OF SHANK’S MARE

The term “Shank’s Mare” describes someone traveling on foot rather than by horse. When office staff, visitors or drivers enter the warehouse, they may not understand all of the hazards associated with work being done. Let’s help reduce the risk of injury for pedestrians. To earn points, complete tasks that address office staff, visitor and driver safety.

GROUND WORK

On the frontier, there are always manual tasks that need to be completed. These tasks may not be glamorous but are required to keep things running smoothly. At our facilities, we have plenty of work that must be manually performed to ensure a great customer experience. To earn points, identify hazards related to manual material handling.

Continue to document your completed tasks through the Survey Monkey link (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2N7FFCX) and look for weekly point totals on your digital screens.


Previously published content shown below.


This year we’re excited to expand our National Safety Month events to Summer of Safety with Ryerson! This year’s theme, True Grit Means Working Safe Each Day, is inspired by the determination of the men and women of the American Frontier whose relentless resilience and mental toughness kept them going through difficult circumstances.


Pioneers were dependable, resilient and optimistic. They focused on the opportunities ahead of them, embracing failure as part of the ongoing quest for improvement. Let’s saddle up for a Safety Summer that gives us all a chance to show our True Grit!

Education, Events & Prizes

Summer Safety 2026 is divided into two four-week campaigns: Hand Safety (6/21-7/18) and Material Handling Safety (7/19 – 8/15). All Ryerson and Olympic Steel locations are divided into categories based on warehouse headcount, so your location will ‘compete’ against like-sized locations. Click here to view teams. From 6/21-7/18, you can earn points for your team by completing any of the tasks below. When you complete a point-earning task, notify your Safety contact so they can record the task and tally your location’s points. The team with the highest number of points (after both campaigns) will win lunch and prizes!


ROPE IN SAFETY: Cowboys and cowgirls are never without their trusty rope! The same applies to employees in manufacturing – you need to have the right tools to do your job. When we think about hand hazards, could we use a no-touch tool to reduce our risk of injury? Events in this category help you identify hand hazards, trial no-touch tools and implement risk reduction opportunities.

TRAILBLAZER: A Trailblazer is a pioneer in identifying new ideas and challenging the status quo. When we identify hand hazards, the next step is to blaze a trail forward, identifying how to reduce our risk or eliminate the hazard. Events in this category push the team forward to implement solutions that eliminate hand hazards.

POINT POSITION: In the Old West, the Point Position was the wrangler who rode at the front of the herd, guiding the path and taking the lead. In this event, we encourage you to become a leader in Safety, helping guide your coworkers to a path that keeps them and others safe.

LOOKING AHEAD

We’ll share more about the second half of Summer Safety, Material Handling Safety, in July. In the meantime, if you have any questions about activities or if you don't receive your Summer Safety t-shirt by the end of June, please reach out to your local Safety contact.



Safety First. Always. And, it starts with me.