Customers Case Studies

Background
Viejas Casino, located in Alpine, California, is wholly owned and operated by the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, one of approximately 12 bands of the Kumeyaay Indian Nation, numbers approximately 281 members living on the 1,600-acre reservation in the Viejas Valley, east of Alpine, San Diego County, California.

Viejas Casino is the #1 casino in San Diego County and one of the first three Indian casinos to open in 1991. In addition to the Viejas Casino and Turf Club, the Band owns the reservation-located at Ma-Tar-Awa Recreational Vehicle Park, the $35 million Viejas Outlet Center, Alpine RV Park, and owns a majority interest in the Borrego Springs Bank.

Challenge
The casino is subject to federal OSHA inspections and compliance is a requirement that Viejas takes very seriously. "We have a HazCom plan in place and our Risk Management team does a great job conducting training for every team member and providing a safe work environment for the entire team. We also have very tight purchasing policies so that we can control what chemicals and products are coming into the casino. But we manage upwards of 1,800 products that require an MSDS and we weren't doing as effective a job as we could have at making those MSDSs easily accessible to our team members," said Buyer Kimberly Atherton. Safety Manager Kevin Desmond agrees, "We wanted to strive for a higher, more efficient level of compliance."

Before 3E, Viejas staff maintained hardcopy binders for its MSDSs, which—over time— proved to be tough to maintain. The MSDS would come into the Purchasing department, where Atherton would manually enter it into a spreadsheet, assign an internal number, make a hardcopy for the end user, a hardcopy for Risk Management, a hardcopy for Security, a hardcopy for her own binder, another copy to attach to the purchase order, along with one final hardcopy for Shipping and Receiving records. Each of those departments would then make additional copies for their own use and for filing in even more binders.

"When the company started out, we didn't have that many products, so although it was a manual process, it was manageable. But we've grown at such a rapid pace, we simply outgrew our own system and needed to find a solution that can scale with our rapid expansion," said Atherton. "I started doing some research online and came across five or six different companies who claimed they could help. 3E Company was one of them that stood out to me right away."

There were many factors to consider because of the unique nature of the casino's operation, which is almost entirely self-contained. The casino runs 24/7 and has its own butcher shop, water and waste treatment facility, landscaping team, bakery and maintenance crews. "I was looking for someone to come in and help us determine what we needed. Every company I talked to said, ‘we can sell you this great CD or install our terrific software,' but 3E was the only one who looked at our operation in its entirety and offered the combination of technology and service. They were the only ones who could fulfill every single requirement."

Solution
After a formal review process of the top vendors, Viejas chose to implement 3E Online-MSDS and MSDS On Demand, accompanied by the Poison & Exposure and Spill hotlines.

One of the major selling points was the language line assistance 3E provides. "We have team members that come from just about every nationality on the planet. We needed a service that could accommodate non-English speaking team members," said Atherton.

Naturally, there was initial hesitation from a few team members. Some of them were intimidated by the technology; others had invested enormous time and energy in maintaining their binders and were resistant to embrace new processes. "There were also some financial-related concerns because of the investment required to get started," said Desmond. "But when I laid out the risks associated with being out of compliance it became clear that there was real value in implementing this program."

Prior to rolling out the program, several Viejas team members visited and toured the 3E HazMat Mission Control Center to understand how 3E services its customers 24-7-365. "It really helped reinforce our training and was very powerful in getting the team members to embrace the service," said Desmond. "By witnessing the infrastructure that is behind the 800 number, our team members really bought into the value 3E provides."

Results
3E provides a more efficient HazCom process across several departments, saving hundreds of man-hours each month. The efficiencies also translate into quick response times when it really counts—like during an emergency. Shortly after implementation, a team member was accidentally sprayed in the face with a cleaning solvent. Although not a highly toxic solution, safety staff wanted to make sure that the exposure amount wasn't dangerous. They called 3E, who connected a poison control specialist to administer medical advice. The team member was sent to a nearby hospital for follow-up with a doctor. "Obviously we do our best to avoid situations like this altogether, but what was good was the whole situation went like clockwork. 3E pulled up the MSDS immediately, patched us in with Poison Control, and then faxed the MSDS to the hospital so that it was there, waiting for the team member's arrival. In an emergency situation, time and efficiency is absolutely crucial," said Desmond.

"Everyone is thrilled with the program," said Atherton. "All the skepticism prior to roll-out disappeared when team members started using the system and saw how easy it made their lives, and that it really worked."

Location:  Alpine, CA
3E Services: 3E Online-MSDS, 3E Spill, 3E Poison & Exposure
Industry/Market: Entertainment/Hospitality
Company Web Site:  http://www.viejas.com