Indiana OSHA Seeks Applications for Governor's Workplace Safety Awards
The deadline is Jan. 10, and the awards will be presented at the Indiana Safety and Health Conference and Expo, which will be held Feb. 18-20, 2014, in Indianapolis.
Indiana OSHA is seeking applicants for the 2014 Governor's Workplace Safety Awards, an honor open to any organization, regardless of its size or the number of workers affected. The application deadline is Jan. 10, 2014; applications are submitted to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
The 2014 awards will be presented at the Indiana Safety and Health Conference and Expo, which will be held Feb. 18-20, 2014, in Indianapolis. The annual awards came about through a partnership of the Indiana Department of Labor, on behalf of Gov. Michael R. Pence; the Indiana Chamber of Commerce; and the Central Indiana Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers, and they recognize companies that use best practices to eliminate workplace injuries and illnesses.
Winners from each of the past seven years are highlighted on the IOSHA website. The 2013 honorees included:
- DePuy Synthes Joint Reconstruction, a manufacturer of orthopedic hip, shoulder, and revision knee medical devices, which mounted a slip and fall awareness campaign after an employee was hurt in a fall two years ago. The multimedia campaign included flashing road signs installed at all three parking lots. The signs automatically activated whenever temperatures neared freezing to warn employees of possible icy conditions. According to IOSHA's account, after the campaign DePuy saw a 30 percent reduction in injuries reported from a slip, trip and fall.
- The Seymour engine plant of Cummins, Inc., which used a Safety Empowerment Card system that allowed anyone – even visitors -- to stop an action or process that might be unsafe. IOSHA calls the plant "a model of safety for other large manufactures to emulate" and reports its OSHA total recordable case rate and days away, restricted or transferred rate are far below others in the industry.
- Gribbins Insulation Company, Inc., which created a behavior-based safety program to monitor six risk areas: eye protection, hand protection, body mechanics, working from ladders, working from scissor lifts, and the use of appropriate fall protection. This produced a 35 percent reduction in job site violations and a 30 percent drop in recordable injuries. "The company has maintained an OSHA total recordable case rate at least 50 percent lower than the industry average for the last three years. There were no injuries resulting in days away, restricted or transferred in 2010 or 2012," according to IOSHA.