Wood Products Plant Joins Oregon SHARP
The Roseburg Forest Products Engineered Wood Products plant in Riddle, Ore. is one of the largest plants of that type in North America, according to Oregon OSHA.
The Roseburg Forest Products Engineered Wood Products plant in Riddle, Ore., is the newest member of Oregon OSHA's Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP). Dillard, Ore.-based Roseburg Forest Products is a privately held, family owned business, but not a small one: It has more than 3,000 employees working in several plants to manufacture lumber, softwood plywood, composite and hardwood panels, and other products distributed throughout North America.
With more than 750,000 square feet of manufacturing space, the EWP plant is one of the largest plants of that type in North America, Oregon OSHA said in its Jan. 31 announcement. The plant's 132 employees make joists for floor and roof construction, laminated veneer lumber, and rim board for perimeter framing and load transfer, according to the agency.
"We believe that safety is No. 1," said Jimmy Holsapple, safety coordinator for the plant. "Safety will not be sacrificed for production. We will provide a safe working environment and a plant culture that values and promotes employee health and safety. We will strive for an incident rate of zero."
About 70 sites participate in the agency’s SHARP program, and 90 others have graduated from it. It encourages employers to become self-sufficient in managing workplace safety and health issues but does not eliminate regulatory enforcement. Participants instead receive a limited exemption from programmed inspections.