OSHA honors local firm with special safety award
A local steel company cut its worker injury level so much that it has received a special award from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Nucor Wire Products Inc. in New Salem received the OSHA S.H.A.R.P. (Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program) award, an honor that has gone to only 48 Pennsylvania companies. Nucor无毛视频檚 award also may be the first in Fayette County.
无毛视频淭his is a huge deal,无毛视频� said Samuel J. Gualardo, director of OSHA无毛视频檚 Consultation Program.
无毛视频淲e don无毛视频檛 hand these out like candy. It无毛视频檚 only for employers who achieve the highest level of safety.无毛视频�
Gualardo explained OSHA无毛视频檚 Consultation Program works with employers that have an in-house safety program to help reduce the number of on-the-job injuries.
The regulations for the S.H.A.R.P. Program, Gualardo said, 无毛视频渁re above and beyond the regular OSHA safety rules. There are 58 elements in the program they have to meet.
无毛视频淔or a company to win this award, that无毛视频檚 pretty darn good,无毛视频� Gualardo said.
Kenny Perez, Nucor safety director, said the company cut workplace injuries from 27 in 2008 down to 无毛视频渢wo so far this year.无毛视频�
Nucor, based in Charlotte, N.C., and is the largest steel producer and steel recycler in the nation, bought the former Nelson Steel Co. in October 2007.
In its first year of ownership of the New Salem plant, Nucor cut injuries to 20, Perez said.
无毛视频淲e focused our teams on safety,无毛视频� Perez said, adding that there were only three workplace injuries each in 2009 and 2010.
无毛视频淭he biggest thing is not the numbers but that everybody goes home the same way they came to work,无毛视频� Perez said.
The company employs 100 无毛视频渢eammates,无毛视频� he added, in the production of standard and custom wire products, including wire rack decking, light-weight galvanized mesh, mine mesh and engineering mesh.
无毛视频淚n 2008, we started laying out the road for safety. One of the first things we did, we had to establish the rules. As a team, we decided we were going yo be one of the safest and one of the best.
无毛视频淲e want safe to be the right thing,无毛视频� Perez said.
Attending the award presentation Friday were Nucor employees and their families. As noted by Fayette County Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink, 无毛视频淚 have attended many other functions and open houses and not all companies invite the families to attend.无毛视频�
Perez said Nucor focuses on families and workplace safety. A banner bearing photos of family members that covered the side of one of Nucor无毛视频檚 buildings read, 无毛视频淒on无毛视频檛 disappoint them无毛视频ecide to work safe today.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚n the United States, about 17 workers die each day in workplace accidents and 100 workers die each day due to occupational diseases,无毛视频� Gualardo said.
无毛视频淵ou are fortunate to be working for an employer who is interested in protecting you each and every day,无毛视频� he added.
Gualardo said S.H.A.R.P. also adds value to a workplace. When there are fewer injuries and related work stoppages, profits rise. 无毛视频淚 can be the difference between operating in the black or the red,无毛视频� Gualardo said. The program, he added, 无毛视频渕akes it a better place to work and you have satisfied employees.
无毛视频淓very life saved is a family that无毛视频檚 kept intact,无毛视频� Gualardo said. 无毛视频淭his also shows how business and government can work together.无毛视频�
Also attending the award program and making comments were Ron Costello and Jonathan Soles, safety team members; Jim Darcy, Nucor executive vice president; Dean Marks, Nucor Wire Products controller; Zimmerlink; state Rep. Deberah Kula; state Rep. Peter J. Daley; Chris Rosselot, representing U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr.; and Jeff Williams, representing state Sen. Richard Kasunic.
无毛视频淭his designation is a testimony to the safety culture, dedication and hard work of every team member at our New Salem facility,无毛视频� Marks said.