One Million Safe Work Hours Achieved at Armacell's Dallas, Georgia Plant
Armacell is pleased to announce that in March 2016, its Dallas, Georgia plant has surpassed 1,000,000 hours of working safely without an OSHA lost-time injury. This significant safety milestone was accomplished after more than 13 years of incident-free work.
The Situation:
To lower its injury and illness rates, Armacell requested consultative services from its Workers Compensation insurance broker. The hazards identified during the visits included having not yet completed training related to labels for Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), properly located and mounted sharps containers and other elements related to blood-borne pathogens program.
The insurance carriers' safety professionals assisted Armacell with improving their safety programs and performance. They also recommended further consultation with the Georgia Tech, OSHA Safety and Health Consultation Program to get Armacell to the next level of safety. Armacell's Mike Heintzelman stated, "Consultation services were sought as part of the continuous improvement efforts in the area of safety performance and safety programs to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our workers."
The Solution:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA), On-site Consultation Program, is completely voluntary, and services are separate from enforcement and do not result in penalties or citations. The program offers free, confidential safety and health advice to small and medium-sized businesses in all states across the country and in several territories, with priority given to high-hazard worksites. Consultants from state agencies or universities work with employers to identify workplace hazards, provide advice on compliance with OSHA standards, and assist in establishing injury and illness prevention programs.
With assistance from the Georgia Tech, OSHA Safety and Health Consultation Program, the Armacell Dallas facility received comprehensive safety and health surveys as well as assessments of their safety and health management systems. The Georgia Tech consultants helped to shape comprehensive improvements to Armacell's safety systems. Armacell has implemented many safety initiatives to ensure the well-being of the workers, including extensive training programs. The emphasis of their worker-based programs is to move the focus from reactive to proactive. Upon successful completion of OSHA's Consultation Program requirements, the Dallas facility attained OSHA Safety and Health Recognition Program (SHARP) certification in November 2010, and the company has maintained this status since that time. SHARP recognizes small business employers who have used OSHA On-site Consultation services and operate an exemplary injury and illness prevention program.