The largest annual gathering of workplace safety professionals from companies all across Kentucky gathered in Covington last week for the state’s premier occupational safety and health conference and exposition.
Representatives from 48 companies who earned the prestigious Governor’s Safety and Health Award during the last year were in attendance to help celebrate Kentucky’s all-time low Injury and Illness Rate.
“The recipients of the 48th Governor’s Safety and Health Award are a major reason why Kentucky’s workplaces recorded their safest year in history,” Gov. Bevin said. “In order for the Commonwealth to become the greatest version of itself, we must keep the health and safety of our workforce a top priority. I am delighted to congratulate each company for achieving this high honor by being leaders in this area. Together, we can find ways to continue raising the bar of excellence and making our workforce the safest and strongest in the nation.”
The Labor Cabinet also used this week to draw attention to a renewed focus on workplace safety education and training called “KY SAFE.”
“’KY SAFE’ is our effort to re-brand the education and training services that the Cabinet provides to all two million workers in Kentucky,” Labor Secretary Derrick Ramsey stated. “We want to eliminate hazards before injuries occur by building better partnerships with Kentucky employers and their employees. Between our free on-site surveys, online training modules, statewide OSHA training seminars and partnership programs, the Labor Cabinet is working tirelessly to advance health and safety in the Commonwealth. We want to urge employers of all sizes to contact us on ways we can help safeguard their workplace before a needless injury or illness occurs.”
Co-hosted with the Kentucky Safety and Health Network (KSHN), this year’s conference also featured $40,000 in Scholastic Achievement for Education (SAFE) Award scholarships to college students and an additional $20,000 to a new initiative to train thousands of students who will graduate from high school with an OSHA 10-Hour card.
“The 2017 conference theme is ‘Made Safely in Kentucky,’” KSHN President Lisa Curtis said. “This theme is meant to highlight the many products and services provided by Kentucky businesses that put safety first and increase the awareness of workplace safety and health through education and training.”
The Labor Cabinet’s Division of Occupational Safety & Health Education & Training leads the Cabinet’s proactive efforts to create safe and healthful workplace conditions, including overseeing a new web-based training service called eTrain (www.KYSAFE.KY.GOV). This new online training module will offer a variety of safety and health training topics, certificates, and live and recorded webinars all at no cost.
In addition to eTrain, the Cabinet provides free consultative services to employers across Kentucky on ways to increase workplace safety – including how to improve Injury and Illness Rates. Services include free on-site consultations to all employers, as well as other compliance assistance, educational materials, and class-style training for all employers.
Last year, the Division conducted 350 free on-site visits, or “consultative surveys,” for employers across Kentucky. As a result of these confidential surveys, employers corrected 3,813 serious conditions that could have affected up to 108,307 employees and could have resulted in enforcement penalties of up to $26,691,000.
Based on a mathematical calculation from a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report that describes the number of recordable incidents per 100 full-time employees, Kentucky’s rate improved from 3.8 in 2014 to 3.7 in 2015 – reflecting the most recent data available and the lowest rate in Kentucky’s history. This rate has steadily declined since it was first calculated in 1996 when a rate of 8.4 was reported.
2017 Governor’s Safety and Health Award Recipients
Abel Construction Company, Inc. – Louisville
Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. – Calvert City
Amfine Chemical Corporation – Hopkinsville
Atlas Machine & Supply, Inc. – Louisville
Big Rivers Electric Corporation – Sebree Station – Robards
Carhartt, Inc. Madisonville Cutting – Madisonville
Carhartt RCV Customer Service Center – Hanson
Catlettsburg Refining LLC – Catlettsburg
Charah, Inc. – Mill Creek Station – Louisville
Cintas Distribution LLC – Grayson
Daicel Safety Technologies America, Inc. – Beaver Dam
Daicel Safety Tube Processing, Inc. – Beaver Dam
Dana Incorporated Louisville KY – Louisville
Domtar Hawesville Mill – Hawesville
Donaldson Company, Inc. – Nicholasville
Farmers Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation – Glasgow
Firestone Building Products – Florence
Firestone Industrial Products – Williamsburg
H. B. Fuller Paducah, KY – Paducah
Heaven Hill Brands – Bardstown
Henderson Services, LLC – Louisville
Interplastic Corporation – Ft. Wright
J-Lok Corp. – Earlington
Joy Global, Inc. – Lebanon
LG&E Cane Run Station – Louisville
LexPlastics – Lexington
Lockheed Martin – MFC – Lexington
Madisonville West Side Wastewater Treatment Plant – Madisonville
Maker’s Mark Distillery – Loretto
Mid-America Conversion Services, LLC – Kevil
Multi Packaging Solutions of KY – Louisville
Ops Plus, Inc. – Louisville
Owensboro Municipal Utilities – Customer & Shared Services – Owensboro
PIC Group, Inc. – Louisville
PIC Group, Inc. – Harrodsburg
Raytheon Company – Louisville
Sargent & Greenleaf, Inc. – Nicholasville
Sekisui Specialty Chemicals America LLC – Calvert City
SFC Global Supply Chain, Inc. – Walton
Southern States Cooperative – Winchester
Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems, Inc. – Edmonton
Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems, Inc. – Scottsville
Swift & Staley, Inc. – Kevil
Tower International – Shepherdsville
Toyota Boshoku Kentucky – Harrodsburg
Toyota Boshoku Kentucky – Lebanon
Wabash National – Cadiz
Wacker Polymers – Calvert City
Labor Cabinet Secretary Derrick Ramsey visited Atlas Machine and Supply in Louisville last week to present a Governor’s Safety and Health Award for working 1,351,417 consecutive hours without a lost time injury or illness.
“I want to congratulate Atlas on earning their first Governor’s Safety and Health Award,” said Sec. Derrick Ramsey. “Working over a million hours without a serious injury is a great accomplishment. On behalf of Governor Bevin and the Labor Cabinet, it is my honor to bestow this award to the Atlas employees for their successful efforts towards workplace safety.”
Founded in 1907, Atlas Machine and Supply is a fourth generation family-owned business. Atlas re-engineers, repairs and manufactures complex manufacturing equipment for industry and provides industrial air compressors, equipment and related solutions.
“Earning the Governor’s Safety and Health Award is a wonderful testimony to our dedicated workforce and how they responded to the opportunity to build safe work habits,” said Chairman Rich Gimmel. “Thank you to Sec. Ramsey and the Kentucky Labor Cabinet for recognizing our employees’ hard work and presenting us with this award.”
The Kentucky Labor Cabinet presents the Governor’s Safety and Health Award to highlight outstanding safety and health performance in Kentucky’s workplaces. A business may qualify for the award if its employees achieve a required number of hours worked without experiencing a lost time injury or illness. The required number of hours is dependent upon the number of employees.
According to a recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in 2015 Kentucky employers reported the lowest incident rate for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in the state’s history.
Based on a mathematical calculation that describes the number of recordable incidents per 100 full-time employees, Kentucky’s rate improved from 3.8 in 2014 to 3.7 in 2015 – reflecting the most recent data available. This rate has steadily declined since it was first calculated in 1996, when a rate of 8.4 was reported.
For more information on the Governor’s Safety and Health Award, click here.
Last month, the Labor Cabinet conducted 27 free on-site visits, or “consultative surveys” for employers, identifying 128 serious violations affecting up to 729 employees, and saving participating companies potential enforcement penalties up to $896,000.
The Labor Cabinet’s Division of Occupational Safety & Health Education & Training leads the Cabinet’s proactive efforts to create safe and healthful workplace conditions. This includes providing free consultative surveys to employers in an effort to increase workplace safety by improving injury and illness rates.
Employers and employees all across Kentucky and the nation also have access to cost-free safety and health eLearning programs on the Labor Cabinet’s eTrain website. The Division also offers cost-free OSHA training courses, or “Population Center Training” throughout the state. Proactive approaches to workplace safety, like the ones developed by the Cabinet’s education and training team, are proven methods that reduce workplace injuries and can help employers from paying increased workers’ compensation premiums.
In addition to consultative surveys and OSHA training, cost-free assistance from the Division consists of publications, required workplace posters and information on injury/illness recordkeeping requirements. The Division is also responsible for overseeing the Partnership Programs as well as conducting the Annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and the OSHA Data Collection.
According to a recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Kentucky employers recorded the lowest incident rate for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in the state’s history last year.
Along with the Kentucky Safety and Health Network, the Division of Education and Training also co-hosts the Governor’s Safety and Health Conference and Exposition each year. The 33rd annual conference will take place at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington from May 8-12, 2017. For more info and to register for the conference, please visit kshn.net.
Additional information is available at http://labor.kentucky.gov.