Setting the Gold Standard for Safety
Glade Spring wins another award in its mission to eliminate workplace incidents
From left: Richard Carver (Materials Manager), Otis Barker (Plant Engineer), John Seaborn (Industrial Engineer), Ralph McMahan (Superintendent), Richard Williams (Liberty Mutual), Gregg Reynolds (Sr. EHS Manager), Sam Cassell (Plant Manager), Keith Walsh (EHS Manager), Tim McVey (HR Manager), Wes Wolfe (QC Manager). (photo by Kathy Armstrong)
Utility Trailer’s Glade Spring, Virginia manufacturing plant recently received the Liberty Mutual Insurance Gold Safety Award. This award is based on DART rate (Days Away, Restricted and Transferred), which is calculated from the number of hours worked relative to the number of accidents at the plant. A lower number of accidents will result in a lower DART rate.
To qualify for the Gold Safety Award, the DART rate for Glade Spring had to be at least 80% better than the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) trailer manufacturing industry’s average DART rate of 4.2, and had to comprise a minimum of 200,000 work-hours. The good news is that in 2014, the Glade Spring plant achieved a 0.84 DART Rate, which continues a multi-year trend of decreasing DART rates. This is Glade Spring’s 3rd Liberty Safety Award, and the 2nd Gold Award given to Utility Trailer.
“Our improved DART rate is the result of a continuing emphasis by the entire team on preventing and managing incidents, and the company’s comprehensive Return to Work program. We have hundreds of reasons to work safely, and those would be all of our employees and their families here at Glade Spring,” said Gregg Reynolds, Utility’s Glade Spring Sr. Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) Manager.
“We couldn’t have achieved this award without the continuous focus by our employees on safety, and without the quality medical care provided to our employees by local doctors in the Glade Spring area. We appreciate everyone’s efforts,” said Bob Griffis, Corporate EHS Manager for Utility Trailer Manufacturing.
The Gold Safety Award, which was presented to Plant Manager Sam Cassell by Richard Williams of Liberty Mutual, is difficult to qualify for. Every employee should feel proud to be part of a team that not only is working hard to build great dry vans but also working hard to create a safe working environment.
