Winston Packaging, Winston Salem, N.C., USA, has earned the Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC), Springfield, Mass., "500,000 Hour" safety award for logging 500,000 hours without any OSHA recordable incidents. Winston Packaging recorded its last OSHA incident in December 2008 and averages approximately 6,000 work hours per month. 

 

PPC recognizes member companies’ safety milestones as a part of its monthly Safety Boxscore Report, a bench-marking tool that allows participating members to measure their safety records relative to their peers so that they may determine if safety improvements are warranted. The report includes vital industry information including injury statistics, group incident statistics, and the Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) rate.

 

Since smaller firms such as Winston may lack the resources to implement large-scale safety initiatives, their accomplishment is especially commendable, says PPC. "Accruing 500,000 hours of operation without an OSHA recordable incident is a phenomenal honor," said Brian Chaisson, PPC director of industry benchmarking. "We’re thrilled to recognize Winston Packaging’s proven track record for safe and productive operations."

 

To maintain safe working conditions on the shop floor, staff members adopt safety best practices such as wearing proper clothing and safety goggles, refraining from running, refraining from using unfamiliar equipment, minimizing distractions, and immediately reporting any potentially dangerous irregularities in machine operation. Additionally, staff strives to remain vigilant and aware of those around them while completing their tasks.

 

"At Winston Packaging, our employees’ safety is a top priority," said John Moore, CFO and COO. "We will certainly keep this accomplishment in mind as we strive to promote an even safer and more productive work environment. Thank you and congratulations to our whole team."