TAPPISAFE® Celebrates Ten Years During National Safety Month

Since the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act was signed into law in 1970, the nation has made great strides in improving safety results. With over 50 years of data, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (July 2020) indicates that workers are incurring fewer injuries and fatalities on the job. But, there is still work to do.

In 1996, the National Safety Council (NSC) established June as National Safety Month in the United States. The goal was to “increase public awareness of the leading safety and health risks that are increased in the summer months to decrease the number of injuries and deaths at homes and workplaces.” June is a time to reflect on working environments around the country and how we can create safer workplaces in all industries.

With that in mind, TAPPISAFE® kicks off its tenth anniversary celebration at the Pulp & Paper Safety Association (PPSA) Safety and Health Conference, June 12-15 in Ponte Vedra, FL. TAPPISAFE is the first industry-recognized and designed safety orientation and verification program for the tissue, pulp, paper, packaging, converting, and biomass industries and has been serving the industry since 2012.

Safety Focused Cultures Begin with a Well-Trained Workforce
TAPPISAFE was developed specifically for the industry by an Advisory Group with representatives from leading mills, suppliers and associations including: AkzoNobel-Eka Chemicals, Association of Suppliers to the Paper Industry (ASPI), Coldwater Group, Finch, International Paper, Pulp & Paper Safety Association (PPSA), Kimberly-Clark, Mead Westvaco and Rock Tenn (now WestRock), NewPage (acquired by Verso), Weyerhaeuser and TAPPI. Since then, TAPPISAFE has trained over 225,000 students representing more than one million tests.

TAPPISAFE provides a solid foundation in safety by addressing general safety needs for any contractor working in tissue mills or related facilities. Its 170-plus courses can be accessed any time or place with an internet connection, allowing the workforce to easily complete each orientation. Training may be easily verified by owners and contractors by accessing a secure, online database. All records are updated in real-time and accessible 24/7. Participating facilities lower contractor-training costs, save staff time, and reduce regulatory scrutiny.

"TAPPISAFE standardizes orientations across mills which simplifies and increases safety awareness for contractors who come onsite,” said TAPPISAFE International Sales Director Tess Ventress. “Mills can look up each person’s record when they arrive to make sure they have taken the necessary orientation to come onsite which helps maintain the safety culture at our partner mills.”

TAPPISAFE offers:

Basic Orientations
Customized Site Orientations
Customized Employee Orientations
Customized Truck Driver Orientations
GateCheck Real-Time Verification
Digital Badging

Today, more than 100 facilities and 10,000 contractors and suppliers are currently using TAPPISAFE for their safety orientations. In addition, TAPPISAFE works with industry partners to develop and offer other learning opportunities, including an upcoming webinar on “Safety-Driven Innovation” sponsored in conjunction with Valmet. Held June 22, the hour-long discussion features a diverse panel of subject matter experts, including one individual focused on Yankee Dryers, and will be moderated by TAPPISAFE Operations Manager John Addington. The webinar is free and open to tissue, paper, pulp, and board producers, P&P industry consultants and university faculty and students.

For more information about TAPPISAFE visit tappisafe.org, or contact TAPPISAFE at info@tappisafe.org or 770-209-SAFE

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