Nominations invited for 2016 Manufacturing Safety Excellence Awards

Mark Eitzman, safety market development manager, Rockwell Automation, says: “Last year’s winners – The Clorox Company, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Paper Converting Machine Company (PCMC) – were selected because they embrace safety as a means to achieve business goals. They go beyond compliance and make safety an integral part of the company culture and machine design processes – improving plant productivity and company profitability.”

The awards are open to manufacturers, machine builders (OEMs) or system integrators, as long as they demonstrate a true commitment to safety across three key pillars of a comprehensive safety program: a strong safety culture, well-executed compliance procedures, and effective use of current, machine-safety technology.

Jason Stover, senior electrical project engineer, PCMC, comments: “Winning the 2015 award highlighted our team’s commitment to improving machine safety for our customers. As an OEM, we differentiate ourselves from competitors by guiding our customers through the safety process and educating them on the opportunities safety presents. Some might not recognise safety as a fundamental part of equipment, but by the time we’re done, they see the value.”

The awards also recognise companies that have successful collaboration between their engineering and EHS departments. This helps dramatically reduce injury rates while also improving production efficiency.

Dennis G. Averill, CIH, CSP, global director of safety and hygiene, Kimberly-Clark, adds: “We achieve success with everyone in the organisation working and learning together, including engineering, EHS and operations. This collaboration is not only done conceptually, but also during the actual execution of risk assessments, safety standards development and more.”

The 2016 winners will be announced in the autumn and will join a distinguished list of past winners, including Bevcorp, Corning Environmental Technologies, General Motors, Procter & Gamble and the PepsiCo divisions of Walkers Crisps and Pepsi Flavors.

The deadline for nominations is 31st August, 2016.