RMA awards tire makers for safety programs

April 19, 2012

Five tire manufacturers were recognized for improvements in worker health and safety at the annual meeting of the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA).

RMA’s Safety and Health Improvement Program (SHIP), created in 1981, recognizes member companies that achieve significant enhancements in worker health and safety with awards.  The SHIP awards encourage and reward a company’s demonstrated commitment to worker health and safety.

Two categories of awards are presented to companies that demonstrate workplace safety improvements, which are measured by the incidence rate for lost workday cases.  The “Excellence” category is for facilities that achieve an incidence rate that is 75% better than the average achieve by plants that provide data to RMA.

The “Improvement” award is for plants that achieve an incidence rate that is both 10% better than its rate in the previous year and the same or better than the RMA average incidence rate.

For 2012, four Excellence awards and 10 Improvement Award were presented.

Excellence awards: Bridgestone Americas Inc., Aiken County, S.C.; Michelin North America Inc., Spartanburg, S.C., and Starr, S.C.; and Pirelli Tire North America, Rome, Ga.

Improvement awards: Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Tupelo, Miss., and Clarksdale, Miss.; Michelin North America Inc., Greenville, S.C.;  Sandy Springs, S.C.; Dothan, Ala.; Fort Wayne, Ind., and Covington, Ga.; The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Topeka, Kan.; Lawton, Okla., and Social Circle, Ga.

Forty-one RMA member facilities supplied data for the annual survey to determine the extent of workplace safety improvements.  The data supplied to RMA is identical to information provided to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which publishes injury and illness information on all industries.