Six tire manufacturers were recently recognized for excellence and improvements in worker health and safety by the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA).
RMA’s Safety and Health Improvement Program (SHIP) awards were created in 1981 to recognize companies that demonstrate workplace safety excellence and improvements, measured by the incidence rate for lost workday cases.
There are two categories of SHIP awards; the “Excellence” category is for facilities that achieve a Days Away Restricted Transfer (DART) rate that is 75% better than the average achieved by plants that provided data to RMA. The “Improvement” award is for plants that achieve a DART rate that is both 10% better than its rate in the previous year and is the same or better than the RMA average incidence rate.
Seven Excellence awards and 13 Improvement awards were presented.
Forty-five plants from RMA member companies supplied data for the annual survey to be eligible for awards. The data supplied to RMA is identical to information provided to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which publishes annual injury and illness information on all industries.
“Safety is RMA members’ top priority for their products and their workplaces,” says Anne Forristall Luke, RMA president and CEO. “We are proud to recognize this commitment to safety.”
Excellence Awards
Bridgestone Americas Inc. in Griffin, Ga.; Oxford, N.C.; and Trenton, S.C.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. in Clarksdale, Miss.
Michelin North America Inc. in Starr, S.C. (US8); and Anderson, S.C. (US10)
Yokohama Tire Corp. in West Point, Miss.
Improvement Awards
Bridgestone Americas Inc. in Graniteville, S.C.; Russellville, Ark.; and Abilene, Texas
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. in Tupelo, Miss.
Michelin North America Inc. in Spartanburg, S.C. (US3); Columbia, S.C. (US5); Lexington, S.C. (US7); and Covington, Ga. (GEO)
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in Fayetteville, N.C.; Gadsden, Ala.; Lawton, Okla.; and Social Circle, Ga.
Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc. in White, Ga.
“The SHIP results are an important measurement for Michelin because our top priority every day is to provide the safest and healthiest work environment possible for our workers,” says Pete Selleck, Michelin North America’s chairman and president. “Ultimately, we depend on the hard work, vigilance and determination of our plant employees to maintain a culture of safety at every site.”
For more information, see www.rma.org.
