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Ade-Wifco Steel Products, Inc. Fixes 242 Hazards and Cuts Recordables in Half |
Ade-Wifco Steel Products, Inc. |
In January 2005, when Fred Ade Jr. bought a steel manufacturing company that
serves the oil field market in Hutchinson, Kansas, he knew he needed to make
some major occupational safety and health changes. He called on the Kansas
Department of Labor (KDOL) for a free, confidential on-site consultation to help
him address the highest risks of injuries for his employees. Deborah Grow, a
safety consultant and Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP)
Coordinator with the Division of Industrial Safety and Health of KDOL, remembers
her first visit well. She said, "The facility was so dark and disorganized, it
was an accident waiting to happen."
Mr. Ade initially wanted a full-service consultation from KDOL to identify all
hazards and evaluate all aspects of the company’s safety and health management
system; however because of the potential amputation hazards associated with the
apparent lack of adequate machine guarding, he requested a limited service that
focused on serious machine guarding hazards. On their first visit, KDOL
identified a total of 52 hazards.
With the assistance of KDOL, Ade-Wifco developed a machine guarding action plan
that also emphasized employee safety training. To assist the company, the KDOL
safety consultant provided the company with a number of Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) compliance presentations and several "tool box
topics." Rhonda Barnhart, Ade-Wifco’s Safety Coordinator said, "Deborah Grow
made it easier for us."
One of the first things Ade-Wifco did was establish an employee - supervisor
safety team: the "Safety Ambassador Program." Additionally, KDOL provided
training for the safety team on: hazard identification, conducting self
inspections, machine guarding, and how to develop and use a job safety hazard
analysis program to create safe working conditions. KDOL’s training also
included topics from the OSHA 10-hour General Industry course which explains
OSHA policies and procedures, as well as the fundamental OSHA standards for
general industry.
There were a number of creative actions taken by Ade-Wifco. First, Joshua Barden,
an intern, was hired from the Manufacturing Technology Program at Hutchinson
Community College to work on three major projects: identifying and correcting
slip, trip, and fall hazards; inspecting machine safety guards; and properly
placing and marking fire extinguishers throughout the facility. Second, Ade-Wifco Steel Products, Inc. instituted a policy to provide a Spanish
interpreter for all company safety training. Third, Ade-Wifco took the
innovative step of documenting every safety improvement opportunity. As items on
this list were corrected, they were closed out; however, the documentation is
maintained for reference. They have addressed and closed 280 safety improvement
opportunities.
In January 2007, Mr. Ade requested a full-service safety and health consultation
from the KDOL Division of Industrial Safety and Health. The company established
a two-year work plan to implement the changes and suggestions recommended by the
team of consultants from KDOL. However, they found that they were able to
accomplish the task in 15 months and were eligible for OSHA’s highest safety and
health recognition program that focuses on small businesses: the Safety and
Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP). SHARP recognizes small
businesses that have a proven effective safety and health management system by
exempting them from OSHA’s routine programmed inspections. Companies are awarded
a SHARP flag that flies proudly to indicate the exceptionally safe and healthful
working environment.
Ade-Wifco Steel Products, Inc. is a tremendous safety success story. In 2008,
they became the 94th SHARP company in Kansas. A SHARP company earns far more
than recognition; there are benefits and rewards for the company as well as the
employees. The Total Recordable Case (TRC) rate has been cut nearly in half,
reduced from 20.9 in 2006 to 10.8 in 2007. (TRC is the employer’s incidence rate
of recordable injuries and illnesses during the calendar year.) As of November
2008, there have been only three recordable injuries this year. Ade-Wifco’s Days
Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate plummeted from 11.9 in 2006 to 4.0
in 2007. (The DART rate is the employer’s injury and illness incidence of
recordable cases involving days away from work and days of restricted work
activity or job transfer.)
From May 2005 through December 2007, Ade-Wifco Steel Products, Inc. corrected
242 hazards. In a two-year period, the company totally changed its culture
through employee involvement, dedication and a strong commitment to safety,
thereby significantly increasing the likelihood that every employee returns home
safely every night to their families.
There have been financial rewards for Ade-Wifco Steel Products, Inc. The amount
a company pays for workers’ compensation insurance is a variable rate determined
each year by the insurance carrier based on that company’s past three years of
safety and health data compared to the industry’s average. Today, Ade-Wifco
enjoys an experience modifier of 0.93 which is indicative of their strong,
impressive safety and health record; this translates into a 7% reduction for
their workers’ compensation insurance than the average company in the same
industry would pay. In 2007, the company paid $31,325 in workers’ compensation
claims; as of November 2008, there were no claims paid.
An employee summed up the changes made at Ade-Wifco with - "I’ve worked here for
years, under the old ownership and the new. The difference in safety and health
around here is like night and day."
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