It's official:
Potlatch Corporation's lumber mill in Gwinn is a really safe place to work.
The mill was the recipient of the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Rising Star Award for workplace safety and health this week.
The award recognizes workplaces that not only have a committed safety and health management system--in Potlatch's case, its Plant Wide Safety Team--but that also have health and safety incident rates well below the average.
"We are extremely pleased to receive this recognition for safety performance," says Gwinn Plant Manager Ron Salisbury. "Every employee at the Gwinn operation contributes to our success and we all share together in the pride that comes with receiving this award."
The award was accepted on behalf of the mill by Plant Wide Safety Team members Chuck Paulsen, Ernest Letson, and David Ruokolainen.
The Gwinn sawmill's incident rates were 2.5 in 2007, 2.1 in 2008 and 1.4 in 2009, much lower than the industry average in Michigan, which was 7.7 in 2007, and 6.9 in 2008 and 2009.
To get the Rising Star Award, Michigan OSHA inspectors did 17 formal and 20 informal interviews during site visits. The next step for the mill will be Star status, after it improves training, employee involvement and hazard prevention and control.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Ron Salisbury, Potlatch Corporation
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