At 12 of America's Safest Companies, Managers and Employees Share Commitment to - and Responsibility for - Safety.CLEVELAND -- (OTCBB OTCBB See OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB). :PTON) At first blush Adv. 1. at first blush - as a first impression; "at first blush the offer seemed attractive" when first seen , Occupational Hazards magazine's 12 picks for America's Safest Companies of 2005 have about as much in common as a bag of Doritos and a gallon of Speedway gasoline. But look beyond their diverse industry sectors and product offerings and you'll find that the 2005 America's Safest Companies share a common element: They set their own standards for safety excellence, which usually go well beyond OSHA OSHA n. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a branch of the US Department of Labor responsible for establishing and enforcing safety and health standards in the workplace. and EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. regulations and industry norms. Occupational Hazards, the leading magazine of safety, health and loss prevention, named the following companies to the 2005 America's Safest Companies after extensive reviews of safety procedures and statistics: -- Amphenol AssembleTech Florida, Lakes Wales, Fla. -- Calpine Corp., San Jose, Calif. -- Delta Airlines Inc., Atlanta, Ga. -- Fort Dearborn Co., Niles, Ill. -- Frito-Lay Inc., Plano, Tex. -- ISP Columbus, Columbus, Ohio -- Keystone Wood Specialties Inc., Lancaster, Pa. -- Kinetic Systems Inc., Union City, Calif. -- Marathon Petroleum Company LLC, Robinson, Ill. -- Springs Window Fashions LP, Montgomery, Pa. -- Union Pacific Corp., Omaha, Neb. -- Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, S.C. "Some companies still believe that on-the-job injuries and illnesses are a cost of doing business. Our honorees see things quite differently," said Stephen G. Minter, editor and associate publisher of Occupational Hazards magazine. "They understand that work-related injuries and fatalities are a cost - in human and financial terms - that no company should expect to incur. That's why they apply their management skills, ingenuity and resources to ensuring that their employees are safe on and off the job." The 2005 companies are bound together by some common threads: lost-time accident or injury rates well below their respective industries' averages; EHS EHS Environmental Health and Safety EHS Early Head Start (pre-school program) EHS Extremely Hazardous Substance (EPA) EHS Environmental Health Services EHS Exchange Hosted Services programs that have earned the recognition and admiration of their industry trade associations and federal and state occupational safety and health regulators; and EHS programs built on rock-solid, fundamental concepts of occupational health and safety, such as safety committees, safety training, risk assessment and job hazard analysis A hazard analysis is a process used to characterize the elements of risk. The results of a hazard analysis is the identification of unacceptable risks and the selection of means of controlling or eliminating them. , accident control and prevention, safety auditing and consistent, continuous communication and awareness-building. America's Safest Companies not only have employee involvement and empowerment in safety, they have upper management commitment that goes beyond just lip service lip service n. Verbal expression of agreement or allegiance, unsupported by real conviction or action; hypocritical respect: . At Kinetic Systems, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Kurt Gilson conducts project safety audits. At Springs Window Fashions, the plant manager is co-chairperson of the central safety and health committee. Delta CEO Jerry Grinstein, in a September 2004 memo to officers and directors, could have been speaking for all of the 2005 America's Safest Companies when he said, "providing a safe, secure operation is Delta's first and most fundamental obligation to our customers and employees" and added that commitment to the values of "safety, security, ethics and compliance starts at the top and then extends down through every level of the organization." Grinstein concludes that top company officials must have a sincere interest in and passion for safety for an EHS program to be successful - and that passion was evident in the applications submitted by this year's honorees. The 2005 America's Safest Companies and the Safest Companies sponsors - MCR MCR My Chemical Romance (band) MCR Minimum Capital Requirement MCR Minimum Cell Rate MCR Middle Common Room (UK universities) MCR Multivariate Curve Resolution Safety and PureSafety - are featured in the October 2005 issue of Occupational Hazards. Occupational Hazards is published by Penton Media Penton Media, Inc. (OTC: PTON.OB), founded in 1892, is a diversified business-to-business media company. Penton Media is a mass media corporation that publishes and produces over 40 magazines, 80 trade shows, and 47 web sites. , Inc. (OTCBB:PTON, www.penton.com) |
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