This month we present the 100 companies with the broadest readership ofISHN(most subscriptions corporate-wide). We describe the values and philosophies of the top ten companies to understand their commitment to ongoing safety and health education and communication.
There is no lack of “best of” or “world class” safety and health program lists. And there is almost no consensus on what indicators or criteria should be used to determine “the best of the best.” What’s increasingly clear is OSHA injury and illness incidence rates do not suffice, given widespread recognition that the OSHA data gives no indication of what companies are doing to be successful in safety. The fact that BP officials were on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the gulf celebrating the rig’s safety record shortly before it exploded and sunk underscores how rates and zero injury days can be deceiving.
We do see a correlation betweenISHN’s“Top 100” companies and input from professionals we canvassed on their candidates for companies with the best safety and health programs. Scan the list and you see many recognizable and reputable organizations. It makes sense: if you’re going to operate a top-flight safety and health program, components must include continuous learning, searching for best practices, and staying in tune with trends and innovations in the field.
The top ten companies with the most ISHN subscriptions: BASF Corp., Caterpillar, Sherwin-Williams Company, General Motors Corp., Air Products Chemicals, Georgia Pacific, Sara Lee International, Pepsi Cola Company, Archer Screw Products, Inc., and Boeing Aircraft.
1. BASF Corp.
“A business cannot be successful in the long term if it does not act responsibly toward the environment and society. That is why sustainability is an integral part of our strategy."
Jürgen Hambrecht, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors
2. Caterpillar Global Paving
“Caterpillar is dedicated to the long-term health and safety of everyone on Caterpillar property and protecting the environment in which we operate. Our Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Professionals have teamed with Caterpillar leadership to drive tremendous improvement and heightened awareness of the importance of EHS across our enterprise. Employees of Team Caterpillar are engaged in identifying and managing risk and are active participants in continuously improving the environment, health and safety of our operations.”
3. Sherwin Williams Co.
“Corporate and Division leadership, from top management to front line supervisors, are responsible and accountable for EHS compliance and for managing EHS risks within their organizations. Their active participation includes integrating sound EHS management practices into their routine business practices. Every employee is expected to understand this policy and accept the responsibility to comply with all the supporting procedures and programs intended to protect themselves, coworkers, their community and the environment.”
4. General Motors
“General Motors is dedicated to protecting human health, natural resources and the global environment. This dedication reaches further than compliance with the law to encompass the integration of sound environmental practices into our business decisions.”
5. Air Products Chemicals
“Our Basic Safety Process provides a structured system to integrate safety into all levels of the organization and actively engage each individual. As part of BSP, whenever an unsafe condition or behavior is predicted or observed, an employee is required to personally take corrective action and then complete an Accident Predictive Technique record. These records are then tracked, trends assessed, and measures implemented to further improve safety performance.”
6. Georgia Pacific Consumer Products
“We believe sustainability has three dimensions — social, environmental and economic. In making business decisions, Georgia-Pacific tries to find the right balance among the three dimensions.
“Social dimension — helping make people’s lives better through the products we make, support for the communities in which we live and work, maintaining quality work environments, and sourcing responsibly.
“Environmental dimension — using resources wisely, complying with laws, minimizing the impact of our facilities by operating in a safe, responsible and efficient manner, and reducing the adverse impact of our products in use.
“Economic dimension — profitability; the cost to customers and consumers to use our products; making products that are preferred in the marketplace; and our community impact through local purchases of goods and services, taxes and other community support.”
7. Sara Lee International
“Sara Lee is committed to promoting wellness and nutrition, supporting our communities, and protecting our planet, in a manner consistent with our core values.
“This statement embodies the spirit and energy around everything we do, as individuals and as a company, to enhance the lives of the people and places we touch. Consistent with this pledge, we also recognize the need to establish clear principles to guide our daily work and the decisions we make every day.”
Brenda Barnes, Chairman and CEO
8. Pepsi Cola Co.
“Our Human Rights Workplace Policy serves to create and enforce a mutual respect for the dignity indicators or criteria should be used t increasingly clear is OSHA injury a fice, given widespread recognition of what companies are doing to b officials were on the Deepwater rig’s safety record shortly befo rates and zero injury of our people throughout our organization. PepsiCo respects the dignity of our workers in the workplace and we work to ensure our associates' rights to personal security, a safe, clean and healthful workplace, and freedom from harassment or abuse of any kind.”
9. Archer Screw Products, Inc.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3
“We are a manufacturer of standard and special fasteners, offering our customers a variety of quality products since 1975. The cross we chose as our logo is at the heart of our commitment. Our desire has always been the same; to serve our customers in every area of their fastener requirements.”
Boeing Aircraft
“Boeing seeks to continually improve its processes and facilities for all employees, from the incorporation of ergonomics improvements that make building our products more comfortable to technology research and investments that make our workplaces safer.
The company has set an aggressive five-year target to further improve its workplace safety performance 25 percent by 2013. To help reach that goal, Boeing will adopt a single, enterprise-wide safety management system at its major manufacturing facilities that conforms to OHSAS 18001, an internationally recognized occupational health and safety management system standard.”
11 Rohm and Hass Co.
12 BAE Systems
13 General Dynamics
14 RR Donnelley & Sons Co.
15 Weyerhaeuser Corp.
16 Parker Hannifin Corp.
17 Alcoa
18 Chevron Products Co.
19 Siemens Building Technology
20 3M Co.
21 Anheuser Busch
22 Arch Aluminum & Glass Co., Inc.
23 Bayer Crop Science Co.
24 Honda
25 Smurfitt Stone Container
26 Owens Corning
27 BP America
28 Arkema, Inc.
29 Abbott Laboratories
30 Bayer Health Care
31 Chevron Chemical Co.
32 Rockwell Automation
33 Schreiber Specialties, Inc.
34 Tetra Technologies, Inc.
35 Kraft Foods
36 Raytheon Commercial
37 AK Tube, Inc.
38 Avery Dennison
39 Rexam Beverage Container of America
40 RR Donnelley & Sons
41 Whirlpool Corp.
42 Air Liquide Electronics
43 American Energies Gas Service
44 Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations
45 Schering Plough Corp.
46 Brutzman’s Inc.
47 GE Energy USA, LLC
48 Quebecor World
49 Shell Oil Co.
50 Baker Petrolite
51 Sealed Air Cryovac
52 Akzo Nobel Chemicals
53 Arvin Meritor, Inc.
54 Ashland, Inc.
55 Berry Plastics
56 Goodyear
57 Hershey Co.
58 Rohm and Hass Electronic
59 ABB, Inc.
60 APAC
61 Certainteed
62 Cessna
63 Chad Company Missouri, Inc.
64 Exxon Mobil Corp.
65 American Red Cross
66 Bayer Technology Services
67 Carpenter Training Center
68 Kimberly-Clark Corp.
69 PPG Industries
70 Rehau, Inc.
71 AG Services, LLC
72 Alben Metals Products
73 Allegheny Ludlum Corp.
74 Azteca Milling Co.
75 Baldor Electric Co.
76 Kennametal, Inc.
77 L’Oreal Corp.
78 Nestle Water North America
79 Solo Cup Co.
80 Airgas, Inc.
81 Akzo Nobel CRNA
82 Allied
83 Ataco Steel Products Co.
84 BP America Natural Gas
85 Cabot Creamery Co.
86 Carpenter Decorating
87 L-3 Communications
88 Nucor Steel
89 Procter & Gamble
90 Rexnord
91 Rolls Royce Corp.
92 Solvay Minerals
93 Tyson, Inc.
94 Valero Refining Co.
95 Volvo USA
96 Washington Group International
97 American Carbide Saw Co.
98 ATC Mechanical Services
99 Battelle Labs
100 Bechtel
SIDEBAR: Criteria for the best safety and health programs
Benchmark your program against these questions. The more affirmative answers, except for the OSHA questions, the more you’re on your way to safety and health excellence.1 Do you have acorporate social responsibilityprogram?
2 Do you have staff dedicated toCSR?
3 Do you have acorporate sustainability program?
4 Do you have staff dedicated tosustainability?
5 Are you a member ofVPP?
6 Are youOHSAS 18001certified?
7 Are youISO 14001certified?
8 Do you operate a formal, documentedS&H management system?
9 Is your recordableOSHA injury-illness ratebetter than your industry average?
10 Have you had anOSHA inspectiontriggered by an employee complaint in the past 3 years?
11 Have you had anOSHA inspectiontriggered by a fatality or multiple injury incident in the past 3 years?
12 Do each of your employees receive more than24 hours of safety training per year?
13 Is theratioof your S&H full-time professional staff at least 1 to every 200 employees?
14 Do you have aformal health promotionprogram to boost employee overall health?
15 Do you have a formaloff-the-job safetyprogram for employees?
16 Does your S&H full-time professional staff have more than20 years experiencecombined?
17 Does the majority of your S&H full-time professional staff haveCIHorCSPcertifications?
18 Are the annualsalary increasesof your managers and supervisors in part linked to S&H performance?
19 Do you conduct annual S&Hperception surveysof employees?
20 Do you have a formalergonomicsprogram?
21 Do you have a formalreturn-to-workprogram for injured employees?
22 Do you conduct facility-wideS&H auditsat least on a monthly basis?
23 Do you have a formal, documented process foridentifyingand ensuring theabatementof S&H hazards?
24 Do you have a formal, documented process for responding to employee S&Hcomplaints or concerns?
For complete list of questions, visit “Web Exclusives” at www.ishn.com.
