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Focus on Safety Nets Prize
Carlton Proctor
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
Published - October, 10, 2006
It's no accident that Byfield Marine Supply in Pensacola has a streak of nearly fours years without an injury of any kind to its 17 employees.
The small company, located in an industrial park off Olive Road, is an enthusiastic participant in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's SHARP program for small businesses.
Run for OSHA by the University of South Florida's College of Public Health, SHARP -- or Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program -- is a free program designed to help small business with 50 or fewer employees to comply with federal safety standards.
Byfield is one of only 20 small businesses in Florida to receive the SHARP award.
In addition to Byfield, Daws Manufacturing, a Pensacola-based company that makes aluminum tool boxes for trucks, was given a SHARP award, along with Architectural Specialties in Crestview and Marianna Airmotive in Marianna.
Keith Mauer, Byfield's warehouse manager and OSHA coordinator, said the SHARP program is worth the investment in time and training it takes a small business to achieve the award.
Receiving a SHARP designation not only lowers the cost of workers compensation insurance, but also reduces a business' property and casualty insurance and provides a two-year exemption from further OSHA inspections.
Mauer says the safety designation is also a source of pride.
"And when we put the SHARP award on our Web site, and people see we're going to extra mile to protect our employees, it brings in new business," he said.
University of South Florida consultant Joe Cundiff, who conducts SHARP training and inspections in the Panhandle, said Mauer's PowerPoint presentation to employees is effective in teaching employees up-to-date safety practices.
"The credit for receiving the SHARP award goes to our 19 employees," Mauer said. "Every day they set the standard and take pride in their work."
Playing it Safe
Sarasota Manatee Business featured USF OTI's Bob Nesbit and USF SafetyFlorida's Charlene Vespi on the urgent issue of how growth is contributing to workplace injuries. Here are some excerpts:
In Florida, 422 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2004, up from 347 in 2003. The top two causes were transportation incidents (198 fatalities) and falls (75 fatalities).
“Job growth and the expanding economy do not have to equate to more accidents,” says Robert Nesbit, program manager of the University of South Florida’s OSHA Training Institute Education Center. “We feel that with good training and good employer involvement the area can have both—safe work sites and a growing economy at the same time.”
Another resource is the USF SafetyFlorida consultation program, a free service that helps companies identify and correct potential workplace hazards. “We’re trying to build a trust with the employers to allow us to come in and explain to them what kinds of training and education can be offered to their employees,” says associate director Charlene Vespi. “We like to help employers understand that workers’ comp costs and injuries have an impact on their bottom line.”
| USF SafetyFlorida Consultants Receive First-Rate Industrial Truck Safety Training
Applying industrial truck material handling techniques and recognizing safe load capacity were among topics presented to government representatives at the February “Industrial Truck Best Practices” seminar in Tampa on February 9, 2006. OSHA and the Industrial Truck Association (ITA) used their Alliance, which was signed in January 2004, as a basis for developing the best practices seminar that provided insight into the safe use of forklifts, front loaders and motorized pallets for OSHA inspectors and University of South Florida Consultation Program representatives. (See page five.)
Issues facing businesses today need new guidelines to protect workers from injury and illness and to save employers medical and workers' comp costs.
USF SafetyFlorida hosted a research-planning town hall meetings held by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Mark Albright in the St. Petersberg Times left the meeting with a list of issues in Safety Standards Lag Size, Age of Workers. Both articles quote members of the USF SafetyFlorida industrial hygiene and safety consultant staff.
Can Safety Consultation Boost Your Your Bottom Line?
The safety and health consultation programs in each state are completely separate from the OSHA inspection effort. So, no citations are issued or penalties proposed if a consultant finds safety or health issues at the job site. In Florida, the program, called USF SafetyFlorida, is administered by the University of South Florida's College of Public Health.
USF SafetyFlorida consultant Ned Fayson said the program helps business owners, managers and employees work together to create a safe working environment. Consultants assess all equipment and environmental hazards, as well as physical work practices. They then update the company's job safety and health program, or even create one if the company doesn't have one. READ MORE FROM THE JACKSONVILLE BUSIESS JOURNAL.
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