Case Study: Stinson Lumber
According to OSHA, the implementation of effective health and safety programs is the key to reducing workplace injuries and illnesses. In fact, OSHA has implemented incentive programs that reduce safety violation fines for company’s that have shown a high level of effective self enforcement of safety and health regulations.
“Safety is always first for management and employees at Stinson Lumber, a 125-year-old privately held company with headquarters in Portland, Ore. The lumber manufacturing company has had an incentive-based safety program in place for its 2000-plus employees since 1989.
Dan Sweeney, vice president of human resources, explains that a new CEO back then believed in the philosophy of using incentives as after-the-fact recognition for rewarding performance— particularly in safety matters. Considered a high-risk-for-injuries company, an incentive-based safety program was initiated that reaped a hefty ROI from the start.
Prior to the program, the company was paying out $1.3 million annually for workers compensation due to lost-time injuries. After three years, the company reduced that cost to $300,000.One of Stinson Lumber’s 13 divisions, which are sprinkled throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana, is a sawmill that employs 80. For the past 15 years, the sawmill operation has not claimed one lost-time injury. “We believe this is the best record in the industry,” Sweeney claims.
Another division, a lumber manufacturing facility with 200 employees located in Washington, has been without any lost-time injuries for more than two years.” – SITE Foundation Study
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