Three of the 26 companies recognized for safety excellence in 2016 by the state of South Carolina are contractors at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site.
The companies are: liquid waste management contractor Savannah River Remediation (SRR); management and operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS); and security provider Centerra.
The Energy Department reported June 28 that the contractors were honored with the Palmetto Shining Star Award from the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation for their efforts. The state agency promotes health, safety, and economic well-being of the public through regulation and licensing.
The award is given to companies that meet one of the following criteria: no recordable injuries or illnesses during the calendar year; at least a 40 percent reduction in year-to-year employer injury rates; at least 75 percent below the national injury rate among the American workforce; or working 1 million or more safe work hours without a lost-time injury or illness.
Other award recipients this year included construction companies, nuclear plants, automotive companies, and others in which a strong safety culture is necessary.
In 2016, Savannah River Remediation recorded a rate of 0.46 injuries per 100 workers. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions accrued more than 9.7 million safe hours during the year by conducting daily operations without a workday lost to injury. In addition, the SRNS employee injury rate for 2016 was 0.27 per 100 employees for its construction workforce and 0.15 per 100 for its operations workforce.
The contractors’ injury rates were significantly lower than South Carolina’s average of 2.0 injuries per 100 workers in 2016. “Our culture is nurtured and sustained by frontline workers who are driven by a genuine desire to perform their work as safely as possible,” SRNS President Stuart MacVean wrote in a press release.
Centerra was recognized in similar fashion for setting a company record of 1.4 million hours without a workday lost to injury. Centerra General Manager Mark Bolton said: “We understand the importance of maintaining a safe work environment in all operations, and our goal every day must be to avoid injury.”
