Texas Employers Recognized for Exemplary Safety Programs

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently recognized four Texas companies for their outstanding safety programs.

The Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) award recognizes small, private sector Texas employers for exemplary safety management programs and low incidence rates of work-related injuries and illnesses after participation in the TDI-DWC Occupational Safety and Health Consultation (OSHCON) program.

The SHARP award was presented to:

• Chaparral Industries Inc. employs 51 people at its location in Odessa where they apply corrosion resistant protective coatings to oilfield equipment. The facility has been granted a one-year exemption from programmed OSHA inspections.
• Kaemark Inc. employs 45 people at the Giddings location where they produce styling salon furniture. The company has been granted a one-year exemption from programmed OSHA inspections.
• RDH Industrial Inc. employs eight people at its Abilene location where they manufacture a full range of high-performance and off-road specialty automotive transmissions. The company has been granted a two-year exemption from programmed OSHA inspections.
• Wright Distributing Co. employs 58 people at the New Braunfels location where they conduct wholesale beverage distribution of several brands of beer and other beverages. The company has been granted a one-year exemption from programmed OSHA inspections.

OSHCON is a free service designed to help employers understand and comply with OSHA standards through safety inspections conducted by TDI-DWC’s professional consultants. Benefits for employers participating in the OSHCON program include prevention of work-related injuries and illnesses; confirmation to their employees and customers of their commitment to safety; public acknowledgement of their safety efforts; monetary savings to the company by reducing workers’ compensation costs and other costs associated with work-related injuries and illnesses; and protection of company assets such as employees, equipment, supplies, products and facilities.

Employers receiving consultation services from the OSHCON program may be eligible for SHARP status if they have fewer than 250 employees at a worksite and fewer than 500 employees corporate-wide; have operations limited to a fixed worksite; undergo a full-service OSHCON consultation; involve employees in the consultation process; correct all hazards identified by the consultation; and have days away restricted time (DART) and total case rate (TCR) injury and illness incidence rates below the national average for their industries.

Source: Texas Department of Insurance