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U.S. Department of Labor | |
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| Occupational Safety & Health Administration | ||||||
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| OSHA Small Business > Small Business Success Stories > Anthony Forest Products | |
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Anthony Forest Products Saves Over $1 Million by Investing $50,000 in Safety and Health |
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In El Dorado, AR, where the company is headquartered, there are over 180 employees on the company's payroll and they contribute more than $7 million to the local economy each year. In 2005, the laminating plant in Urbana, AR logged in almost 212,000 hours in which they had exactly zero accidents under guidelines established by OSHA. Anthony currently has five Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) work sites located in three states, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. The company’s SHARP sites include: a pine lumber producing mill in Urbana, AR; an engineered wood laminating plant in El Dorado, AR; a wood chip mill in Plain Dealing, LA; a wood chip mill in Troup, TX; and a pine lumber producing mill in Atlanta, TX. The company’s five SHARP sites employ between 10 and 100 workers per work site, while company-wide, including administrative employees, there are approximately 450 workers. Anthony has participated in the SHARP program since 1998. Prior to their becoming a SHARP company, their Worker’s Compensation Experience Modifier Rate (EMR) rate was almost 1.0. The EMR began to decline after the initiation of a formal safety program in the early 1990s, and after the SHARP partnership with OSHA On-site Consultation, the EMR rate continued to drop to 0.63. "Cost savings from the reduction of workers compensation premiums are definitely a benefit of becoming a SHARP company," said Kelly Olivier, Environmental, Health & Safety Coordinator at Anthony Forest Products. "Becoming a member of SHARP has enhanced our company’s safety program by involving employees and reducing incidents, which has strengthened already good relationships between management and our employees," stated Olivier. He explained that important factors in employee involvement include training Anthony’s workforce on safety and policies and procedures, and increasing their knowledge of OSHA standards. Olivier noted that some of the OSHA regulatory aspects that were addressed during the comprehensive On-site Consultation visits included "machine guarding, (protecting points of operation and pinch points); lockout/tagout (identifying energy sources, designating authorized personnel, and developing proper start-up/shutdown procedures); powered industrial trucks (operating procedures and safe driving criteria, vehicle maintenance checks); walking and working surfaces (upgrading stairs, walkways, and platforms by adding proper railing systems, toe boards, etc.); and personal protective equipment (PPE) (PPE assessments to identify proper safety equipment for the job performed.)" Anthony’s employees are very proud of their SHARP status, as evidenced by the comments of their workers at the lumber producing mill in Urbana, AR. "This makes you feel the company is serious. They want a quality operation and that makes you feel secure about your company," stated Russell Hartley. Ronnie Britt explained "I think it was great, and the credit goes to the employees." Finally, C.F. "Shorty" Burnside said, "I’ve been with them for 15 years. We have come a long way. We never had to wear safety equipment a long time ago!" |
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Page last updated: 02/20/2007 | |
