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OSHA News Release
2006 - 03/23/2006 - OSHA, Koch Industries Including Corpus Christi Facility, Renews Partnership |
OSHA News Release - Table of Contents |
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Region 6 News Release: OSHA-06-540-DAL Thursday, March 23, 2006 Contact: Diana Petterson or Elizabeth Todd Phone: (214) 767-4776, ext. 222 or 221 OSHA, Koch Industries Including Corpus Christi Facility, Renews Partnership
CORPUS CHRISTI -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Koch Industries Inc., have renewed a national partnership to strengthen safety and health for workers at eight facilities owned by Koch company affiliates around the country including the Koch Carbon LLC in Corpus Christi. "Our partnership with Koch Industries has allowed OSHA to reach a diverse group of worksites within the organization and address safety and health issues in a company with a worldwide presence," said Jonathan L. Snare, acting assistant secretary of labor for OSHA. "We welcome the opportunity to advance our partnership and look forward to building on our successes." Since it was first signed in January 2003, injury and illness rates for Koch facilities in the partnership have declined dramatically, as reflected by two types of measurements used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Their "total case incident rate" declined approximately 18 percent, and their DART rate was down about 37 percent. DART measures the extent to which injuries require workers to spend "days away, restricted and transferred" from their regular jobs. "Our involvement with OSHA's Strategic Partnership Program has provided us an avenue for proactively involving agency representatives in our health and safety efforts," said Jeff Gentry, executive vice president of Koch Industries. "As a direct result, our employees can better leverage health and safety knowledge across our companies and work toward continuous improvement. This has enhanced our knowledge systems and allowed us to develop clearer strategies for future improvements. We look forward to continuing to work together to reduce injuries." Through the partnership, Koch companies and OSHA have developed a contractor safety training course and an ergonomic awareness campaign, as well as enhanced working relations between Koch facilities and OSHA area and regional offices in their local areas. The partners will maintain their focus on reducing injuries and illnesses, including ergonomic-related injuries at the participating Koch subsidiaries. They will continue to work together to expand and implement Koch companies' Safety and Health Management system at the worksites, including sharing knowledge and best practices from the partnership to help reduce injuries and illnesses at other Koch company sites. Koch Industries, based in Wichita, Kan., owns a diverse group of companies involved in refining and chemicals, fibers and polymers, commodity and financial trading, and forest and consumer products. These companies have a presence in nearly 60 countries and employ about 80,000 people. Koch facilities involved in this partnership are: Aviation Hangar, Wichita, Kan.; Koch Carbon LLC, Chicago and Corpus Christi, Texas; The C. Reiss Coal Company, Green Bay, Wis.; Koch Mineral Services Office Complex, Wichita, Kan.; and Koch Nitrogen Co., Enid, Okla., Beatrice, Neb. and Dodge City, Kan. Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov. # # #
U.S. Labor Department (DOL) releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office. Please specify which news release when placing your request. Call (202) 693-7765 or TTY (202) 693-7755. DOL is committed to providing America's employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance. |
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