Associates at Perdue’s Lewiston, N.C., operation achieved a safety milestone on March 20, after working two million production hours without experiencing an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable lost-time case. Counting toward the milestone began Sept. 13, 2016.
To celebrate, the operation will be giving each associate a specially designed T-shirt featuring a winning design created by an associate as part of a contest.
“The Lewiston associates take great pride in having a safe place to work and continue to work safely every day,” said Jeff Stalls, Lewiston’s director of operations. “I’m very proud of all members of the Lewiston team for reaching this milestone.”
Perdue has a standard, companywide safety program that encourages active employee participation and input. Associates take part in safety committees, which meet regularly to discuss safety issues, as well as perform safety inspections before the start of each shift. Associates have the authority to stop production or prevent start-up if any unsafe condition exists. In addition, every associate attends safety awareness training, and is encouraged to look for and report any potential hazard.
Perdue is a leader in workplace safety among all North Carolina industries and all industries nationwide combined. According to statistics released by the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, during their most recently reported year in 2015, the lost-time rate for all North Carolina goods-producing industries combined was 0.90 per 100 workers.
According to those same Bureau of Labor statistics, the nationwide lost-time rate for all goods-producing industries combined for that same year was 1.10 per 100 workers annually, while Perdue’s companywide rate during that year was 0.19 per 100 associates. As of March 2017, Perdue’s lost-time rate was 0.28 per 100 associates.
