Associates at Perdue Farms’ harvest operation in Perry, Georgia, achieved a safety milestone recently after working four million production hours without experiencing an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable lost-time case. Counting toward the milestone began January 6, 2016.
To celebrate, the operation provided a catered lunch for more than 1,800 associates.
“It’s important to recognize that it was our associates who made this happen,” said Craig Pugh, director of operations at Perdue. “Perdue has a strong safety program, but it takes the cooperation and commitment of all our associates to make it work.”
As Pugh explains, 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 has strong record in workplace safety
Perdue is a leader in workplace safety among all Georgia 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 2018, the lost-time rate for all Georgia goods-producing industries combined was 2.7 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 2.9 per 100 workers annually, while Perdue’s companywide rate during that year was 0.195 per 100 associates.
