Associates at Perdue’s harvest operation in Lewiston, South Carolina 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 December 1, 2017.
“Workplace safety is an integral part of our commitment to our people at Perdue,” said Jeff Stalls, director of Perdue operations in Lewiston. “Reaching this level of safety takes the daily commitment of every associate in our facility, a commitment I know they take seriously. We’re very proud of our associates for setting such a high safety standard.”
As Stalls explains, Perdue has a standard, company wide 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.
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 North Carolina goods-producing industries combined was 0.60 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 0.90 per 100 workers annually, while Purdue’s company wide rate during that year was 0.26 per 100 associates.
