TTMA recognizes plant safety achievers

TTMA has recognized the importance of workplace safety for years with its annual Plant Safety Award, only this year’s recipients didn’t have a chance to enjoy the convention spotlight. The hard-won and well-deserved awards were delivered to the proud recipients, nonetheless.

The winners for their performance during 2019 were:

• Trailer Category A (over 750,000 man hours)—Great Dane Trailers, Kewanee IL

• Trailer Category B (300,000–750,000 man hours)—Great Dane Trailers, Elysburg PA

• Trailer Category C (under 300,000 man hours)—Fontaine Heavy Haul, Springville AL

• Tank Category A (over 750,000 man hours)—EnTrans International, Athens TN

• Tank Category B (300,000–750,000 man hours)—Wabash National, New Lisbon WI

• Tank Category C (under 300,000 man hours)—Wabash National, Portland OR

• Most Improved Trailer—Stoughton Trailers Plant 6, Stoughton WI

• Most Improved Tank—Stephens Pneumatics, Haslet TX

TTMA introduced its plant safety contest in 1971. The winners, based on facility type and size, are chosen from the plants with the leading plant safety data on their OSHA 300A Summary Form.

For example, the Great Dane Elysburg facility employs more than 180 people and went more than 270 days without a recordable injury in 2018-19. The Kewanee facility employs more than 600 people and went more than 140 days without a recordable injury or lost time incident in 2019. Both plants manufacture Great Dane’s Champion dry freight vans, and this is the first TTMA Plant Safety Award for both the Elysburg and Kewanee facilities.

“Throughout Great Dane, we have established a culture that puts safety as our top priority,” said Brian Sage, Great Dane’s executive vice president of manufacturing. “These awards recognize the hard work and successful effort put forth by our Elysburg and Kewanee leadership teams and employees to create and maintain a culture of safety within the plants each and every day.”

Like all of Great Dane’s facilities, these plants have implemented many programs in an effort to keep safety as the top priority, including strong Behavioral Based Safety (BBS) programs and Great Dane’s newest safety initiative, the “Think Safety First” program, which focuses on safe working behaviors for individuals by teaching employees about the negative impacts an injury can have not only on the individual, but also on his or her family members and friends.

The EnTrans Athens team achieved lower than industry averages for Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR), Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) and Lost Workday Case Incidence Rate (LWIR). The facility uses the latest equipment and safety practices to ensure the highest levels of safety.

“Receiving this recognition from TTMA is a great recognition of the hard work and dedication of our Athens team,” said Doug Chapple, CEO of EnTrans International. “Safety is our No 1 priority at EnTrans. We are focused on operating the safest facilities for our valued employees.” 

For Wabash National, this marks the 13th year its tank trailer business received a plant safety award from TTMA. 

“Our people come first at Wabash National,” said Shain Wells, vice president of manufacturing at Wabash. “Safety has been and will always be our top priority. This recognition from TTMA is a testament to the operational excellence our employees deliver every day, not only at the two plants recognized with awards this year, but at all of our manufacturing and service centers across the globe.”