Simmons plant lauded for employee safety programs

Simmons Bedding Company’s manufacturing facility in San Leandro, Calif., has been honored with the Golden Gate Partnership Recognition by the Cal/OSHA Consultation Service, a division of California’s Department of Industrial Relations.  The award celebrates the plant’s commitment to creating a safe and healthy work environment as well as its utilization of a specific injury and illness prevention program. The Simmons facility is only the twentieth location to be recognized with the Golden Gate Partnership out of the approximately 2,500 worksites evaluated by the Cal/OSHA Consultation Service since the award’s creation. 

“At Simmons, we take pride in our unwavering dedication to employee health and safety,” said Kimberly Samon, Simmons’ senior vice president of human resources. “The addition of the San Leandro plant’s Golden Gate Partnership Recognition to our list of existing safety accolades further demonstrates that this commitment is imbedded in our culture. We are extremely pleased with our overall safety record, and we congratulate the San Leandro team on a job well done.”

Companies are considered for the Golden Gate Partnership Recognition following an on-site visit by the Cal/OSHA Consultation Service. During the visit, a Cal/OSHA representative must meet with company representatives, evaluate the facility’s safety and health maintenance programs, speak with employees and conduct an inspection of the facility’s work area.

“Cal/OSHA developed the Golden Gate Partnership Recognition to motivate and support companies that make workplace safety and health a priority,” said Michael Alvarez, regional manager of the Cal/OSHA Consultation Service. “The Simmons San Leandro plant’s multi-level incident prevention program does an outstanding job of ensuring the safety and well-being of Simmons employees. The program is an excellent example of the steps an organization can take to minimize risk and maximize safety; moreover, it demonstrates effective leadership and commitment.”

Simmons’ San Leandro facility is constantly looking to improve the efficacy of its policies and standards. The plant revamped its safety committee six months ago, and as a result, has seen a reduction in hazards and an increased focus on its “culture of safety.” The 14-person committee, made up of management and hourly associates from the San Leandro facility, is responsible for enforcing safety policies as well as for identifying any potential safety issues and taking immediate action to resolve them. The plant also revisits specific safety policies on an almost weekly basis to ensure that they remain as effective as possible.

“Employees that worry about getting sick or injured on the job are often unable to concentrate on their work as they are more concerned with their personal health,” said Rob Burch, Simmons’ executive vice president of operations. “Simmons has a history of maintaining superior plant safety programs because our employees deserve the safest workspace possible and our customers deserve the highest quality bedding products possible.”

The San Leandro plant is one of several Simmons manufacturing facilities across the United States to receive safety accolades in recent years. In 2005, the company’s Charlotte plant was selected for OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP), and the Phoenix plant renewed its membership in SHARP and in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs’ Star division (VPP Star), the organization’s most prestigious honor.