Simmons Bedding Company is pleased to announce that its manufacturing facilities in Aurora, Colo.; Waycross, Ga.; Kansas City, Kan.; Honolulu; Agawam, Mass.; and Los Angeles each have been honored in recent months by their local branches of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) for outstanding efforts related to the implementation and maintenance of effective injury and illness prevention programs. The company’s latest safety accolades include the Aurora plant achieving OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program Merit (VPP Merit) status, the Waycross, Kansas City and Honolulu plants earning OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) honor, the Agawam plant’s recertification of SHARP and the Los Angeles plant receiving the Golden Gate Partnership Recognition (GGPR) Award for Safety.
Simmons is the only major bedding manufacturer to receive such recognitions from OSHA, and the various honors further solidify the company’s position as the bedding industry’s workplace safety and health leader. Simmons posted a 2008 OSHA recordable incidence rate of 3.2, which is the lowest in the history of the company and less than half the 7.1 incidence rate posted by the furniture industry in 2008. Simmons’ incidence rate is also significantly lower than the mattress manufacturing incidence rate of 6.2 for that same period.
“At Simmons, our associates are our most important resource; therefore, we strive to establish the safest and healthiest work environment possible,” said Kimberly Samon, executive vice president of human resources. “We understand that a company is only as strong as its employees and, because of that, have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to safety by instituting applied education programs that stress injury and illness prevention. The awards and honors bestowed by OSHA are evidence of our employees’ hard work, and we congratulate everyone at the recognized facilities on their tremendous accomplishments.”
Simmons has worked closely with OSHA on both federal and local levels to ensure that 100 percent of the company’s plants are actively enrolled in the organization’s cooperative safety programs. These efforts have resulted in the company’s most recent OSHA recognitions, as well as additional past honors including the Phoenix plant’s recertification of its VPP Star status, the San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Charlotte, N.C., plants’ acceptance into SHARP and the San Leandro, Calif., plant’s receipt of the GGPR. In total, OSHA has formally recognized safety achievements at 10 Simmons facilities.
“Being recognized by OSHA for our safety achievements is validation that Simmons’ safety program is doing exactly what it is designed to accomplish, which is to establish a ‘culture of safety’ in our plants that involves the support and participation of every employee,” said Jonathan Dawe, Simmons’ director of safety, health, wellness and workers’ compensation. “We follow a comprehensive company-wide safety process that impacts all aspects of our plants from hiring and plant layout to identifying potential hazards. Our employees also complete monthly safety training updates on topics ranging from forklift safety to hearing protection. Our goal is accident prevention, and the program has been very successful.”
About Simmons Bedding Company
Atlanta-based Simmons Bedding Company is one of the world's largest mattress manufacturers, manufacturing and marketing a broad range of products including Beautyrest, Beautyrest Black, Beautyrest Studio, BeautySleep, ComforPedic by Simmons, Natural Care, Beautyrest Beginnings and Deep Sleep. Simmons Bedding operates 19 conventional bedding manufacturing facilities and two juvenile bedding manufacturing facilities across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Simmons Bedding also serves as a key supplier of beds to many of the world’s leading hotel groups and resort properties.