The Mann+Hummel Allen Plant in Gastonia, North Carolina, recently received the Gold Level Award from the North Carolina Department of Labor for having 50 percent fewer injuries than the state and national average.
"Protecting our employees is one of our biggest priorities," said Paul Caulford, health, safety and environment manager for Mann+Hummel. "We take pride in creating safe environments across all our locations and making sure our team has the resources they need. We are committed to further improving the plant settings and the well-being of our employees. It's an honor to be presented with this award, and we'll continue to strive toward constructing safe spaces."
To qualify for the annual safety awards, a plant must have no fatalities during the calendar year at the site or location for which the award was given, as well as maintain an incidence rate at least 50 percent below the industry average.
Two award levels are distributed on a yearly basis – gold and silver. The gold award is based on the days away, restricted, transferred (DART) rate, which includes cases of days away from work and restricted activity or job transfer, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Since coming under Mann+Hummel ownership, the Allen Plant has undergone various safety upgrades, such as a new health center, extended hours for an onsite nurse and a new classroom for production basics and training. Additional improvements include updated risk assessments for all plant processes and safety visual aids with risks associated to each job.
For more information, visit www.mann-hummel.com.