Road Systems Inc. (RSI) was recently honored with the 2012 Plant Safety Award from the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association (TTMA). This is the third straight year and fourth time that RSI has received this honor from TTMA; the company was also an award recipient in 2004, 2010 and 2011. RSI was recognized for the achievement at the TTMA Annual Convention in Point Clear, Ala.
Under the TTMA Plant Safety program, award winners are selected from member companies' year-long occupational injury data recorded in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) record-keeping requirements. RSI won in the "C" category of the award segmented for plants sized 300,000 man-hours and under.
To be considered for the award, RSI was responsible for providing numerical data in seven areas: deaths, total lost workday cases, total cases with job transfer or restriction, days away from work, days of job transfer or job restriction, total number of other recordable cases and total cases (of injuries).
Since receiving its first Plant Safety Award in 2004, RSI not only has decreased its incident frequency rate by more than 400 percent but also grown by 110 employees during that time. One of RSI's secrets to success is its behavior-based strategy, which produces results that improve every year. For example, outfitted with bright orange shirts to signify the need for additional attention, new employees are placed on a six-month probationary period where all plant personnel are responsible for monitoring their safety.
"The team approach to mentoring and monitoring each other's safety performance makes a much bigger impact than simply a directive from a supervisor," stated Lynn Reinbolt, RSI’s president. "This award is a product of our belief that safety is an individual behavior that succeeds only with support from one's colleagues. We have a great team, and I could not be more proud of our achievements."
This year marks the 42nd presentation of the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association Plant Safety Awards. TTMA is a member-based organization established to build confidence between manufacturers of truck trailers, cargo tanks, intermodal containers and their suppliers to bring about a mutual understanding of the problems confronting all manufacturers.
"There is a reason that RSI is consistently on top of their category year after year," said Jeff Sims, president of the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association. "Their commitment to safety has been unparalleled. They truly set the standard for others to emulate."
A subsidiary of Con-way Inc., RSI designs, builds and sells freight trailers and other equipment to its sister transportation and logistics operating companies within the Con-way organization. With its production operations and reputation for quality manufacturing, the company has also established a growing presence as a supplier of trailing equipment to customers across the transportation and logistics marketplace.
For more information, visit www.con-way.com.
