EnPro Industries is named an America’s Safest Company Winner

At two-time ASC winner EnPro Industries, every new year begins with Safety First. At the start of every new year, employees are asked to sign this pledge: “I pledge to personally be involved to create an injury-free workplace. My dedication to creating a safe workplace free of all injuries will be absolute and clear through my actions.”

The pledge is part of the company’s SafetyFirst event. On the first business day of the year and prior to any work startup, all operations conduct a 4-hour long event that includes not only the new safety pledge, but highlights management’s commitment to safe production, safety training and a review of activities throughout the organization to focus on the importance of safety.

“We have had a lot of success and created a passion with our proven safety practices because our focus has been at cultural level,” says Joe Wheatley, director of risk management and EHS affairs. “Every employee in the company participates in a safety pledge to renew their personal and public commitments toward safety. We spend a tremendous amount of energy across the company recognizing the positive accomplishments and safety ethic of our employees. We constantly look for ways to increase our safety awareness, and every new employee is immediately introduced to our high safety ethic.” Safety, he adds, “makes for a great place to work.”

Anytime an injury or significant nearmiss incident occurs, the company holds a safety stand down at that facility. The circumstances of the injury or near miss are communicated to all employees, who then assess their processes and workstations for similar hazards and implement corrective actions if they find them.

”Safety is a core value. We recognize that all injuries are preventable and our motivation is our genuine caring about the well-being of others,” says CEO Steve Macadam. “Our ultimate vision is a culture where employees look out for each other in the workplace and carry their safety practices home at the end of every day and we have made great progress in creating this culture. We have developed a comprehensive playbook for our safety practices and our team is relentless in executing these practices.”

As part of its safety culture, EnPro holds a Kids Safety Day, so that employees’ children can see what they do and identify hazards to encourage their parents to come home safely. EnPro management also communicates best safety and environmental practices from different facilities across the company, many of which are adopted corporate-wide. One example is a safety attire policy, which includes ANSI-approved glasses, steel-toed shoes, removal of all jewelry, no loose shirt tails, pulling back hair that is longer than shoulder length, etc. The policy applies to all personnel – include office workers – as well as visitors.

“We want to make it easy for our employees to recognize potentially risky behaviors,” says EHS Project Leader Erin Rafter. “Our companies bend, cut, twist and grind metal and one of our key behavioral triggers is, ‘Don’t Feel the Steel.’ If you are touching metal, then you are at risk, and zero injuries is our goal.”

EnPro accepting their awards at the American Safest Company awards ceremony at The Ritten House in Philadelphia, PA.

Read about this years America’s Safest Companies Winners