As many of us are voicing our thanks to the people in our lives, this includes our colleagues. So in that spirit, we want to show appreciation for some distinguished safety leaders. Earlier this year The National Safety Council recognized outstanding service by safety professionals through its NSC Distinguished Service to Safety Award. To receive this award, candidates must have had a sustained impact on the safety movement at the local, national or international level that resulted in increased injury prevention. Contributions to research are also recognized.
Here are the winners for 2022.
Pat Cunningham, Health, Safety & Environmental Leader, Cummins Inc.
Pat is a health, safety and environmental leader at Cummins Incorporated, a global power technology company. He has been a delegate and significant contributor to the Council and Campbell Institute for a number of years.
His work in the area of contractor management has improved safety compliance, helped define best practices and advanced thought leadership in a high-risk industry. The enhanced training practices Pat has implemented and inspired across the industry have saved and continue to save lives.<
Bob is director of safety at the Master Builders’ Association of Western Pennsylvania, representing 240 companies and 16 local construction unions. He’s a valued Council contributor, serving as chairman of the Construction and Utilities Division.
His commitment to reducing substance abuse in construction has resulted in an industry-wide substance abuse program. Bob also pioneered the gamification of construction safety, creating an application called Harness Hero that enhances existing fall protection training. The game has been downloaded more than 100 thousand times across six continents.
Peter Hancock, Professor, Department of Psychology and Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida
Peter is a professor at the University of Central Florida Department of Psychology. He has focused on improving safety for half a century, starting with teaching aviation safety to military pilots in his early career, and most recently publishing on the safety concerns arising from innovations in automation technologies, in particular the introduction of electronic key systems.
Peter also pioneered methods of real-time, linked dynamic simulation to assess driver performance in collision-incipient conditions, for which he received the International Ergonomics Association Medal.
Donna’s 45-year safety career was spent with the National Safety Council, where she demonstrated her passion for first aid and emergency preparedness. She launched our First Aid Institute, created nine nationally recognized first aid programs, led ongoing innovation in first aid training and established the Council as a recognized leader in the first aid field. She retired in 2020 as senior director, first aid and emergency preparedness.
Her body of work includes 12,000 NSC first aid and CPR instructors, 2,500 NSC first aid training agencies and an estimated 35,000 lives saved. In fact, anyone who completes a first aid or CPR course today, regardless of the organization offering it, has Donna to thank.