More than a dozen companies received gold safety awards from North Carolina Commissioner of Labor Cherie K. Berry during a ceremony Monday evening.
Berry said all those gathered to receive awards showed a dedication to worker safety.
“Today I received a notification that a worker, not from this area, had been killed today in Anson County,” she said. “I believe — I haven’t seen any investigation so I can’t speak to it very much — but I believe it was electrocution. So that makes us all feel bad. Every time I see a notification of a fatality, my heart just sinks and it breaks for the family and company. Tonight, just say a little solid prayer when you go to bed that that family will be okay.”
Berry said that it is difficult for her staff when cases like that come through.
“You cannot imagine, you cannot imagine some of the situations that they deal with,” Berry said. “The fatalities, some of them can be horrific. They’re tragic, but some of them can be horrific. And when you have to deal with those things, it impacts you. It impacts you deeply, and forever, when you see that, and when you know that possibly could have been avoided and that person would still be alive today.
“That’s why safety and health is so important, because those things happen in the blink of an eye,” she continued. “In the blink of an eye, something can happen. Can we prevent every single accident that happens? I don’t think we can prevent every single one. But when we recognize the hazard that can cause an accident, we need to fix that right then. We don’t need to wait, we need to fix it right then so that accident won’t happen again.”
Berry has served as labor commissioner since 2001. In that time, she said the state’s injury and illness rate has dropped. The rate was 5.3 for every 100 workers when she took office in 2001. After working with employers and providing education of hazards, she said businesses “stepped up” and the rate continues to drop. At last check, the rate of injury or illness had dropped to 2.7 for every 100 workers.
“That’s the lowest it’s ever been in the history of our state, and I thank you for that,” Berry said.
Every award given at the ceremony was a gold award, something that rarely happens, according to Eursula Joyner, the safety awards coordinator.
Safety awards are given to companies that have had no fatalities at the site receiving the award during the calendar year and that have kept an incidence rate at least 50 percent below the industry average, according to the nclabor.com. Gold awards are given to companies based on the DART rate, “which includes cases of days away from work, restricted activity or job transfer,” according to the website.
Cascades Tissue of Rockingham, the Columbus McKinnon Corporation, Hedrick Industries, Hedrick Industries’ BV Hedrick Gravel and Sand in Lilesville, the Richmond plant of International Textile Group, Mount Gilead Medical Services, the North Carolina Department of Transportation Division of Highways — 10th Division — Anson Sub-shop and Troy Medical Services all received first-year awards.
Allen’s Professional Investigations, Inc., Concrete Supply Company (Hamlet plant), Oldcastle Stone Products, Perdue Farms, LLC of Rockingham and Piedmont Natural Gas’s Rockingham Resource Center all won second consecutive year awards.
Fourth consecutive year awards were given to Pee Dee Electric Membership Corporation and Southern Piedmont Piping.
Chandler Concrete Company, Inc.’s Biscoe Building Supply won a 13th consecutive year safety award, while the company’s Biscoe plant won a 14th consecutive year award. The North Carolina Department of Commerce Division of Workforce Solutions in Wadesboro, also known as the North Carolina Works Career Center, also won a 14th-year award.
Hildreth Wood Products, Inc. was given an 18th consecutive year award while APAC-Atlantic, Inc.’s Candor Sand Plant received a 28th consecutive year award.
Perdue Farms also claimed the only million-hour award for the evening. Those awards are given to companies with at least one million hours with no time lost to accidents. Perdue received the three million hour award, given for time worked from Nov. 17, 2013 to Aug. 2, 2015.
Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough.