OSHA recognizes Covenant Church Furniture for safety

Covenant, which manufactures solid wood church furniture, such as pews, chancels and chairs, received certification through the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program in May, recognizing exemplary safety and health management systems in operation at the plant. There are 23 businesses in Missouri that hold SHARP certification.

Covenant CEO Blake Souter, who purchased the company in 2004, thinks that one reason there are so few SHARP-certified businesses in Missouri is because companies are hesitant to invite OSHA into their businesses.

While he understands their qualms, he’s quick to note that with SHARP, OSHA is looking at compliance, not trying to find fault.

“They don’t come with any notion of (bearing) down on you,” Souter said.

Other SHARP sites include Doing Steel Inc., Ridewell Corp., and Wil Fischer Distributing Co. in Springfield and Industrial Wood Products Inc. in Ozark.

Not every business is a good candidate for SHARP certification.

“It’s designed for companies that go above and beyond just the basics,” said Mike Downie, owner of Springfield-based Summit Safety Group Inc., a private company hired by Covenant to manage its safety program. “If you want to just say, ‘Here’s what the OSHA book says that I’m supposed to do,’ then you’re not really SHARP material.”

Certification process

Businesses interested in receiving SHARP certification must first apply for a consultation through the Missouri Department of Labor. The Missouri On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program then conducts a safety and health inspection of the business.

“Safety, for example, would be electrical or machine guarding. Health, as an example, would be ventilation systems, respiratory protection, looking at chemical exposures. We would make sure that all of their standard-specific programs were in place,” said Mark Frerking, safety and health consultant supervisor for the consultation program. “It just makes good business sense to do it because accident prevention reduces the cost of doing business (and) lowers injury and illness rates, decreases workers’ compensation costs, decreases lost work days, and limits equipment damage and product loss.”

The safety and health inspection at Covenant, which has been in business since 1997, identified 16 hazards that had to be corrected for SHARP certification. Among the hazards listed, according to the consultation report, were “a quantity of flammable or combustible liquid kept in the vicinity of a spraying operation exceeded the minimum required for operation,” and “a spray booth did not have a clear space of at least 3 feet on all sides.”

Downie said Covenant was given 30 days to correct the hazards.

After all hazards are corrected, the Missouri consultation program works with the employer to implement management systems, which Frerking said are above and beyond OSHA requirements.

“In a nutshell, the management systems (have) four main components: management commitment and employee involvement, work site analysis, hazard prevention and control, and employee training,” Frerking said.

Employees also must offer feedback via an anonymous survey following the health and safety inspection.

“The employees got to grade Blake on his commitment toward safety … and if there wasn’t positive feedback from the employees, Covenant wouldn’t be allowed to be in the SHARP program,” Downie said.

Upholsterer Jerry Gage said he thinks the company is extremely safe, and he’s not been injured on the job during his seven years at Covenant. He’s seen the flip side though; prior to working for Covenant he worked on construction jobs where he said safety was less of a concern.

Businesses recognized by OSHA as SHARP sites, are granted a one-year exemption from scheduled OSHA inspections, Frerking said. At the end of that year, a business can request a renewal if its accident injury rates remain below the national average.

“They’ve only had one minor injury in almost 54,000 hours worked at the plant last year,” Downie said of Covenant.

Look SHARP

Companies that want to learn more about SHARP certification can find information at www.osha.gov/dcsp/smallbusiness/sharp.html.