Safety efforts nab recognition for Diesel Exchange

For Diesel Exchange Inc., OSHA inspections are a thing of the past.

Diesel Exchange is the 24th company to be accepted into the Missouri Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program - or SHARP.

Wanda Seeney, public information administrator for the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial relations, said SHARP recognizes small employers that operate under exemplary systems for safety and health management.

The program, started by Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 1984, is open only to companies that employ fewer than 500 people in all locations.

A valuable investment

Achieving SHARP status took more than $40,000 and a year of effort, but Diesel Exchange Production Manager Tony Mitchell said it was worth it.

While his company will enjoy a renewable one-year exemption from regular OSHA inspections, Mitchell also expects to see lower workers' compensation insurance rates this year.

"We already had good rates before because we've always been a safe shop," Mitchell said. "We just wanted it to be better. The goal is to have a premier place where people want to come to work. Being an extremely safe shop helps make it that way."

Government research shows SHARP companies have about 50 percent fewer accidents than non-SHARP companies, said safety consultant Mike Downie, president of Summit Safety Group Inc. Besides saving on insurance, participants also save on the hidden costs of accidents - time lost in reacting to the accident and cleaning up, and the expense of repairing or replacing damaged equipment, he added.

Downie has consulted with many of the local companies that have achieved SHARP status, including Diesel Exchange.

Established in 1992, Diesel Exchange remanufactures heavy-duty engines for construction, mining and military use, Mitchell said. Starting out in a 5,000-square-foot shop, the business now occupies its own 63,000-square-foot building at 3811 E. Kearney St. and employs a staff of 80. Diesel Exchange products are shipped to almost every state and at least 12 countries.

The process

Diesel Exchange's road to SHARP status began with a workplace consultation by Missouri Department of Labor staff, who performed a complete hazard identification survey and interviewed employees about workplace safety, hazards and how they felt about them.

"Any hazards that are identified by our staff have to be corrected, and they have to implement and maintain a safety and health management system that at (a) minimum addresses OSHA's Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines," said DOLIR spokeswoman Seeney.

While many people think meeting OSHA standards is all that's needed for a good safety program, Downie said OSHA standards are really a minimum. "OSHA's more into machine guarding and nuts-and-bolts kind of things," he added.

SHARP, on the other hand, takes safety up a notch, with buy-in and participation by everyone - from the management office to the manufacturing floor.

Summit Safety Group facilitated the process by helping Diesel Exchange develop a safety team, "kind of a like a steering committee of employees," Downie said. The group met monthly to identify goals and objectives, and how to meet them, with Downie acting as coach.

These days, everyone is involved in safety and everyone has input on safety issues. Diesel Exchange solicits safety suggestions from staff, and the safety committee recognizes the best safety suggestion of the month with a $25 gift card.

To retain its SHARP status, Diesel Exchange will have to maintain its safety program, address any areas in which improvement is needed, alert the state if working conditions change or new hazards are introduced, and keep its accident rate below the national average for its industry.[[In-content Ad]]