ASA announces winners of ASA Member Safety Recognition awards

To be considered for the award, a company must apply by submitting its OSHA 300A form with the previous calendar year’s data.

ASA Safety Committee Chair Mike Place (third from left) presents 2015 ASA Member Safety Recognition awards to, from left: Scott Livingston (PRIER Products), Katie Poehling (First Supply), Ashley Martin (NIBCO), Coley Herrin (Plumbing Distributors, Inc.) and Rogers Earl Jr. (Valley Supply Co.). Photo courtesy of ASA.

At last October’s annual industry gathering, Network 2015, the ASA Member Safety Recognition awards were presented to three wholesaler-distributors and two manufacturers at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile.

To be considered for the award, a company must apply by submitting its OSHA 300A form with the previous calendar year’s data. The OSHA 300A: Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses is a log businesses are required to maintain that summarizes employee injuries against the total number of man-hours logged by employees. The winning companies have the lowest TICR (total case incident rate) in the category.

“In 2015, we saw another increase in participation in the awards program, showing once again a heightened sense of awareness that safety in the workplace is critical,” ASA Safety Committee Chairman Michael Place (Dakota Supply Group) says. “Highlighting companies that excel in employee safety is a great motivator to maintaining a safe work environment.”

The awards were created in 2012 and recognize distributors and manufacturers based on their company’s total man-hours. In 2015, there were two first-time award winners and three previous winners. Since the award’s inception, participation by ASA member companies has doubled. The winning companies for 2015:

Manufacturers

Greater than 500,000 man-hours

NIBCO

Elkhart, Ind.

125,000 – 500,000 man-hours

No entries

Less than 125,000 man-hours

PRIER Products

Grandview, Mo.

Distributors

Greater than 500,000 man-hours

First Supply

LaCrosse, Wis.

125,000 – 500,000 man-hours

Plumbing Distributors, Inc.

Lawrenceville, Ga.

Less than 125,000 man-hours

Valley Supply Co.

Elkins, W. Va.

Award criteria improvements

At Network 2015, the ASA Safety Committee discussed improving the award to ensure six awards are received in 2016.

“Award application submittals from mid-sized manufacturers has been significantly lower than in the other categories, likely because there aren’t a lot of them out there,” Place explains.

Beginning this year, ASA will recognize the top three companies in each division: distributor and manufacturer. “The reality is virtually every applying company has a TCIR ranging from about 2 to 8,” Place says. “We’re seeing companies that have an outstanding TCIR but miss out because of the competition in their category. With this change those with great safety records will have a better chance of being recognized.”

Don’t miss out on your chance to be recognized in 2016. Be on the lookout for the application to apply. If you’re interested in learning more contact Dan Hilton at 703/328-5234 or dhilton@asa.net.

This article was originally titled “And the winners are…” in the January 2016 print edition of Supply House Times.

Dan Hilton is director of government affairs for the American Supply Association, representing the PVF-PHCP industry in Washington, D.C. For more on the 2014 ASA Legislative Fly-In, visit www.asa.net, or contact Hilton at dhilton@asa.net or 703 /328-5234.

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