National Safety Council Announces Green Cross for Safety® awards

The 2020 winners are:

• Save the Michaels of the World: Advocate Award
• La-Z-Boy, Inc.: Excellence Award
• The Dow Chemical Company: Innovation Award

Save the Michaels of the World – or STM – was formed in 2011 by the Israel family following the suicide of their 20-year-old son, Michael, who was unable to receive treatment for opioid addiction. STM has raised awareness of prescription and other drug addictions, and worked to increase access to opioid treatment, including naloxone. It also provides support for loved ones. STM has been instrumental in helping pass legislation in New York to regulate opioid prescriptions, contributing to a 75% drop in doctor shopping in the state. The organization has also helped remove insurance requirements, increased the duration of inpatient treatment from 14 to 28 days and established a requirement for physicians to receive continuing medical education on addiction every two years.

A custom-order, residential furniture business, La-Z-Boy concentrated on eliminating ergonomic injuries beginning in 2013. An ergonomic team with representatives from environmental health and safety, research and development, engineering, and manufacturing aimed to reduce injuries by 25% over five years, with a four-phase program addressing production, launch, standards and research development, design, and innovation. Since then, manufacturing operations experienced a 64% drop in ergonomic injury rates, reduced the average cost of workers compensation claims by 73% and increased the average efficiency of manufacturing employees by nearly 8%. This program continues to develop, with considerations for exoskeleton use and augmented reality, as well as traditional design processes.

To prevent serious, crushing injuries with aerial lift equipment and improve upon available technology, Dow partnered with original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and leasing companies to develop and implement next-generation solutions. Dow has pushed for continued technology developments to improve safety for its workers and contractors. Dow participated in field trials for three OEMs, developing proximity sensor options and integrated automatic controls, and deployed all three into its North American sites, with plans to fully globalize equipment in 2020.