Akron company recognized for outstanding safety efforts

Columbus, Ohio – With injury and illness rates three times lower than the national average over the past two years, Terminal Warehouse, Inc. was recently accepted into the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) which is sponsored by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The certification puts Terminal Warehouse, Inc. in distinct company as one of only seven Ohio companies to be certified by the program.

“Acceptance into SHARP by OSHA is an achievement that will single Terminal Warehouse, Inc. among our business peers as a model for worksite safety and health,” noted Ron Goson, Owner. “While we are excited about the recognition, the true reward is sending our employees home safe every day.”

Employer initiative, a hazard identification survey, hazard correction, employee involvement, and implementation of a safety and health management system are key steps to acquiring SHARP status. The most important requirement, however, is developing an exemplary safety and health culture, which will ultimately lead to lowering or maintaining the company's incident rate below the national average.

As a part of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s (BWC) Division of Safety and Hygiene, the OSHA On-Site Consultation Program works with employers to assist in completing the above steps.

“Too often, it takes a bad accident or series of accidents for a business to focus on safety. In the case of Terminal Warehouse, Inc. developing a strong safety culture was simply the right thing to do for the well being of the employees and their families,” said BWC Administrator Marsha Ryan, BWC.

In 2005, the company’s incident rate for Days Away Restricted and Transfer (DART) was 1.55 days, while the national average was 4.7 days. DART measures the average number of days an injured worker is required to be off the job or working light duty. Terminal Warehouse’s total recordable case rate (TCR), which measures the average number of cases that occur which are recordable on the OSHA log, was 1.55 as well, far below the national average of 6.6 for the same time period.

With three Akron locations and one Columbus location, Terminal Warehouse operates state-of-the-art warehouses providing an array of value-added services. These services including bulk liquid packaging, repackaging, rail services, labeling and bar coding, product assembly and freight consolidation. Purchased in 1983, Terminal Warehouse has 70 Akron employees.

BWC provides employers throughout the state with the resources to improve workplace safety and reduce costs. BWC’s Division of Safety and Hygiene provides a broad spectrum of services, including technical support, library services, educational services and publications.

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