EQ’s largest site in Belleville, MI celebrates more than a year without a recordable incident.
EQ is proud to announce that 2009 resulted in our best corporate health and safety record ever. The corporate-wide total recordable incident rate (TRIR) was 1.89, with a days away and restricted rate (DART) of 0.94. This is based on almost 1.5 million hours worked by EQ Associates. EQ’s incident rates have been declined over the last several years and 2009 was no exception. EQ’s safety incident rates lead the industry. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average injury rate was 5.4.*
We are especially proud of our associates at EQ’s largest site in Belleville, MI, who have gone more than one year without a recordable incident! This site includes Michigan Disposal Waste Treatment Plant (MDI) and Wayne Disposal hazardous waste landfill (WDI), where over 175,000 hours were worked in 2009. Congratulations to these employees!
How does EQ continually improve upon our safety efforts? Simple. EQ is committed to environmental, health and safety every day. It is one of our core values. We accomplish this through our comprehensive, corporate-wide Quality, Environmental, Health and Safety management system (EQMS). The EQMS uses uniform documented processes and policies for all employees to follow consistently at all times, as well as certification to the ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards. This management system demonstrates EQ’s dedication to all QEHS processes to ensure consistent operations in all areas, establishing an organized, disciplined work environment.
Our safety program is continually measured through EQMS by our “Aim for Blue” program. Each EQ division is scored on a monthly basis on safety measurements, with the highest score being blue. These measurements are posted at each location and discussed at monthly top-level management meetings. One measurement is Behavior Based Safety (BBS) observations, which are required to be done by associates at each facility. Another is safety training, where all associates receive required training each month. Finally, internal EQMS audits are conducted to ensure our program remains on track, with a corrective/preventative action program implemented in the event that non-conformances are found.
* From Waste Age, December 2009. U.S. Department of Labor rate for landfills, 2008.