The judges of the NAHB/Builders Mutual Insurance Company Safety Award For Excellence (SAFE) has awarded the Curtis Lumber Co. first place for the 2012 Associate Member Safety Program of the Year award.
NAHB’s (National Association of Home Builders) SAFE awards program recognizes the achievements of businesses in the residential construction industry and acknowledges their leadership and commitment to improve workplace safety.
Presented by NAHB Construction Safety and Health Committee Chairman Don Pratt at the 2013 International Builder Show in January in Las Vegas, the award was accepted by Curtis employee Margie Miller.
Tracy Cook-Fitzpatrick is corporate safety specialist with Curtis Lumber. The company has over 500 employees in 20 locations spread across New York and Vermont.
Curtis Lumber first started its official safety program in 1996 with SHARP (Safety & Health Achievement Recognition Program, an OSHA On-Site Consultation Program). In 2001, Curtis Lumber’s Schroon Lake and Granville locations were the first SHARP sites accepted into OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program, making them the first retail site accepted into VPP in the nation, according to the company.
Since 2006, the Curtis Lumber has lowered recordable accidents from 51 to 20, 16 of which involved lost time, the company said.
Overall, the company’s Total Case Incident Rate is 2.68, less than half the national average of 6.5, officials said. Of the 21 locations, nine are VPP-certified and two more are planning to submit applications for certification this year.
Photo Courtesy of Curtis Lumber