RMA Recognizes Tiremakers for Worker Safety Achievements

Four tire manufacturers were recognized for improvements in worker health and safety at the Rubber Manufacturers Association’s annual meeting.

RMA’s awards for its Safety and Health Improvement Program, created in 1981, encourage and reward a company’s demonstrated commitment to worker health and safety. “(These) awards are clear evidence of this industry’s strong and tireless commitment to worker safety,” said Charles Cannon, RMA president and CEO.

Two categories of awards are presented: the "Excellence" category is for facilities that achieve a Days Away Restricted Transfer (DART) rate that is 75% better than the average achieved by plants that provided data to RMA.The “Improvement” award is for plants that achieve a DART rate that is both 10% better than their rates in the previous year and the same or better than the RMA average incidence rate. For 2013, three Excellence awards and 11 Improvement awards were presented.

Excellence awards went to: Bridgestone Americas Manufacturing Group, Graniteville, S.C.; Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions, Griffin, Ga.; and Pirelli Tire LLC, Rome, Ga.

Improvement awards were given to: Bridgestone Americas Manufacturing Group, LaVergne and Morrison, Tenn., Des Moines, Iowa, and Wilson, N.C.; Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions, Abilene, Texas; Michelin North America, US1 and PRIME in Greenville, S.C., US4 in Midland City, Ala., and US7 in Lexington, S.C.; and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Danville, Va., and Akron, Ohio.

Forty-one RMA member facilities supplied data for the annual survey to determine the extent of workplace safety improvements. The data supplied to RMA is identical to information provided to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which publishes injury and illness information on all industries.

GRI recently conducted programs in Sri Lanka to empower women and motivate children under its Green x Circle initiative. The company said these endeavors aimed to address the needs of the community, focusing on both women empowerment and youth motivation.

GRI recently organized a training program titled "Management of household finance under current economic conditions" at the Ingiriya Rubber Collecting Center in Sri Lanka, South Asia led by Shashika Nimali, an NLP practitioner and life coach. The company said this initiative provided women in the industry with essential skills and knowledge to effectively manage household finances. GRI's tailored training sessions equipped participants with tools for informed decision-making, ultimately fostering greater financial security and independence, the company said.