Southern Precast

Persistence, commitment and goals are words that summarize the spirit behind Southern Precast’s SHARP renewal for 2009. The Alachua manufacturer of more than 150 precast concrete products—including manholes, pole bases, transfer pads, switchgear pits, concrete adjustment rings and grease interceptors—has worked with the USF SafetyFlorida consultation program for more than 10 years. In 2006, it earned its first SHARP.

Part of Southern Precast’s safety success stems from its “Tool Box Talks,” weekly Monday meetings held before work. The sessions keep safety a visible priority and strengthen the company’s safety culture by educating and training all personnel on tasks performed routinely such as ladder safety, personal protective equipment and lifting. Additionally, the company has a volunteer safety committee that meets quarterly. The six-person team includes shop employees and a safety committee chairman. According to Buzz Morgan, general manager, “The safety committee understands the importance of the SHARP and works to address any deficiencies that are found or located.” The committee’s focus is to ensure that USF SafetyFlorida consultant Keith Brown will find minimal, if any, potential hazards during his annual consultation. “The company sees SHARP as a goal that management and employees can work together towards achieving. This goal provides direction as well as a means for increasing employee awareness to the safety process.”

Management is also key to Southern Precast’s safety formula. In addition to its involvement on the shop floor, management offers financial incentives to employees as part of their performance bonus for remaining accident-free. Safety committee members can also earn additional money for quarters with no accidents. These financial incentives motivate employees and keep customary injuries such as cuts and scrapes from working in a heavy industrial environment to a minimum. The company, which employs 40 people, reduced its injury and illness number from four in 2006 to one in 2008, and its workers’ compensation modification rate fell from 1.56 in 2006 to .96 in 2008. Southern Precast’s DART rate is also an impressive 1.5, in an industry that averages 4.7. After successfully reaching its SHARP renewal goal, Southern Precast aims to win a National Precast Concrete Association safety award at its October 2009 annual convention.