We are proud of our workers
and are dedicated to ensuring their safety. We vigorously enforce
safety procedures and encourage individuals to suggest ways to make
their workplace safer and healthier. Employees actively participate
in training sessions and safety meetings. By giving employees personal
responsibility, we are working together to reach a zero-incident
record. For example, our Reed Quarry in Kentucky recently received
MSHA recognition for its exceptional safety record: completing 130,812
work hours in 1999 without a lost-time injury.
Our safety management systems, practices and standards
are designed to improve the way we control hazards, encourage safe
behavior and ensure ongoing compliance with safety-related laws
and regulations. As we acquire facilities, we introduce our safety
standards at each new site.
Asphalt plants in our Western Division offer
just one example of our safety focus. We have developed an in-house
operator training program that we are working to make an industry
standard. In addition, we bring all operations employees together
once a year for refresher training; safety, health and environmental
updates; and quality assurance discussions. All asphalt plants shut
down on this
day, giving everyone a chance to hear the same message. We will
expand this program to concrete operators in 2001.
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Reportable Injury
Rates
In 1998, Construction Materials achieved
its lowest reportable injury rate (defined by MSHA as the
number of injuries per 200,000 work hours). Vulcan has consistently
outperformed the stone industry in this measure and, in 1998,
Vulcan 's rate of 2.90 compared very favorably to the industry
rate of 5.87. Vulcan 's 1999 rate of 3.83, although higher
than 1998, was well below the industry average of 5.68. The
increase from 1998 to 1999 is directly attributable to injuries
in the former CalMat Company operations, which were acquired
by Vulcan in 1999 and became its Western Division. When data
from this division are excluded, our 1999 injury rate was
2.59, less than half the industry average.
Accident Prevention
Our review of MSHA injury data showed that
nearly 40% of injuries in the mining industry occur during
construction, maintenance and repair of quarry equipment.
We have worked with MSHA and the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health mining research center in Pittsburgh to
develop more effective training tools and data analysis of
hazards associated with these activities. Accident prevention
continues to be a primary goal, and we have made major progress.
We regret to report that, despite our strong
commitment to safety, Vulcan experienced six fatalities in
the Construction Materials business in 1998 and 1999, compared
to zero fatalities in the years 1996 and 1997. Two were the
results of one-vehicle accidents that involved an over-the-road
truck and a quarry haul truck. Of the remaining fatalities,
three occurred at our joint-venture quarry in Mexico and one
was the result of a shipboard fall involving a contract employee.
In each case, a thorough investigation was undertaken to identify
actions that could prevent future accidents. At the quarry
in Mexico, we have reevaluated safety efforts and instituted
a more intense safety program to increase the level of safety
awareness among employees and improve work practices at the
facility.
As we grow, a major challenge is to
effectively use our resources to prevent accidents and improve
safety performance at new acquisitions. We are currently focusing
attention on the Western Division, which was acquired in 1999
and had a poor safety record. Implementing industrial health
monitoring and safety processes is a major step in the right
direction. Because of significant differences between the
data for these newly acquired plants and those where we have
had a chance to implement our procedures and values, we separated
the Western Division statistics in our injury data. We anticipate
greatly improved results in our next report.
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