RSC Equipment Rental, Scottsdale, Ariz., one of the largest rental providers in North America, is making great strides for safety. With the goal of nobody getting hurt at work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) incident rate decreased 33 percent in 2008 over 2007. There was also a 38 percent decrease in injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work.
With a goal of attaining a “0” OSHA rate, as of August 2009, RSC’s OSHA rate was 2.3, an improvement since its 5.8 rating and the start of the company’s Delivering Safety First campaign in 2006. Since 2005, each employee receives over 40 hours of dedicated safety training per year.
“We are a competitive lot at RSC, and our objective for the safety campaign was to be better than best in class,” said Erik Olsson, president and CEO. “We also want to prove to our customers that we manage to at least the same stringent safety standards they do.”
Programs initiated to meet safety goals include a mandatory online interactive class called The Road to Safety, safe driving training for all drivers operating company vehicles, and on-going communication with employees and customers.
In recognition of the best performing teams, RSC presents the annual Presidents Award for Safety to top performing branches that have achieved zero recordable accidents during a calendar year. In 2008, 226 of the 460 locations were incident-free with no recordable accidents. Injury-free teams receive recognition and a small gift commemorating their achievement.
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