Safety in numbers: industry trade organizations champion—and share—a common cause

Apr 01, 2010 | 05:49 AM | Corinna Petry

Safety programs are gaining traction in the industry, but for further progress to be made the industry has to be proactive—which means lots of communication and training. That's exactly the approach two Washington-based trade groups are taking to promote workplace safety.

The Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), whose member companies represent 70 percent of U.S. steel production capacity, tracks safety issues among its members and the industry as a whole.

"Safety is absolutely critical for our industry. We have a safety committee, the largest and most active in the industry, that regularly draws 100 to 150 people to meetings," said Adam Parr, the group's director of policy and communications.

One of the most vital parts of the SMA's ongoing programs is communication and training. "We occasionally put on safety seminars in conjunction with committee meetings," Parr said, noting that recent seminars have focused on five key areas where fatalities occur. The committee is in charge of collecting statistics, developing a safety Web site for members and conducting surveys on the topic, and producing a monthly report on the number of recordable cases, lost workday cases, days lost and hours worked. Compiled data is circulated to member companies.....