SAFETY HEADLINESSafety
SMA Presents 2007 Safety Award
Feb. 20, 2007 Feb. 20, 2007 — The Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) presented its 2007 Achievement in Safety Award to Don B. Daily, President of Gallatin Steel. The award was presented in acknowledgement of Daily’s safety contributions to the minimill steel industry.
SMA Vice Chairmen Jim Jonasen, President of North Star BlueScope Steel, and Tommy Valenta, President and CEO of Chaparral Steel, presented the award during the SMA Annual Board of Directors Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz., on Thursday, February 15, 2007.
In nominating Daily for this award, Gallatin Steel employees collected signatures on a large poster board, which bore the inscription: "Don makes safety personal for me." With over 450 signatures, the board reflects every Gallatin Steel employee’s recognition of Daily's commitment to safety, which has had a profound and favorable impact on employee safety.
"To be successful in safety, a company must have executives that don't just support health and safety management, they lead it," stated Daily during last spring’s SMA POD and Safety Committee meeting. According to his employees, he has turned those words into action on the plant floor each day.
In testament to Gallatin Steel's current focus on safety, during 1999 and 2000 the company averaged between 40 and 50 OSHA recordable accidents, with an OSHA recordable rate between 11.0 and 12.0 per 200,000 man-hours worked.
In 2006, however, Gallatin Steel completed the year with only five OSHA recordable accidents, and an OSHA recordable rate of 1.09 per 200,000 man-hours worked. This record is among the best in the steel industry, noted employees, acknowledging their pride in the efforts of Don Daily and Gallatin Steel in leading the way on safety improvement.
The Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) is the primary trade association for EAF-based “minimill” steelmakers. SMA’s members account for over 70% of total US steel production.