Several Kellogg bakeries receive industry association honors and company recognition for safety excellence

Twelve of our U.S. Snacks bakery facilities recently received honors for safety excellence from The Biscuit & Cracker Manufacturers' Association's (B&CMA) annual safety contest.

On hand to receive the Chairman's Award for Safety Excellence for the Grand Rapids Bakery was Alistair Hirst, Senior Vice President, Operations and Distribution, Snacks. Presenting the award is Scott Fullbright, B&CMA Chairman and Senior Vice President of Interbake Foods LLC/Norse Dairy Systems.

Each year, entries are submitted from cookie and cracker plants across the U.S. to compete for the best (least) lost-time accident rate, based on bakery size. This year's awards for safety excellence were presented at the B&CMA's 106th Annual Convention held in San Antonio, Texas, earlier this year.

Our Grand Rapids bakery was bestowed with top honors, receiving the Chairman's Award for Safety Excellence. The award recognizes bakery facilities with less than 500 employees for demonstrating an outstanding commitment and dedication to employee safety and excellence, while achieving a lost-time accident frequency rate of zero for the year 2008.

"Always thinking about what you are doing is key to not getting hurt," says Steve Curry, Manager, Plant Health & Safety, Grand Rapids Bakery. "Awards are nice to have, but the bottom line is that employees are going home safe and sound – without injury."

This year, B&CMA also honored the following Kellogg locations for safety excellence:

• The Award of Safety Merit was given to the Augusta Bakery, Charlotte Bakery, Chicago 31st Bakery, Chicago Bakery, Columbus Bakery, Louisville Bakery and Rome Bakery for achieving a 2008 lost-time accident rate that was at least 50 percent below the current rate for the cookie and cracker industry and an improvement over last year.

• A Certificate of Safety Improvement for the year 2008 was awarded to the Cincinnati Bakery, Florence Bakery and Kansas City Bakery for improving its lost-time accident rate over that recorded from the previous year.

• A Certificate of Safety Achievement for the year 2008 for a lost time accident rate that is at least 50 percent below the current rate for the cookie and cracker industry was awarded to the Cary Bakery.

B&CMA has been representing companies involved in the manufacturing of biscuits and crackers, as well as the suppliers to the baking industry, since 1901. B&CMA developed the safety contest to recognize and reward their baker member's dedication to promoting and implementing a safe and healthy working environment.

"We are impressed year-after-year by our baker member's outstanding commitment to employee safety and excellence," says Kathy Phelps, B&CMA Membership and Student Relations Manager. "The safety contest participation is consistently strong among our members."

In addition to the contest, the B&CMA continues to incorporate safety issues and topics through the various educational programs it offers.

In addition to receiving top honors from the B&CMA, the Grand Rapids plant has received several safety recognitions for 2008 and 2009 including:

• Kellogg Corporate Safety Excellence Award, given to Kellogg sites for excellence in safety leadership.
• National Safety Council's Occupational Excellence Award, given to facilities whose lost time incident rate is less than 50 percent of other facilities that manufacture similar products.
• National Safety Council's Perfect Safety Record Award, given to facilities for working 12 months without a lost time incident.
• National Safety Council's Award for Working One Million Labor Hours, given to facilities for working without a lost time incident.