Missouri Quarries Launch Target Zero Safety Program

Missouri Limestone Producers Association (MLPA) members Capital Quarries and Capital Materials, divisions of Farmer Holding Co. (FHC), recently launched a new safety program, Target Zero, at their sites across Missouri. The program focuses on preventing complacency and reminds employees they have choices to make when ensuring their own and other employees safety. 

“We encourage our employees to not allow themselves to settle when it comes to safety. They have the choice to choose safety over easy, every day they are on the job,” stated Pat Mingucci, corporate safety manager for FHC. “Last year our program was named ‘Crossroads 2017,’ and it resulted in a 26 percent reduction in recordable accidents with almost 2.5 million man hours throughout all FHC locations being reported to MSHA/OSHA companies. This year we are striving to reduce accidents at our companies even further.”

The premise behind Target Zero is that each employee is issued a challenge coin and a t-shirt promoting safety at the beginning of the year. If any employee has an accident, they must give up their coin. Employees who have their coin at the end of the year may redeem it for a prize with the Target Zero logo, which was designed by Mingucci. The program is a six-month challenge and “resets” mid-year, which allows company leaders and employees the opportunity to assess their performance.

To help emphasize the program, a company-wide safety meeting was held across the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Ohio, Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee. Operations were shut down across all sites at the same time and 1,700 employees heard the same message.    

Company presidents, vice presidents and project managers went out into the field and met with employees to discuss how choices on the job can affect safety.

“We remind employees that they should ask themselves a series of questions before each shift: ‘Is there a safer way?’ ‘Have I been properly trained for the task at hand?’” said Mingucci. “The goal of this program is to make our employees better at recognizing risks in the workplace and be safer at their jobs across our 32 divisions.”  

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