Perdue recognized as leader in poultry workplace safety

Company earns 33 Joint Industry Safety and Health Council awards.

Tommy Pollard, left, director of fleet safety for Perdue, and Frank Cruice, senior director of Corporate Safety and Security for Perdue, stand with the 33 Joint Poultry Safety and Health Council safety awards Perdue received at the annual safety conference in Destin, Florida on Tuesday.

The Joint Industry Safety and Health Council has awarded nine of Perdue's facilities its Award of Distinction, the Council's highest form of recognition for consistently implementing innovative and effective workplace safety health processes and systems. They were among 33 Perdue facilities across 14 states that received workplace safety awards at the 2022 National Safety Conference for the Poultry Industry in Destin, Fla.

"Workplace safety is an absolute at Perdue, including an unwavering commitment from management and an ongoing safety culture that engages all associates in maintaining a safe workplace environment," said Randy Day, CEO of Perdue Farms. "Each year, we set goals around people, products, planet and profitability and we always put people first in that equation. We believe there's nothing more important than creating a safe, supportive, and healthy work environment where our associates can be successful and return safely to their families at the end of the workday."

The company's food-producing facilities that received the Award of Distinction include Concord, Lewiston, and Rockingham in North Carolina, Bridgewater, Va., Monterey, Tenn. and Georgetown, Del. The company's feed mill in Salisbury, Md., and broiler growouts in Hartford, Ky. and Forsyth, Ga. also earned the Award of Distinction.

The Award of Distinction criteria required these facilities to maintain their key Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety metrics—Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR), Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART), and Lost Work Day Incident Rate (LWDIR)—at levels at least 50% better than the industry average for three consecutive years. Award consideration was also based on each facility's written explanation of its safety programs and processes.

Perdue operations recognized with the Award of Honor, the Council's second highest honor, include Cromwell, Ky., Dillon, S.C., Milford, Del. and Gainesville, Ga. and the company's pet treat plant in Schulenburg, Texas. Perdue feed mills in Bridgeville, Del., and Candor, N.C., a growout office in Ahoskie, N.C., and breeder operations in Nashville, N.C., earned the Award of Honor. These facilities maintained their OSHA safety metrics at least 25% better than the industry for at least three straight years.

Fifteen facilities earned the Award of Merit for maintaining their OSHA safety metrics at least 25% better than the industry for at least two consecutive years. They include food-producing plants in Accomac, Va., and Perry, Ga.; broiler growout offices in Salisbury, Md. and Laurel, Del., a research farm in Princess Anne, Md., breeder operations in Baker, W.Va., Kentucky, western North Carolina and Thorntown, Ind.; feed mills in Burlington, Wash., Hurlock, Md., Washington, Ind., Nashville, N.C.; and hatcheries in Halifax and Murfreesboro in North Carolina.

Award consideration was based on injury statistics over three years and an evaluation of written applications by an independent panel of judges.

Source: Perdue