"This partnership with Koch Industries allows OSHA to reach out to a diverse group of worksites within the company and address safety and health issues in a company with a worldwide presence," said OSHA Administrator John L. Henshaw. "The lessons learned from the participation of the pilot worksites in this partnership will be useful across many industries."
In addition to Koch Materials Company, other participating Koch affiliates with pilot program sites are Koch Business Holdings, LLC; Koch Hydrocarbon Southwest, LLC; Koch Hydrocarbon, LP; Koch Mineral Services, LLC; Koch Carbon, LLC; The C. Reiss Coal Company and Koch Nitrogen Company. There are 18 worksites involved in the program, located in 14 states and employing approximately 450 workers.
"This agreement represents a true public/private sector partnership," said Chris Wilkins, Koch Industries’ director of corporate compliance. "This agreement enhances and builds upon the commitments these companies and OSHA both have made, and will allow us to work together to benefit our communities, our co-workers and our nation’s economy.
"Ever-improving environmental, health and safety performance is not an option. It is an expectation we have established for every employee in every Koch company at all times. We hope these agreements mark another step forward in our culture of ever-higher expectations and accomplishments."
In this partnership, OSHA and Koch will work together to expand and implement Koch’s Safety and Health Management system at the pilot worksites, including sharing knowledge and best practices from the partnership to help reduce injuries and illnesses at other Koch sites.
OSHA and Koch will also strive to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses related to ergonomics in Koch participating pilot companies by using the Koch EHS Management system as a base for developing recommendations for management practices addressing ergonomic hazards. Koch’s system, which emphasizes management commitment and employee involvement, parallels the principles of OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs. Koch will expand its participation in VPP as well as the Special Government Employees program as a result of this partnership.
Source: Koch Industries
