DENSO has announced that its Osceola, Arkansas, facility – DENSO Manufacturing Arkansas, Inc. – has been honored by the Arkansas Department of Labor for achieving more than seven million production hours without a lost time accident. On Sept. 5, DENSO Manufacturing Arkansas hosted a celebration of this milestone as part of “Safety Day.”
Lost time accidents occur when an employee is involved in an accident on the job and is absent from the workplace for at least one day. DENSO’s Osceola, Arkansas, facility saw its last lost time accident in 2013. Since then, it has gone more than 2,240 days without incident, with its nearly 500 employees working around 7.2 million hours. Without a lost time accident, the facility has been able to maximize its productivity while keeping a focus on employee safety over the last five years.
“Everyone at our facility, from junior employees to members of the management team, has fully supported the culture of safety we’ve worked to establish,” said George Harguess, president of DENSO Manufacturing Arkansas. “That’s why we’re able to maintain a high level of safety awareness during production and adapt our policies as needed to ensure the best working conditions for our employees. Increased safety benefits all at DENSO, and we look forward to continuing this trend in the future.”
DENSO’s Arkansas facility has been developing a variety of safety measures designed to protect its employees from hazards at work since its founding over 15 years ago. In early 2016, it established the DENSO Manufacturing Arkansas Safety Committee to further these goals. Comprised of production employees, the committee is responsible for monitoring the success of already existing safety policies, educating employees about safety best practices, and creating or updating initiatives to further develop the facility’s culture of safety.
“Every day when I come into work, I have two priorities in mind,” said Michael Edwards, a basic skills training sub leader and DENSO Manufacturing Arkansas Safety Committee member. “To be productive and efficient in my work, and to ensure that my coworkers and I are safe. You can’t do the first without focusing on the second, which is why we put such a large focus on safety, training and best practices. As part of the DENSO Manufacturing Arkansas Safety Committee, we are constantly monitoring and evaluating how we do things better from a safety perspective.”
“As manufacturing evolves, so too must our practices to keep employees safe,” said Kenichiro Ito, senior executive officer for DENSO Corp. and CEO of DENSO’s North American headquarters. “Our employees drive DENSO’s success on a national and international scale, so it is crucial that we promote safety policies that offer the best protections possible.”
