OREANDA-NEWS.  Rockwell Automation is now accepting nominations for its fourth annual Manufacturing Safety Excellence Awards. The awards celebrate the world’s safest manufacturing companies – those that make safety a core business value.

“Last year’s winners – The Clorox Company, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Paper Converting Machine Company (PCMC) – were selected because they embrace safety as a means to achieve business goals,” said Mark Eitzman, safety market development manager, Rockwell Automation. “They go beyond compliance and make safety an integral part of the company culture and machine design processes – improving plant productivity and company profitability.”

The awards are open to manufacturers, machine builders (OEMs) or system integrators, as long as they demonstrate a true commitment to safety across three key pillars of a comprehensive safety program: a strong safety culture, well-executed compliance procedures, and effective use of current, machine-safety technology.

“Winning the 2015 award highlighted our team’s commitment to improving machine safety for our customers,” said Jason Stover, senior electrical project engineer, PCMC. “As an OEM, we differentiate ourselves from competitors by guiding our customers through the safety process and educating them on the opportunities safety presents. Some might not recognize safety as a fundamental part of equipment, but by the time we’re done, they see the value.”

The awards also recognize companies that have successful collaboration between their engineering and EHS departments. This helps dramatically reduce injury rates while also improving production efficiency.

“We achieve success with everyone in the organization working and learning together, including engineering, EHS and operations,” said Dennis G. Averill, CIH, CSP, global director of safety and hygiene, Kimberly-Clark. “This collaboration is not only done conceptually, but also during the actual execution of risk assessments, safety standards development and more.”

The 2016 winners will be announced in the fall and will join a distinguished list of past winners, including Bevcorp, Corning Environmental Technologies, General Motors, Procter & Gamble and the PepsiCo divisions of Walkers Crisps and Pepsi Flavors.

About Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information, makes its customers more productive and the world more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., Rockwell Automation employs approximately 22,000 people serving customers in more than 80 countries.