La Crosse company to be honored during annual Wisconsin Safety & Health Conference and Expo in Wisconsin Dells May 17-18
Madison – The Wisconsin Safety Council, the state’s leading provider of safety training and programming, and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) will honor Kwik Trip Dairy as one of 15 companies to win this year’s Wisconsin Corporate Safety award.
“This year’s winners embody the success stories that make Wisconsin one of the safest states to work” said Janie Ritter, director of the Wisconsin Safety Council. “We would like to congratulate the winning companies along with all the finalists as they are true models to businesses across the state of what it means to make the safety of their employees a priority each and every day”.
The winners were chosen based on information they provided on their organization’s safety and health leadership, training and implementation programs, and employee participation. Their applications also included information on their safety accomplishments and goals. The applications were judged by an independent panel of 45 safety, insurance and human resource professionals.
“On behalf of the State of Wisconsin, I congratulate this year’s Wisconsin Corporate Safety Award winners who are leading by example and understand the importance of safety both in and around the workplace,” said Department of Workforce Development Secretary Ray Allen.
Kwik Trip Dairy is responsible for receiving, pasteurizing and bottling milk for all Kwik Trip convenience stores in the tri-state area. Implementing daily material handling limits, training on the dangers of chemical exposures and an anti-slip shoe program helps mitigate dangers in the workplace. Kwik Trip Dairy enhanced their walk-on platforms above tankers to ensure workers could not fall through the rails, installed anchor points and retractable lanyards near mezzanine gates and require employees to wear fall protection gear. A physical therapist from the campus clinic is available to aid in stretching programs, and they have implemented lifting training and rotations of duties to improve ergonomics. Tool box talks, weekly safety puzzles and a company-sponsored wellness program promotes healthy living off-the-job. Several new safety improvements were achieved with Kwik Trip Dairy’s move into new receiving bays and processing area, and they were able to keep their injury rate to 1.67 in 2015.
“Coworker safety at Kwik Trip aligns with our mission and values; we want to take care of our customers, business partners and coworkers,” said Bruce Pronschinske, Kwik Trip Dairy’s Director of Production Operations. “We especially want to take care of our coworkers from a safety perspective.”
The awards will be presented during the 74th annual Wisconsin Safety and Health Conference at the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells on May 17-18, 2016.
Founded in 1923, the Wisconsin Safety Council is Wisconsin’s leading provider of workplace safety training and programming and is dedicated to saving the lives of Wisconsin workers. As the state chapter of the National Safety Council, WSC is the educational division of the Wisconsin Manufacturers’ Association and the Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce. Representing more than 4,000 organizations across the state, WSC provides training, products, certification, research, resources and collaboration for the thousands of safety and health professionals in Wisconsin.
For more information, contact the Wisconsin Safety Council at 800-236-3400 or visit www.wisafetycouncil.org.
Contact
Jim Potter, jpotter@kwiktrip.com, 608-791-4322
Janie Ritter, jritter@wisafetycouncil.org, 608-661-6930
