Pa. Safety Professionals Work Together to Change Attitudes

Oct. 31, 2000
Safety professionals from Pennsylvania focused on changing unsafe attitudes and behaviors\r\non and off the job at the Governor's Occupational Safety and Health Conference.

The Pennsylvania Governor''s Occupational Safety and Health Conference opened yesterday, as safety professionals from across the state focused on continuing to change unsafe attitudes and behaviors on and off the job.

"Pennsylvania workers and businesses are proving labor-management cooperation works effectively in every type of business environment. But much more needs to be done," said Pennsylvania Industry Secretary Johnny Butler. "While we are at record low levels of lost-time injuries and deaths, we can make those numbers even lower. We have saved millions of dollars in workers'' compensation reforms, but we must continue to use those savings to create safer workplaces and enhance productivity."

Butler told attendees that those changes, combined with Pennsylvania''s world-class workforce and skilled leadership, will produce these results.

"As Gov. Ridge emphasizes, together we can make Pennsylvania known not just as the state with the best workers, but also the state with the safest worker environment," said Butler.

Over the past five years, Pennsylvania companies have saved more than $2.5 billion in workers'' compensation costs. Total workers'' compensation premium costs in the state have been cut by $78.8 million.

Butler noted that an increased focus on joint worker-management safety efforts has helped to reduce injury rates, while record numbers of Pennsylvanians are working.

Under Gov. Ridge''s PENNSAFE -- Pennsylvania Safety First -- workplace safety initiative, the number of joint worker-management workplace safety committees has climbed from under 1,000 in 1996 to more than 4,200 covering 587,000 employees in 2000.

by Virginia Sutcliffe

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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