Despite increasing sales and soaring production levels, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC has once again recorded one of its safest years ever.
The Elyria, Ohio-based manufacturer develops and supplies leading-edge active safety technologies for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, tractors, trailers, buses, and other commercial vehicles throughout North America.
Carlos Hungria, Bendix chief operating officer, echoes the achievement, “Safe operations are the foundation of Bendix’s company culture and a tenet of our success. We don’t compromise on safety or safe operations, whether in making our products, putting them into the market, or at any point along the way.”
While similiar manufacturing facilities document a total case incident rate (TCIR) of 3.2, the company falls well below the industry standard, landing at a TCIR of 0.64. Bendix recorded its lowest TCIR in 2018 at 0.48.
The company touts its lasting leadership commitment and mature safety processes have to its sustained safety performance.
“Ensuring a deep commitment and an active safety culture is a journey," explains Maria Gutierrez, Bendix director of corporate responsibility and sustainability, in a public statement. "Our mature safety-oriented processes are integrated into the organization’s Knorr Production System (KPS) lean manufacturing system to help drive safety, quality, productivity and a continuous improvement mindset. KPS tools and practices have helped quantify improvement activities, increase visibility to safety losses, escalate safety concerns, and drive team-level ownership of safety.”
Annual leadership back-to-work sessions incorporating messages from Bendix's executive board; safety reminders at the beginning of all meetings including emergency response measures and a "multifaceted" Walk & Talk programs are just some of the ways the company continues to drive a culture of safety.
In addition, outcome updates and timely corrective actions resulting from any recordable injury investigation are part of the Bendix’s safety measures.
Worker engagement is key, according to Gutierrez.
“It’s vital that every Bendix team member is engaged and empowered to step up when it comes to safety," she says. "That’s why our processes include both preventive and corrective programs that empower our team members to identify and correct risks."
Bendix's Safety Top Achievement Recognition System (STARS) provides a way for employees to report hazards, attend safety training and submit feedback to further safety efforts.
Looking to 2020, the company will focus on the principles of safety excellence in order to "drive even greater accountability and ownership of safety performance among all levels of the organization to achieve the zero-injuries goal."
Hungria confirms, “We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved over the last three years. Being named one of America’s Safest Companies, continuing to sustain our safety metrics, and repeatedly surpassing industry safety performance averages are truly remarkable achievements. But we realize that safety metrics, like TCIR, are not just numbers – they translate into real people and real lives being impacted. At this point in our safety journey, zero is the only acceptable number and it represents our vision: zero injuries – each day, every day, one day at a time.”
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