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Modifier Rate Drops 18 Percent at Keystone Wood Specialties, Inc.
Keystone Safety Coordinator, Dave Landis and IUP Consultant, Mark McGahen
Keystone Safety Coordinator, Dave Landis and IUP Consultant, Mark McGahen
"Promote good housekeeping and consider no phase of operations or administration of greater importance than accident prevention," says Sam Stoltzfus, president of Keystone Wood Specialties Inc. – a cabinet door and drawer manufacturer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Stoltzfus’s philosophy reflects a company-wide commitment to safety and health that has positively impacted Keystone’s bottom-line. Prior to becoming an OSHA Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) site in the fall of 2003, Keystone had an Experience Modifier Rate (EMR) of .901. Since becoming a SHARP site, Keystone has witnessed an 18 percent reduction in its EMR – currently at .738. Even more impressive is the fact that in 2004, Keystone reported zero OSHA recordable accidents compared to an industry average of 5.9 Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) rate and 11.3 Total Recordable Cases (TRC) for Wood Cabinet and Millwork Manufacturing.
 
Managers and employees at Keystone can testify that their success required several years of safety system building and program planning to achieve this level of distinction. Although the company had always been safety conscious, its aspiration to become a SHARP site raised the performance bar significantly and motivated the firm's employees to not only meet but exceed compliance requirements for OSHA standards. Even though the company was familiar with the Indiana University Pennsylvania (IUP) Onsite Consultation program from having contacted the office for technical assistance since the mid 1990’s, Keystone’s pursuit of SHARP status officially began when Dave Landis, the organization's Safety Coordinator, was hired in 1999. Guided and encouraged to pursue SHARP by IUP Consultant, Mark McGahen, Mr. Landis moved full-throttle toward SHARP after securing buy-in from the company’s president and gaining the confidence of Keystone employees.

As Keystone positioned itself for SHARP candidacy, one of the first milestones it reached in the year 2000 was to develop a labor-management safety committee for which it received certification from the state of Pennsylvania. The following year, Keystone developed a written safety program manual and established a safety and health bulletin board and safety calendar. The company also began conducting monthly training sessions on issues pertinent to the company's operations. Two years after their pursuit of SHARP status began, Keystone became a SHARP site (as stated) in 2003. In October 2004, the company received a two-year renewal. The employees of Keystone beam with pride over the work environment they have created and are enthusiastic about sharing their experience as a SHARP company. In fact, through the facilitation of OSHA Onsite Consultant McGahen, Mr. Landis presented Keystone’s achievements and explained their motivation for participating in SHARP at a training session on Evaluation of Safety and Health Management Systems in Washington, D.C.

Overall, the firm's pursuit of SHARP provided an opportunity for the entire company to create a new path and contribute to a common goal — constantly improving safety and health. Employees at Keystone take pride and ownership in all the safety programs and procedures developed to increase production and preserve their overall well-being.