RedVector Honors 2018 “Safety Champions” in Tampa

RedVector honored six exceptional men and women for their outstanding achievements in the area of safety during a special recognition event and medal ceremony on March 6 in Tampa, Florida. These 2018 “safety champions” were nominated by peers, co-workers and others, and were selected by RedVector based on their special dedication to mitigating hazards in the workplace. These individuals hailed from a variety of industries, including industrial manufacturing, construction and others.

David Brown, EVP of Sales & Marketing, and Bobby Person, Senior Director of Product Management, Commercial, thanked the winners for making safety both a priority and a passion.

“Not only did our 2018 Safety Champions express a special enthusiasm and awareness for safety, they had voices that encouraged positive change in their workplaces and communities,” Brown said. “This is just our small way of saying thank you and we could not be prouder to honor their achievements.”

In addition to receiving an all-expenses-paid trip to Florida, the winning safety champions enjoyed a Tampa Bay Lightning game together at Amalie Arena. The 2018 list of winners and excerpts from their peer nominations are as follows:

David Wessin, President, Safety Alliance

“David started the Safety Alliance as a resource for safety, health and risk professionals to work together with OSHA, attorneys, universities and colleges, safety vendors and other professionals who support our efforts to develop best practices for improving workplace safety. In 2017, he opened 10 more chapters in Florida and has helped expand the organization into other states.”

Kelly Hurley, Safety Manager, AGC Automotive

“Kelly led the effort to reduce recordable injuries in 2017, and by December 31, we had achieved a 75% reduction in those injuries. Kelly has also increased ASAP observations by 52% over 2 years. Today, we’re proud to say that we’ve worked over 2.9 million hours since the last-lost time injury. Overall, Kelly’s efforts and leadership have made a huge difference for the safety of the AGC workforce in Bellefontaine, Ohio.”

Malki Brown, Director of Asset Management, Milhouse Engineering & Construction

“Malki has taken on a second job at Milhouse as the safety lead. He led an outstanding safety week, in which he shared critical safety tips and facts. Better still, he made it fun for the employees. He is also looking to expand his efforts from the Chicago office to all of our offices. As this is not a formal, paid position, we really do think he goes above and beyond to keep our work environment safe!”

Ryan Kirkpatrick, EHS Manager, Roeslein & Associaties, Inc.

“We previously had no formal safety program, we lacked sufficient safety training, and workers compensation was not well controlled. Ryan has led a complete turnaround for our 600 international employees working in manufacturing, engineering, and construction, and has formally developed our EHS Department. We have a full training program and recently introduced an online training resource (RedVector) for all of our employees to benefit from. Overall, our employees truly understand the value of working safe and smart.”

Gary Matthews, Safety Director, Commercial Construction

“As our first-ever safety director, Gary has proven instrumental in implementing safe practices and procedures on all of our projects. He is a great motivator and teaches how safety is a critical part of our industry. Not only does Gary take his role very seriously, he is constantly looking for ways to minimize the company’s exposure to risk, and as a result, has lowered our EMR rating.”

Bryan Williams, EH&S Regional Manager, Anchor Glass Container Corporation

“Bryan found a cut/heat resistant solution to our hot mill gloves, a key safety challenge for us. He spent more than 8 months with vendors, suppliers and manufacturers trying gloves out to improve the safety of our hot end employees. Now, our employees’ gloves are washable, provide better cut protection, and offer 100-200 additional degrees of heat protection.”

Robert Miller, Safety Trainer, KARM Safety Solutions

“Robert takes the time to make sure every person has the training they need to work safely on jobsites. I have seen him teach personnel how to identify and mitigate hazards, which has helped to improve overall safety at these sites. Even on his busiest days, he goes the extra mile to make sure everyone understands why safety must be taken seriously.”