For the second time in three years N.C. Hunt’s Lumber has earned industry accolades for safety.
At N.C. Hunt’s annual safety cookout, Oct. 18, Northeast Lumber Manufacturers Association (NeLMA) Lumber Inspection Program Coordinator Don Pendergast presented two honorable mention safety awards on the Jefferson company for completing 2011 without a single lost time accident.
For the purposes of the awards, NeLMAs categorizes its membership according to the size of the operation mill, and the awards are based on the total number of man-hours for the previous year. N.C. Hunt Safety Director Steve Johnson said.
“In our division there are a couple operations that are a little larger and it’s based on the total number of man-hours,” Johnson said. “If we were in a smaller division we would have won it.”
N.C. Hunt was recognized for Sawmill Safety and Planing Mill Safety, two separate operations at the Jefferson facility. Johnson said the sawmill logged 57,049 man-hours in 2011 without a single lost time accident. The planing mill compiled 6339 hours without a lost time accident over the same time period, Johnson said.
Both are sterling achievements, Johnson said. “We are very proud to receive both of them,” Johnson said.
N.C. Hunt owner Norman Hunt said the awards are a credit to the entire company. “We think it’s a good accomplishment,” he said. “Our crew did an excellent job and we are so proud of them. It’s the whole team pulling together.”
Hunt said regular safety committee meetings and teamwork go a long way toward creating a safe workplace. He specifically cited a company bingo game for encouraging employees to work together to stay safe.
In the bingo game, the company issues bingo cards to every employee. Every week, the company draws four numbers. Any employee who draws a bingo, or an “N” or a “C” or an “H” receives $100. The game continues until one employee’s card is entirely filled in. The first to achieve a “black card” receives $500.
If there is a lost time accident, the game stops; the company issues new bingo cards the following week and everyone starts over.
Hunt said the financial incentive encourages the employees to look out for each other. “This has been quite a beneficial thing for us,” Hunt said. “Everyone earns some money and that puts peer pressure on people to be safe. Only two people can prevent an accident – you and the guy next to you.”
“The first and most important function of this company is safety,” Hunt said. “The second most important function is customer satisfaction and the third is teamwork.”
N.C. Hunt also won three safety awards from NeLMA for their accident-free work in 2009.
