2011 Safety Awards Program - Asphalt Pavement Association of Indiana

On behalf of APAI Safety Committee Chairman Mark Michaels, we are pleased to announce the opening of the APAI Safe Worker Awards program for 2011.   The purpose of this effort, now in its third year of operation, is to give public and peer recognition to those member company employees who individually work every day towards a safer asphalt paving industry.

The APAI Safe Worker Awards program is different because our member producers and laydown contractors use the attached guidelines to nominate a recipient from their company.   There is no one overall winner.     Instead, our Safety Committee chooses to recognize outstanding employees from each of our member companies who practice safety on a daily basis.   No specific jobs are identified.   You can nominate up to five deserving individuals from your company.   This is a great way to publicly demonstrate your firm’s support of job site and plant safety.   You can use these awards internally to create competition and visibility for your safety program.   And showcase your winners externally to your customers.  

There is no complicated paperwork to send to APAI.   All we need are your winners’ names and their t-shirt sizes.   You decide who is honored.    Nothing could be easier.  

As in the past, we have scheduled our annual Contractors’ Safety Breakfast (sponsored by Tobias Insurance Group) during our Winter Conference at the Indianapolis Wyndham on Friday, December 16.    We will present individual Safe Worker Awards to deserving industry employees during the annual business meeting that morning.  Lori A. Torres, Commissioner, Indiana Dept of Labor,  will make the presentations to selected individuals along with APAI President Alvin Evans.     Your key employees will be brought up on stage and honored with their peers.   

The attached guidelines are merely a suggestion from the APAI Safety Committee of how your company might select its final winner(s).   Please retain this form for your records; do not return to APAI.   Individual winners will receive a certificate suitable for framing, along with a distinctive APAI Safety Award Winner t-shirt and a ball cap.   We need a list of your Safe Worker award winners no later than November 1, 2011.   There is a $50 entry fee, per nominee, to help offset some of the costs of the awards program.   You will be invoiced by CMC.  Your award recipients will be our guests at the Contractors’ Safety Breakfast and for the General Session that follows.  

Jim Reid of Indiana Public Works News typically attends the Safe Worker Awards Breakfast to shoot photography.   This is a great way to communicate to all audiences the importance of safety in your contracting operation.    APAI’s Safe Worker Awards is a successful employee recognition program that deserves your company’s support.  Please refer to the attached information for more details, or feel free to contact me.   Please email your nominees’ names along with their t-shirt sizes to me at wknopf@asphaltindiana.org by 11/1/11.

• Award recipients will receive a certificate suitable for framing, a winner’s t-shirt and ball cap, and an invitation to attend the Contractors’ Safety Breakfast on December 15 in Indianapolis.

Awards will be presented during the Annual Business Meeting later that morning.

Listed below are the requirements and guidelines for participation:

Eligibility Requirements:

• You must be an APAI Contractor and/or Producer to submit employee names to be recognized.  
• The eligible disciplines of work are:  Quality Control, Mixing Facilities, Mix Delivery & Asphalt Placement.
• The attached nomination form is for your use only to assist you in selecting winners.   Please check if yes and add comments to each of the guidelines listed.    Do not return to APAI.  
• To nominate a Safe Worker Award recipient from your firm, simply email that employee’s name to wknopf@asphaltindiana.org     
• Each member firm can recognize 5 winners.   Please submit your winners no later than 11/1/11.   We will also need t-shirt sizes for your award recipients.  
• Your firm will be invoiced $50 per nomination by our  Laura Jackson at CMC.   Checks are to be made out to CMC and returned to CMC, not to APAI.   CMC staff will aggregate all Winter Conference revenue and expenses and send one check to APAI following the meeting.

Guidelines for making final selection: 
Candidates should:
• Be trained in safety and health   
• Seek other enhancement safety training and information
• Accept full responsibility for their own safety
• Carry out their work duties in the safest manner possible
• Watch out for fellow workers
• Report unsafe conditions
• Recognize hazards and conditions that may be or become unsafe
• Know how to visualize the job task and decide or suggest a safe solution to abate hazards
• Be sought out by other for their safety input
• Report near misses
• Be willing to stop work due to an unsafe condition
• Be respected by their peers and co-workers
• Not have had a personal injury within the last calendar year.   

Other safety contributions that make this individual stand out among all others as a safe worker and therefore worthy of wining this award.  Example:  Administered CPR or first aid, saved a life, assisted/prevented a personal injury, or served as a safety mentor, etc.

Instructions:

In order to assist members choose their winner, or winners, the APAI Safety Committee recommends that the individual’s immediate supervisor complete the award nomination form and submit it to management who will determine the final winner or winners from the firm.   The nomination guideline questions have a priority ranking from least to most important, with the first question having a value of one and the last a value of 12.  This allows each company to total the yes answers, along with the “other safety contributions” write up, to choose the unbiased winner or winners.  Note:  This information should not be shared outside the management at your firm.   There is no need to submit this form to APAI.  

Nominee Name: _____________________________________  Years of Service:  ___

Employer: ______________________________________________________________

Employer Address: ______________________________________________________

Nominating Supervisor:  __________________________________________________

Guidelines (please add comments)
Candidates should:
0 Be respected by their peers and co-workers

0 Seek other enhancement safety training and information

0 Be willing to stop work due to an unsafe condition

0 Report near misses

0 Be sought out by others for their safety input

0 Report unsafe conditions

0 Watch out for fellow workers

0 Recognize hazards and conditions that may be or become unsafe

0 Know how to visualize the job task and decide or suggest a safe solution to abate
      hazards

0 Carry out their work duties in the safest manner possible

0 Accept full responsibility for their own safety

0 Be trained in safety and health   

0 Not have had a personal injury within the last calendar year.   

Other safety contributions that make this individual stand out among all others as a safe worker and therefore worthy of wining this award.  Example:  Administered CPR or first aid, saved a life, assisted/prevented a personal injury, or served as a safety mentor, etc.  Type or print clearly, one additional sheet may be used if necessary.