We are committed to protecting the health and safety of every team member. Our team members believe safety is a lifestyle and not a workstyle. This is achieved by following the McWane Way philosophy of “Do it safely or not at all” and by following the McWane Way principles of leadership, teamwork, trust, accountability, communication, excellence, safety and environment. We demonstrate our commitment to each other by never trading comfort or approval for safety. Every human life is valuable, and our first order of business every day is to improve culture and performance.
We create a safe workplace through our EHS management system with the assistance of our professional safety and health personnel, internal and external third-party audits, management commitment and team member engagement and metrics that focus not on trailing injury rates but on proactive leading indicators, and through cooperative partnerships and meetings with federal, state and local regulatory agencies.
Safety is an integrated principle prioritized throughout all of our operations as a part of our commitment to our team members, our community and our customers to produce environmentally safe products in a sustainable manner. That means fostering a culture where we put people first. Kennedy manufacturing is safe and environmentally compliant. Learn more about our environmental awards and milestones.
The annual McWane Ergo Cup challenges teams across the McWane family of companies to create innovative, ergonomic projects that help optimize processes to reduce and prevent workplace injuries. Ergonomics is the science of designing or modifying work to benefit the worker. This helps reduce discomfort, workplace musculoskeletal disorders and other injuries.
Kennedy has also received outstanding health and safety recognitions from McWane, including:
- Most Improved (Total Recordable Incident) TRIR Rate
- Top Quartile Club (given to facilities that are in the top 25% of their industry)
2019 McWane Ergo Cup Winners
Most Outstanding Project, First Place: Clow Valve Company, Oskaloosa, Iowa — Brass Pattern Rotisserie
Clow Valve designed an ergonomically friendly device to eliminate the manual lifting and turning of brass patterns by implementing a mechanical rotisserie device.
First Place Runner-up: Tyler Pipe and Coupling, Marshfield, Missouri — Eyeletter Designer
Tyler Pipe automated the eyeleting process which reduced the competitive movements needed by the operator per cycle and reduced the strain on the operator’s hands, wrists, arms and shoulders. It also decreased the cycle time needed to produce the product and increase throughput of finished product.
Best Risk Reduction: Bibby Ste. Croix, Sainte Croix, Quebec, Canada — Kloster Motorization Conveyor
Bibby Ste. Croix motorized every section of the Kloster conveyor and added a safety detection system to prevent boards weighting 1,000 lbs. from falling.
Most Innovative Project: Kennedy Valve Company, Elmira, New York — Furnace Innoculates
Kennedy Valve came up with a bulk system to dispense inoculates, carbon and 75% silica onto the scale which eliminated the lifting, bending, twisting and shoveling by team members.
