National Safety Council Announces Winners for 2023 Green Cross for Safety Awards

The Green Cross Celebration raises critical funds to support the National Safety Council mission to save lives and prevent injuries from the workplace to anyplace

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Safety Council honored three organizations working toward and succeeding in preventing injuries and saving lives with its renowned Green Cross for Safety® awards. Given during the 24^th annual Green Cross Celebration, presented by U. S. Steel, these accolades recognize the best and brightest in three categories: safety advocacy, safety excellence and safety innovation. 

Nine finalists for the three award categories were selected, reviewed and evaluated. Finalists for the Safety Advocate Award were Argos, Flagman Inc. and Schneider. Finalists for the Safety Excellence Award were Anne Arundel County Government Risk Management, Day & Zimmermann and Walgreens. Finalists for the Safety Innovation Award were APTIM, Clayton County Water Authority and SoCalGas.

The 2023 winners are:

• Schneider (Safety Advocate Award, sponsored by First Student): Each year, drunk driving claims around 10,000 lives. The Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) program was created to develop a first-of-its-kind technology holding the greatest potential to reverse this deadly trend. In 2021, Schneider became the first truckload carrier to conduct a pilot of this lifesaving alcohol detection technology. Between September 2021 and May 2022, the first Schneider trucks were fitted with the DADSS technology device, and drivers began testing the system. Through May 1, 2023, Schneider drove more than 206,634 miles, producing a total of 89,689 samples and 21,784 total sensor operation hours. Through testing, Schneider drivers were the first to identify and report problems with the device. Data generated allowed the device to be optimized and validated the device's speed, accuracy and reliability. DADSS is now slated to become a feature in new cars once it has completed a performance protocol review.
  
  
• Walgreens (Safety Excellence Award, sponsored by UPS): Walgreens operates more than 8,000 drugstores. In 2017, the company began an in-depth analysis of workers' compensation claims occurring within its retail locations and found about 40% of injuries were caused by slips, trips and falls occurring in its retail stockroom environments. The analysis identified an opportunity to collaborate cross-functionally, redefining its stockroom inventory controls and storage layouts. Walgreens launched the Safety Focused Stockroom program concentrating on safe storage planograms and the safe storage of merchandise without the use of a ladder. Year to date, Walgreens has successfully transformed more than 76% of its retail locations to ladder-less stockrooms. Workers' compensation claims associated with slips, trips and falls within the stockroom have been reduced by 66% over the last six years. Walgreens continues to focus on improving its adoption of the program, showing its commitment to managing risks and increasing safety awareness for its team members.
  
  
• APTIM (Safety Innovation Award, sponsored by Amazon): APTIM is responsible for the repair and maintenance of more than 90,000 fuel infrastructure assets for the U.S. Department of Defense in dozens of remote locations. It soon realized the potential for safety to be compromised due to gaps in safety planning, processes, communication and documentation. Its program team identified a suite of digital tools to integrate with its safety program needs. These tools have proved to provide an electronic means of group communication, real-time engagement and seamless field interaction with its safety and engineering support teams. It ensures the safest measures are being implemented at the site, the regulatory documentation required by its customers is maintained and field staff safety is increased. This digital innovation has resulted in an average of below .01 for all leading indicators that helped drive down incident rates for the past three years of this program.

In addition to recognizing this year's award recipients, the Green Cross Celebration helped raise approximately $720,000 for mission critical initiatives, including safety research, education and advocacy. Held at Mardi Gras World, this special event featured festive music and lively entertainment all surrounded by the unique art and magic of Mardi Gras, a live auction with incredible packages and an inspiring story of first aid saving a life at work.

"NSC is proud to recognize these organizations for advocating, excelling and innovating to keep workers safe," said Lorraine Martin, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. "The commitment to safety amongst this year's group is unparalleled, and it is a great honor to celebrate their efforts and accomplishments with them. Thank you and congratulations to this year's Green Cross for Safety® award finalists and winners."

The Green Cross Celebration raises critical funds to support the National Safety Council mission to save lives and prevent injuries from the workplace to anyplace, while celebrating outstanding achievements in safety by honoring winners in three categories: safety advocacy, safety excellence and safety innovation. Visit greencross.nsc.org for additional information about each winner and finalist. 

About the National Safety Council
The National Safety Council is America's leading nonprofit safety advocate – and has been for 110 years. As a mission-based organization, we work to eliminate the leading causes of preventable death and injury, focusing our efforts on the workplace and roadways. We create a culture of safety to not only keep people safer at work, but also beyond the workplace so they can live their fullest lives.

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SOURCE National Safety Council