OCI Chemical’s Big Island Mine and Refinery earned the top honor for the Wyoming State Mine Inspectors Safety Excellence Award. The award, given annually to the underground mine with the lowest incident frequency rates in the state, was presented recently at the Annual Wyoming Mining Association Convention in Moran, Wyoming at Jackson Lake. This is the fifth consecutive first place win and 26th historical win for OCI’s Green River facility.
“We are proud of this milestone achievement for Big Island Mine and Refinery, and what it means for our employees and our business,” said Gary Gomez, site safety superintendent for OCI’s Green River facility. “We look at safety as an unending journey, and it is so entrenched in our culture that it is part of our everyday mentality. Enhancing and perfecting our safety standards and practices is a continual process that cannot happen unless everyone is pulling in the same direction. Everyone in our organization puts the safety of our employees before all else.”
This recognition comes a month after OCI was honored with a top safety award in Washington D.C. by the Industrial Minerals Association of North America for its safety practices in its North American mines. This is the third year in a row OCI earned this top honor.
OCI Chemical has built a unique safety culture around industry-recognized best practices and high performance standards. As part of this commitment, every OCI employee is empowered to stop any operation or process that poses a potential hazard. “This has been a critical component to our safety record at our site,” said Gomez. “We make protecting our natural resources, facilities and, most importantly, each other, our utmost concern. Through our culture of mutual respect, integrity and commitment, we are working to improve safety every day.”
To further its safety record, OCI implements a unique pre- and post-task assessment process at its Green River site with requirements designed to help employees mitigate risk. This process is credited with much of OCI’s recent safety success and distinguished record.
OCI’s internal Safety and Health Leadership Alliance also works to enhance company practices by conducting regular safety audits and sharing best practices across OCI’s three facilities. To further OCI’s safety expertise, the Alliance consults with other partners and companies on ways to reduce incident rates and increase safety within their own organizations.
For more information, please visit www.ocichemical.com.