At Interstates, safety is not only our commitment — it is one of the foundations on which we’ve built our business on. In recognition of that commitment, we received the South Dakota Governor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement from the South Dakota Safety Council (SDSC). "We're excited to be recognized for our safety program. Our Interstates team members put hard work into ensuring safety at each job site," commented Ian Seuser, Director of Safety at Interstates.
The SDSC awards system is compounded — a company must achieve Meritorious recognition before being recognized for Outstanding Achievement. A company must achieve Outstanding Achievement before they can receive an Award of Honor. They base their scores on a Safety Program Evaluation Scorecard developed by a team of safety professionals. SDSC encourages companies to also use it as a guide to strengthening their safety program. The final part of scoring is based on Days Away Restricted Transferred (DART) rates and Incident Rates of a safety program.
At the Outstanding level, companies must show that their Days Away Restricted Transferred (DART) rate and Incident Rate is at least 51-90% better than the average in their industry. They must also have between 75 and 90 points for their Safety Program Evaluation Scorecard. Like this year, in 2019, we received the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement.
As we continue to improve our safety culture, we empower our leaders to coach their teams in a zero-injury mindset because each incident, no matter how small, plays a part in safety. This zero-injury culture even begins at orientation. Each new hire hears about this culture and is coached that they have a responsibility for ensuring safety. "Our core values are at the base of our safety program. Each one fits into safety, and we want each team member to hold that responsibility," adds Seuser.
