Safety Stand-Down Day

Dear Friends and Colleagues:
 
The past few weeks have been tragic ones for the recycling industry. The scrap recycling industry is a safe industry that is getting safer. However, since early August, we have suffered at least eleven fatalities and multiple critical injuries at facilities owned by, or associated with, ReMA members and at some non-ISRI member owned facilities.
 
This is a disturbing trend that must be stopped. Each of these terrible tragedies happened at companies that are owned and managed by good people who run fine companies. If tragedy can strike there, it can strike anywhere.
 
In an effort to reaffirm safety as our number one core value and focus our members’ attention on the safety of their workplaces and their employees, ReMA is declaring October 15, 2014 to be Safety Stand-Down Day. We urge each of our member companies to shut down operations for at least one hour on every shift that day to engage in safety awareness training. The training can take any form you wish, from employee training to a management walk-around, or any other effective safety training method you are comfortable with. 
 
The ISRI Safety website provides abundant information that you can use to support your Safety Stand-Down Day activities, from inspection checklists and training outlines to safety videos. And don’t forget that ReMA Safety Outreach Services provides hands-on assistance free of charge to members, and our team of safety professionals is only a phone call away. For more information on these services, or to schedule them for your facility, please email Anne Marie Horvath, ISRI’s safety program manager, or call her at (202) 662-8511.
 
For other guidance in matter related to safety, please email John Gilstrap, ISRI’s director of safety, or call him at (202) 662-8515.
 
These tragedies at our member facilities have not only changed the affected families, friends and coworkers forever, but also the company’s owners lives and their families as well.  It is sad and this trend must stop. Please take this opportunity to observe Safety Stand-down Day to seek out and eliminate hazards within your operations.  Demonstrate to your workforce that safety is your number one core value and that you consider them to be the most important asset of your operation.  Remember, Safely or Not at All.
 
Sincerely,