From left, Nathan Bishop, La-Z-Boy, Inc., Cody Buell, La-Z-Boy, Inc., Steve Hawkins, TOSHA administrator and Dennis Poland, La-Z-Boy, Inc.
Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips announced that La-Z-Boy, Inc. located in Dayton was chosen to receive the Commissioner’s Award of Excellence for Workplace Safety and Health.
"La-Z-Boy, Inc. has demonstrated strong commitment to maintaining a safe and healthy workplace," said Commissioner Phillips, who presented the award Wednesday at the closing session of the Tennessee Safety and Health Congress in Nashville. “The evaluation criteria for this award are challenging, and this company has worked extremely hard to meet and exceed the standards the award requires.”
“We are able to achieve this level of safety performance due to the commitment of our entire organization," said Bimbo McCawley, vice president of La-Z-Boy Tennessee. "Effective elimination of hazards and safety education are our focus. Team members are actively engaged with our safety process allowing us to concentrate on safety improvements as daily activities.”
Dennis Poland, safety manager, said, “All levels of our company view safety as our number one priority, which allows us to achieve milestones such as the Commissioner’s Award of Excellence. Receiving this award for the fourth consecutive year is a great honor; we appreciate the support and recognition we receive from our state and TOSHA partners to continuously improve.”
The Commissioner’s Award of Excellence honors Tennessee employers and employees who meet a required number of hours without workplace injuries serious enough to cause an employee to miss a day of work. The number of hours required is based on the size of the company.
La-Z-Boy, Inc. manufactures furniture. The facility employs 1,392 people and has qualified for the Commissioner’s Award by working more than 1.6 million hours without a lost-time workplace injury or illness. The site’s injury-free record dates back to March 2013.
For more information on the Governor’s Safety Award and other TOSHA award programs contact TOSHA’s Nashville office at 800.249-8510.