Company Website:
http://www.veoliawaterna.com
CHICAGO -- (Business Wire)
Veolia
Water North America (Veolia Water), the nation’s leading provider of
municipal and industrial water and wastewater partnerships,
significantly outperformed public municipal systems as well as
private-industry water, wastewater and other comparable utility systems,
in the area of safety for the sixth year in a row as compared to the
most recent data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
In 2012, approximately 98 percent of all Veolia Water’s facilities
marked no lost-time milestones ranging from one year to 27 years. Of
these, 44 projects have achieved a no lost-time incident milestone of at
least 15 years, and 13 have achieved that milestone for at least 20
years. In addition, the company’s industrial operations, which accounted
for 1.1 million man hours last year, had zero lost-time incidents.
Lost-time incidents are defined as injuries or illnesses resulting in
days away from work. Statistically, Veolia’s 2012 Lost-Time Incidence
Rate (LTIR) was a significant 86 percent below the national average for
municipal operations and 87 percent below the national average for
private sector operators.
Moreover, Veolia Water’s total Recordable Incidence Rate (RIR) – which
includes medical treatment, restrictions and transfers, and lost-time
injuries or illnesses – came in at an impressive 61 percent below the
national average for municipal operations and 54 percent below the
national average for private operators.
“Worker safety is a top priority at Veolia. We focus on being the safest
place to work in the water industry, period,” said Laurent Auguste,
president and CEO of Veolia Water Americas. “Our focus on safety is
reinforced by our numbers and by our safety culture. Yet our ambition is
to always increase safety, to always improve.”
Not only are the statistics compelling, but leading industry
organizations have taken notice as well. Two of Veolia Water’s
facilities were recipients of the George
W. Burke Safety Award in 2012: the Lynn, Mass. Wastewater Treatment
Plant and the Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada Wastewater Treatment
Plant. Veolia Water’s Streator, Ill. Wastewater Treatment Plant will
also be receiving the award in 2013. The Burke Award is given annually
by the Water
Environment Federation (WEF) to a municipal or industrial wastewater
facility for promoting an active and effective safety program. Only one
recipient is awarded per state/province.
Additional safety accolades include the Veolia Water-operated Fort Knox,
Ky. wastewater treatment facility, which received the prominent OSHA
VPP Star status in October 2012. This award recognizes and promotes
exemplary safety and health performance in the workplace and represents
the highest safety honor that can be given to a company. At the time of
the presentation, there were only three other wastewater treatment
facilities in the U.S. with the OSHA Star designation.
“At Veolia Water, safety is integral to our culture and everyone is held
accountable for safety performance – from executives to shift
employees,” said Dan Ryan, executive vice president, management systems
and health & safety. “In the approximately 550 communities and more than
100 industrial sites we serve, our employees are held to uniform safety
standards and we have programs in place to continuously support worker
and workplace safety. And, while 2012’s performance is impressive, we
believe that wherever better is possible, that good is not enough.
Therefore we maintain our continuous improvement track one task and one
day at a time.”
For more information on Veolia Water’s safety efforts, please view
this short video.
Based in Chicago, Veolia Water North America is the leading provider of
comprehensive water and wastewater partnership services to municipal and
industrial customers, providing services to people in approximately 550
North American communities. The company is part of the Veolia
Environnement companies in North America, with 30,000 North American
employees providing sustainable environmental solutions in water
management, waste services, and energy management.
Veolia Water, the water division of Veolia Environnement, is the world
leader in water and wastewater services and technological solutions. Its
parent company, Veolia Environnement (NYSE: VE and Paris Euronext: VIE),
is the worldwide reference in environmental services. With more than
315,000 employees, Veolia Environnement recorded annual revenues of $38
billion in 2011. Visit the company's Web sites at www.veolianorthamerica.com
and www.veoliawaterna.com,
or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/veoliawaterna.
Contacts:
For Veolia Water
Jeanne Beach, 949-233-5372
jeanne@jmediapr.com
or
Matt
Demo, 312-552-2887
matt.demo@veoliawaterna.com
Source: Veolia Water North America