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Frito-Lay deemed ‘star' site
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| Staff photo by Hillary Gavan From left; Frito-Lay Safety Administrator Cathy Ball and Kevin Daskam, extruded business unit leader, raise a flag at the company’s Traffic Division. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) again has recertified Frito-Lay Inc. in Beloit as a “star” site in its prestigious Voluntary Protection Programs. |
By Hillary Gavan
Daily News staff writer
Frito-Lay is getting a reputation for being a world-class facility for its safety record and operations.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has recertified Beloit-based Frito-Lay Inc. as a “star” site in its prestigious Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP). Frito-Lay held a special flag raising ceremony at its traffic center on Wednesday to celebrate its participation in the program.
“Frito-Lay has sustained an excellent record in workplace safety and health,” said Kimberly Stille, director of OSHA's area office in Madison. “The company's outstanding efforts include management commitment and continuous improvement of its safety and health programs, as well as exceptional employee involvement in those programs.”
Although the Frito-Lay plant in Beloit has already been a participant in VPP for several years, its traffic center just joined OSHA's program.
Last year the Beloit plant manufactured 48 million cases of snack foods, while its delivery drivers safely drove approximately 8.5 million miles. This facility initially was recognized as a VPP site at the star level in March 1997.
Because of an impressive improvement in the facility's safety record, its Traffic Division was included in this latest VPP evaluation for the first time. More than 750 people are employed at the Beloit plant, with 120 of them working in the Traffic Division.
Kevin Daskam was the safety manager when the Traffic Division joined the VPP program. Now Daskam is the extruded business unit leader and Darryl McCabe is the new safety manager.
The program is voluntary and allows the plant to audit its own safety. During last year's fire at Frito-Lay, for example, those at the plant simply filed a report. If VPP wasn't in place, OSHA personnel would have come in and inspected the plant.
Employees lead the systems, according to Safety Administrator Cathy Ball.
Drivers and other workers each take responsibility for certain safety issues. A driver, for example, may take on responsibilities for ergonomics, hazard communications or slips and falls.
“Employee involvement really helps us,” Ball said.
OSHA's star designation is the highest level of recognition that an employer can achieve in the VPP. Designed for work sites with comprehensive, successful safety and health programs, the VPP is open to all industries and to companies with injury rates below their respective industries' national averages.
During Wednesday's event company officials announced that Frito-Lay's Midwest North Region has received the company's annual C.E. Doolin Award for Operations Excellence, the highest award for operations. The Midwest North Region includes the Beloit facility and distribution centers throughout Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota.
The C.E. Doolin Award for Operations Excellence, named for Frito-Lay's co-founder, recognizes the region that delivers outstanding results in a variety of areas including quality and service in product manufacturing and distribution.
This is the third national recognition award the company's Beloit facility has earned in the past year. The Beloit team received Frito-Lay's Ewing Award for Leadership in Human Resource Systems for outstanding safety performance and strong focus on diversity. The Beloit traffic center also won the National Fleet Award of Excellence for its focus on safety, compliance and reliability over-the-road.
Frito-Lay North America is the $11 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. In addition to Frito-Lay, PepsiCo divisions include Pepsi-Cola, Quaker Foods, Gatorade and Tropicana.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has recertified Beloit-based Frito-Lay Inc. as a “star” site in its prestigious Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP). Frito-Lay held a special flag raising ceremony at its traffic center on Wednesday to celebrate its participation in the program.
“Frito-Lay has sustained an excellent record in workplace safety and health,” said Kimberly Stille, director of OSHA's area office in Madison. “The company's outstanding efforts include management commitment and continuous improvement of its safety and health programs, as well as exceptional employee involvement in those programs.”
Although the Frito-Lay plant in Beloit has already been a participant in VPP for several years, its traffic center just joined OSHA's program.
Last year the Beloit plant manufactured 48 million cases of snack foods, while its delivery drivers safely drove approximately 8.5 million miles. This facility initially was recognized as a VPP site at the star level in March 1997.
Because of an impressive improvement in the facility's safety record, its Traffic Division was included in this latest VPP evaluation for the first time. More than 750 people are employed at the Beloit plant, with 120 of them working in the Traffic Division.
Kevin Daskam was the safety manager when the Traffic Division joined the VPP program. Now Daskam is the extruded business unit leader and Darryl McCabe is the new safety manager.
The program is voluntary and allows the plant to audit its own safety. During last year's fire at Frito-Lay, for example, those at the plant simply filed a report. If VPP wasn't in place, OSHA personnel would have come in and inspected the plant.
Employees lead the systems, according to Safety Administrator Cathy Ball.
Drivers and other workers each take responsibility for certain safety issues. A driver, for example, may take on responsibilities for ergonomics, hazard communications or slips and falls.
“Employee involvement really helps us,” Ball said.
OSHA's star designation is the highest level of recognition that an employer can achieve in the VPP. Designed for work sites with comprehensive, successful safety and health programs, the VPP is open to all industries and to companies with injury rates below their respective industries' national averages.
During Wednesday's event company officials announced that Frito-Lay's Midwest North Region has received the company's annual C.E. Doolin Award for Operations Excellence, the highest award for operations. The Midwest North Region includes the Beloit facility and distribution centers throughout Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota.
The C.E. Doolin Award for Operations Excellence, named for Frito-Lay's co-founder, recognizes the region that delivers outstanding results in a variety of areas including quality and service in product manufacturing and distribution.
This is the third national recognition award the company's Beloit facility has earned in the past year. The Beloit team received Frito-Lay's Ewing Award for Leadership in Human Resource Systems for outstanding safety performance and strong focus on diversity. The Beloit traffic center also won the National Fleet Award of Excellence for its focus on safety, compliance and reliability over-the-road.
Frito-Lay North America is the $11 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. In addition to Frito-Lay, PepsiCo divisions include Pepsi-Cola, Quaker Foods, Gatorade and Tropicana.
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