The N.C. Department of Labor honored area employers and employees at the agency’s annual safety awards banquet in Concord on Friday, May 6.

“It’s really an honor for me to travel throughout the state and recognize these employers who are making a commitment to their employees’ safety and health,” Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry said. “These employers are helping to make North Carolina workplaces some of the safest in the country.”

The awards honor outstanding on-the-job safety achievements of each recipient during 2015. Recipients are located in Concord, Gold Hill, Kannapolis, Mount Pleasant and Salisbury.

Commissioner Berry spoke at the banquet and presented the awards.

The event is co-sponsored by the N.C. Department of Labor and the Safety and Health Council of North Carolina. The banquet was held at the Cabarrus County Country Club, 3247 Weddington Road, Concord.

Recipient from Salisbury include:

• McKenzie Sports Products, Inc. with a silver award;
• Trinity Oaks with a silver award for the fourth year in a row;
• Universal Forest Products, Inc. with a gold award;
• Sonoco Recycling with a gold award for the second year in a row;
• Carolinas Healthcare System, Urgent Care, with a gold award for the third year in a row;
• Chandler Concrete Company, Inc., Plant #114, with a gold award for the third year in a row;
• Concrete Supply Company with a gold award for the fourth year in a row;
• Salisbury Machinery Company, A Division of Oliver Rubber Company, with a gold award for the fourth year in a row;
• Chandler Concrete Company, Inc., Building Supply #115 with a gold award for the sixth year in a row.

The local recipients have met the stringent requirements necessary to receive a safety award.

Under program rules, companies must have been free of fatal accidents at the site for which the award is given to be eligible. The gold award criteria are based on a DART rate that is at least 50 percent below the statewide rate for its industry. The rate includes cases of days away from work, restricted activity or job transfer.

The silver award is based only on cases with days away from work. They are recorded when the worker misses at least one full day of work, not including the day of the injury. The applicant must attain an incidence rate for cases with days away from work that is at least 50 percent below the rate for its industry.

More information on the Labor Department’s Safety Awards Program is available by calling 919-807-2908 or emailing Eursula Joyner at eursula.joyner@labor.nc.gov.