Company: PT Oklahoma Investment Casting

Location: Blackwell, Oklahoma

NAICS Code: 331512 – Steel Investment Foundries

Employees Insite: 37

PT Oklahoma Investment Casting (PT-OIC) is an investment casting foundry that manufactures metal components for a broad range of industrial applications. In 1995, PT-OIC learned about the OSHA On-Site Consultation Program, which offers no-cost and confidential occupational safety and health services to small and medium-sized businesses. Shortly thereafter, they began collaborations with the Oklahoma Department of Labor, OSHA Consultation Services, an experience they credit with bolstering the company’s commitment to building its safety and health program and maintaining a “safety first” focus at all levels of the company.

With the encouragement of consultants, PT-OIC decided to take its safety and health program to the next level required to participate in the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP), which recognizes small business employers who have used the OSHA On-Site Consultation Program services and operate an exemplary safety and health program. After receiving their SHARP certification in 1997, PT-OIC set an ambitious goal: to sustain their SHARP certification for the long term. Since 1997, PT-OIC has achieved SHARP recognition nine times.

To meet this goal, PT-OIC has endeavored to continuously improve their safety and health program. Key elements of PT-OIC’s safety program include:

• Safety orientation training for all new employees,
• Monthly safety trainings delivered by a third party.
• An active safety committee that meets monthly and conducts routine inspections of the facility and equipment.
• The Opportunity for Improvement (OFI) program, which encourages employees to recommend improvements for all aspects in the company and rewards their feedback and suggestions.

PT-OIC’s participation in the SHARP program and ongoing commitment to promoting a culture of safety has reduced worker injuries and illnesses and improved the company’s bottom line by reducing worker compensation claims and expenses. With 73,971 hours worked without a recordable injury, PT-OIC has maintained a low workers’ compensation experience modifier rate, resulting in lower insurance premiums. PT-OIC has also endeavored to keep its injury rates significantly below that of other establishments in their industry sector. From 2017-2019, PT-OIC’s Days Away, Restricted, and/or Transfer (DART) rate averaged 0.93 and its Total Recordable Case (TRC) rate averaged 2.10. During this same period, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that establishments for NAICS code 331512 had an average DART rate of 3.36, and a TRC rate of 4.60.

In 2019, PT-OIC reached another milestone: their TRC and DART rates dropped to 0. And in February 2020, PT-OIC received its most recent SHARP renewal. “Both team members and management are proud of our designation as a SHARP-certified facility,” said Deb Hankins, Environmental Health & Safety Manager. “We are all motivated to maintain this prestigious designation.”