NSC announces Green Cross for Safety Award winners
The National Safety Council honored three organizations working toward – and succeeding in – preventing injuries and saving lives with its renowned Green Cross for Safety awards.
Presented during the 23rd annual Green Cross Celebration on Tuesday evening in San Diego, this accolade recognizes the best and brightest in three categories: safety advocacy, safety excellence and safety innovation.
The 2022 winners:
Safety Advocate Award (sponsored by First Transit/First Student): Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) War Room – Having worked for decades to end drunk driving, MADD has helped reduce drunk driving-related deaths by 52% through education and enforcement campaigns, as well as with state and federal legislative reforms. With federal legislation needed to mandate installation of vehicle technology that would prevent more than 9,400 traffic deaths annually, the organization established a “War Room” of staff, former MADD presidents, and more than 100 family members of drunk driving victims and injured survivors who volunteered to take action. The group met weekly to advocate the passage of legislation requiring automakers to install drunk driving prevention systems in all new vehicles. MADD’s “War Room” coalition was instrumental in securing that legislative victory.
Safety Excellence Award (sponsored by UPS): U. S. Steel – U. S. Steel uses its Minnesota Ore Operations, consisting of two open-pit taconite mines located in the state, to supply the organization with iron ore pellets used in the steel-making process. Tires for 240-ton haul trucks and front-end loaders used to transport crude ore and waste out of mines are 12 feet tall and weigh nearly 9,000 pounds. In the past, workers experienced significant injuries associated with these large tires. From a safety standpoint, U. S. Steel didn’t have a consistent method to track real-time data associated with the health of the tires in service until it installed a monitoring tool and could reduce the number of tires taken out of service. This technology allows employees to check tire pressure and temperature from a remote location, and the tires are remotely monitored during inflation using a handheld device, ensuring a safer working environment for operators and maintenance staff.
Safety Innovation Award (sponsored by Amazon): Fatigue Science – By looking at the pervasive issue of fatigue in the workplace, Fatigue Science found that workers in safety-sensitive industries such as mining and trucking are at a high risk of injury or death on the job. Predictive fatigue management, via its Readi technology, enables proactive decision-making throughout these industries. By predicting fatigue, modern science and technology can be used to save lives and prevent fatigue-related incidents.
“I want to sincerely thank and congratulate this year’s Green Cross for Safety award finalists and winners,” NSC President and CEO Lorraine M. Martin said. “Their outstanding work is critical to keeping millions of people safe so all individuals across the world can live their fullest lives.”
In addition to recognizing this year’s award recipients, the Green Cross Celebration helped raise more than $625,000 for NSC mission-critical initiatives, including safety research, education and advocacy.