SafeTRSA Verifies Progress
Membership-wide safety statistics enable TRSA companies to easily compare their improvements to the industry norm and foster further gains.
To measure the textile services industry’s progress in establishing and implementing enhanced management and safety practices to reduce and eliminate occupational injuries and illnesses in plants and depots, TRSA administers an annual survey of its members’ occupational injury and illness data.
The most recent survey indicated across-the-board declines in members’ injury and illness rates from 2005 to 2009: a 46.8% decrease in the total number of recordable injuries and illnesses per 100 employees (TRIR Rate) and a 35.5% drop in days away from work, job restrictions and/or job transfers (DART Rate).
By comparison, according to the U.S. Labor Department, the private manufacturing industry (whose operations are similar to those found in textile processing facilities and, therefore, shares many of the textile services industry’s same safety issues and compliance mandates) reduced its TRIR and DART rates by 31.7% and 34.3% respectively. All of private industry experienced a 21.7% decrease in the TRIR Rate and a 25.0% decline in the DART Rate.
TRSA cites such tracking over the past several years as prompting industry-specific initiatives and resources to focus on the industry’s highest risk areas and those cited most frequently by OSHA, resulting in the adoption of proven policies and procedures for maintaining equipment (lock-out, tag-out), handling soiled linen (especially blood-borne pathogens) and working in confined spaces.
These reflect the success of the SafeTRSA program in highlighting areas of emphasis and improvement leading to TRSA’s development of new resources for educating, training and protecting employees including publications, online resources, videos and more.
