August 20, 2018

Norcraft Companies recently achieved a significant safety milestone at its Sioux Falls, South Dakota, cabinet manufacturing facility. As of June 2018, the Sioux Falls facility recorded more than 3 million consecutive hours worked without a lost time incident.

A lost time incident is defined by the U.S. Department of Labor as an incident in the workplace that “results in an injury serious enough that causes the person injured to be unable to work for a day or more.” To achieve this milestone in a manufacturing environment that employs more than 600 employees working roughly 1.5 million hours per year, the facility’s management team credits the staff’s continuous improvement efforts and their commitment to maintaining a safe workplace. Most important, the team adopted a zero-injury culture: employees believe that “zero injuries” is possible and worth pursuing.

“A zero-injury workplace is our expectation and our culture,” said Pete Bendix, vice president of operations for the Sioux Falls facility, known to the local community as StarMark Cabinetry. “We have been managing an aggressive agenda to eliminate injuries from our workplace. We recognize we are in a manufacturing environment with built-in, inherent risks, and we’ve dedicated ourselves to being always aware of what’s taking place in our workspace and proving zero injuries is possible. I speak for everyone on our team when saying it has been a rewarding experience embracing this zero-injury culture. There is nothing more important than keeping our people safe and injury free.”

Norcraft Companies will continue this focus and commitment on the journey to 4 million hours and beyond at the Sioux Falls facility.

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