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Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet
Model safety and health program wins special certification for Cynthiana company
CYNTHIANA, Ky. (May 2, 2006) – E.D. Bullard Co., a leading manufacturer of personal protective equipment and systems, today received an award for having taken extraordinary measures to ensure the safety and health of its employees.
A plaque signifying the company’s certification under the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) was presented to President and CEO Richard C. Miller by Commissioner Philip Anderson of the Kentucky Department of Labor, an agency of the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet.
E.D. Bullard Co., founded in 1898 and family-owned for four generations, has 240 employees at its Cynthiana location. It is the third Kentucky company holding SHARP certification. The U.S. Department of Labor designed SHARP to encourage and recognize excellence in occupational safety and health among small employers – those with 250 or fewer workers – in “high hazard” industries.
Companies must meet federal standards for the program. But the Kentucky Department of Labor presents the award because Kentucky has had its own, federally approved Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) program since 1985. E.D. Bullard worked toward SHARP certification for more than a year.
SHARP companies first undergo a thorough assessment by Kentucky OSH consultants. Among the requirements, a company must have injury and illness rates below national averages for its industry. It must also have a safety and health program that involves all employees in finding and correcting existing or potential hazards. The injury and illness total case rate at E.D. Bullard is 40 percent below the national average for the industry. The company, thus far, has gone 553 days without a lost-time accident.
SHARP certification is good for one year and can be renewed. A company is exempted from scheduled OSH compliance inspections during the certification period.
E.D. Bullard, which gained fame for high-quality hardhats and firefighter helmets, now manufactures a full line of protective gear and equipment, including thermal imagers and supplied-air respirators.
The company originated in California. Production was transferred from Sausalito, Calif., to Cynthiana in 1972, and corporate headquarters followed in 1991.
(EDITORS: Other companies currently holding SHARP certification are Uncle Charlie’s Meats, Richmond, a wholesale food distributor; and Buckhorn Inc., Dawson Springs, maker of plastic containers and tote bins.)
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