Safety at Nucor

Safety is the first thing discussed at meetings throughout the company. Some managers sign their correspondence, “Be Safe.” Every Nucor division has a safety coordinator. Twice a year, all of our safety coordinators gather to share information and best practices, discuss new trends, and receive additional training. All of our divisions have safety committees composed of workers from a variety of departments. The workers meet regularly to discuss ways to make their division a safer place.

To demonstrate the importance of safety, the President’s Safety Award was created and presented for outstanding achievement in the prevention of on-the-job accidents. The standards are strict: for each division, Nucor determines the safety records for similar
facilities at other companies around the nation, based on lost workday case rates and injury/illness rates. For the Nucor division to win the award, it must post rates that are 67% lower than the national average. Despite these strict requirements, it’s not unusual
for about half of our divisions to win this award. Several of our divisions are pursuing the challenging OSHA Voluntary Protection Program or similar state-run programs. The OSHA initiative is for facilities that implement outstanding health and safety programs. NBS - IN has achieved  VPP "Merit" status.

It’s not hard to understand why safety always receives so much attention with us. For one thing, it’s smart business. Groups with great safety records also tend to perform equally well when it comes to quality, costs, timeliness, and productivity. But more importantly, when your company’s success is built on treating workers well, that all starts with creating the right focus on safety.