BENDIX NAMED ONE OF AMERICA’S SAFEST COMPANIES FOR 2019
Company Is One of Only 16 to Earn Prestigious Distinction from EHS Today, Honoring Commitment to Employee Safety and Health, Environment Management, and Risk Control
ELYRIA, Ohio – (Trailer Technician) – Coming off the safest year in its nearly 90-year history, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (Bendix) has been honored with a major corporate award recognizing its pursuit of safe operations. The company was named to EHS Today’s 2019 list of America’s Safest Companies, an annual award recognizing the safest companies in the United States. Bendix joins 15 other companies to be selected by the publication’s editors.
EHS Today, a magazine for environment, health, and safety leaders, founded America’s Safest Companies in 2002. Since then, more than 250 companies have earned the distinction. At a ceremony that was part of its 2019 Safety Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas, EHS Today presented the award to Bendix and the other 2019 honorees.
“From the operations floor to the executive suite, employees throughout the Bendix organization strive to maintain the highest possible standard of safety, a value deeply held in our company culture,” said Carlos Hungria, Bendix chief operating officer. “This is an important part of our journey to operational excellence, and we are truly honored to be named among America’s Safest Companies with our 15 fellow recipients. The award reflects our unwavering commitment to ensure the well-being of each and every individual who sets foot inside a Bendix facility.”
To be considered one of America’s Safest Companies, companies must demonstrate transformational environmental, health, and safety leadership in the form of support from management and employee involvement; innovative solutions to safety challenges; injury and illness rates significantly lower than the average for their industries; comprehensive training programs; evidence that prevention of incidents is the cornerstone of the safety process; excellent communication internally and externally about the value of safety; and a way to substantiate the benefits of the safety process.
Quest for Zero Injuries
An attitude of no compromise best describes Bendix’s pursuit of safe operations, which is built around the goal of zero injuries. In 2018, that unified mindset helped the company achieve its safest year ever. Of Bendix’s 18 North American locations, nearly all achieved significant safety milestones, and cumulatively experienced a 30 percent reduction from 2017’s injury rate. At the heart of the results are preventive and corrective safety programs, as well as processes and rituals that empower employees to help improve safety.
Bendix has implemented mature safety processes, which continue to drive noticeable improvement in Year over Year safety results. Part of the long-term strategy of the Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) team, these processes include a 24-hour incident notification and containment policy; Safety Shares, a practice begun in 2019 involving the sharing of a personal safety lesson at the start of each meeting; lessons learned from incident sharing across all of Bendix’s plants to identify and eliminate similar risks; among others.
In addition, engagement opportunities through the Safety STARS (Safety Top Achievement Recognition System) program enable employees to take on a key role in identifying unsafe conditions, unsafe behaviors, and safety improvements.
Key to the success of the safety program has been the integration with the Knorr Production System (KPS) quality, productivity, and continuous improvement culture. KPS is practiced worldwide throughout the Munich, Germany-based Knorr-Bremse Group, of which Bendix is a member. KPS tools and rituals have helped quantify improvement activities, increase visibility to safety losses, escalate safety concerns, and drive team-level ownership of safety.
“We’re so proud of our team members in Bendix blue who come to work every day 110 percent committed to performing their jobs safely,” said Maria Gutierrez, Bendix director of corporate responsibility and sustainability. “Their dedication made the America’s Safest Companies recognition possible. We look forward to reaching more milestones as we continue on Bendix’s safety journey.”
About Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, a member of the Knorr-Bremse Group, develops and supplies leading-edge active safety technologies, energy management solutions, and air brake charging and control systems and components under the Bendix® brand name for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, tractors, trailers, buses, and other commercial vehicles throughout North America. An industry pioneer, employing more than 3,200 people, Bendix is driven to deliver solutions for improved vehicle safety, performance, and overall operating cost. Contact us at
1-800-AIR-BRAKE (1-800-247-2725) or visit bendix.com. Stay connected and informed through Bendix expert podcasts, blog posts, videos, and other resources at knowledge-dock.com. Follow Bendix on Twitter at twitter.com/Bendix_CVS. Log on and learn from the Bendix experts at brake-school.com. And to learn more about career opportunities at Bendix, visit bendix.com/careers.