NMA recognized Peabody for being the first company to be independently certified under its CORESafety® system in 2016. This past year marked a Peabody company safety record with a global incidence rate of 1.22 incidents per 200,000 hours worked, which is safer than most U.S. industries including construction, manufacturing and retail. The results represent a 35 percent improvement in the company’s global safety rate over the past five years.
Peabody’s focus on safety resulted in a fatality-free 2016 and marked progress toward the company’s ultimate goal of zero fatalities, zero permanently disabling injuries or occupational illnesses, and a World Class incident rate.
“Safety is our first value and core to our mission,” said Peabody President and Chief Executive Officer Glenn Kellow. “We are passionate about safety and strive for best practices and management tools that advance safety within the lens of our longstanding Safety – A Way of Life system. By investing in our people, processes and equipment, we have changed the way in which we work, which is an important step on our journey of continuous safety improvement.”
Peabody requires excellence in safety and health across the entire business and at all levels of the organization. The company’s “Safety – A Way of Life Management System” focuses on higher risk activities combined with promoting a culture of employee participation and accountability through elements such as behavior observations, near hit reporting and safety innovation.
CORESafety’s approach to mining safety and health emphasizes accident prevention using a risk-based management system, the foundation of which involves leadership, management and assurance. Its objective is to have zero fatalities and a 50 percent reduction in mining’s injury rate within five years of implementation. It is a voluntary mine safety and health initiative developed and facilitated by the NMA.
CORESafety participants agree to: commit to the CORESafety system; implement a functionally-equivalent version of the CORESafety safety and health management system; submit to NMA annual self-assessments of progress toward implementation of the CORESafety safety and health management system; and, if the company elects to become or maintain CORESafety certification, complete a third party assessment of its safety and health management system to verify that it is functionally equivalent to CORESafety and submit the assessment report to NMA.
Peabody’s certification is a significant accomplishment. It demonstrations the company’s commitment to driving continuous safety improvement that goes above and beyond what is required by regulations.