Health and Safety

At Bridgestone Americas, safety is one of the core values in our business model and a guiding principle in our CEO Policy.

Safety isn’t just about keeping workers free from injury— it also means eliminating property damage losses, minimizing costs and future liabilities, and maintaining our position as the industry leader in safety and health.  But most importantly, it is about our teammates returning home every day to their families in as good of condition as when they arrived at work.

Plant managers, department managers and line supervisors are charged with maintaining a safe working environment and have detailed responsibilities and are held accountable for their safety results.  But ultimately, all teammates and their personal involvement are an integral part of what we call the “BSA Line-Driven Safety Process.”

And we’ve already made great strides in regard to safety. Bridgestone Americas has had an 82 percent improvement in our Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) incidence rate from 1993 to 2009, meaning our plants are operating longer, having fewer injuries and are operating more efficiently.

The company now has eight plants that have been awarded VPP Star status, which is OSHA’s highest honor. Three of those plants—Warren County, Tenn., Aiken County, S.C. and Bloomington, Ill.—are the only tire plants in the country to have received this elite status in OSHA’s 30+ year history.

In 2009, Bridgestone Americas set a record with eight plants earning designations for operating one million hours without an injury or illness with days away from work.  Four more plants have already accomplished this milestone in 2010.

The company annually receives numerous awards for safety and health excellence or improvement from the Rubber Manufacturers Association (nine in 2010— four more than any of our competitors), as well as a number of awards from individual awards from state governments and other organizations.  Many of our Latin American plants have also received recognition for safety efforts from their federal governments.