Cirrus Aircraft’s Grand Forks, North Dakota manufacturing facility was presented on March 20, 2015 with a Certificate of Recognition under the OSHA Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP). The facility is now part of an elite group of businesses in North Dakota with this recognition as only 44 of the 50,000 businesses in North Dakota have gained SHARP accreditation.
The Grand Forks facility began working towards the accreditation in 2012 by identifying areas of focus for improving operations. The most notable progress was made through the creation of a Near Miss program that empowers workers to improve safety on the shop floor through preventative practices and open communication. Employees embraced the program and by 2014 the program matured to the point where Cirrus scored a 1.9 Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR, a workplace safety indicator) rating – well below the 3.9 national average.
On January 27, 2015, Cirrus Aircraft successfully participated in a comprehensive safety and health survey conducted onsite by the Consultation Program at Bismarck State College. Cirrus demonstrated a strong commitment to employee safety and health by establishing an effective safety and health management system. After three years of continuous improvements in Cirrus Aircraft’s safety programs, OSHA awarded the prestigious SHARP accreditation to the Grand Forks manufacturing operation.
SHARP provides Cirrus with an innovative injury and illness prevention program and helps identify best practices to safeguard workers. For employees, SHARP creates an improved safety culture and work environment that encourages open communication within the company. “Earning SHARP accreditation is an amazing accomplishment by our Grand Forks team, said Pat Waddick, President and Chief Operating Officer at Cirrus Aircraft. “Through their teamwork, commitment to safety and continuous improvement philosophy our employees have placed themselves in the upper 1% of safety cultures in North Dakota.”
If you or someone you know is interested in joining the Cirrus team at our Grand Forks facility, please visit our current list of openings at cirrusaircraft.com/careers.