At Malco Tools, safety isn’t just something we do—it’s an essential part of our work environment. Our philosophy and goals are to weave safety into everything we do as much as possible, involving all 160+ associates.
This strong focus on safety has helped us earn several safety awards and recognitions over the years that we are proud of, including the Governor’s Safety Award from the Minnesota Safety Council and, most recently, the coveted Minnesota STAR (MNSTAR) designation from the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA).
Read on for more about the award-winning safety program we’ve built over our 74-year history at Malco.
A Safety-Focused Team
Every year, our team sets a goal of how many associates we can get involved in safety activities over and above their usually required activities (such as completing safety training). We’re proud to report that in 2024, we are on track to exceed our 80% goal! It may be a stretch goal, but we’d love to get this number to 100% employee participation.
A big reason for our success in achieving this goal is our active and engaged Safety Committee, which includes representation from management and supervisors. The Safety Committee actively reviews safety procedures, incident reports, and inspection results and monitors progress toward the company’s annual goals.
Another way we encourage team participation in safety activities is by offering paid time for attending Safety Committee meetings, developing and reviewing safety procedures, attending the annual Minnesota Safety Conference, and more.
Additionally, all our associates—whether in production or at a desk—do stretching exercises twice daily to prevent musculoskeletal injuries and/or break up prolonged periods of inactivity.
Safety at the Highest Levels
From the Board of Directors down, Malco management is committed to workplace safety. Our safety performance metrics are a key organizational metric that we track monthly and share with all associates, the board, and all levels of management—they are equal in importance to financial performance and service level performance.
All levels of management participate in safety procedures and facility-wide safety inspections. Department managers and supervisors are all held accountable for leading the safety incident investigation and analysis process.
Managers at Malco have a very robust open-door safety policy. We want to hear ideas from all associates about how we can best protect workers on the job.
Proactive Planning
Although it’s unpleasant to consider the “worst-case scenario” when it comes to safety, often, the best guard against an unfortunate incident is a well-thought-out plan and well-documented processes. At Malco, we have various plans and systems to identify and control workplace hazards.
One of the key elements of our comprehensive health and safety program is a Safety Management System based on the ANSI Z10 standard, one of the country’s highest safety programs developed by the American Society of Safety Professionals. Through this system, all associates, from the President on down, participate in in-person and online safety training specifically geared to their position and role in the company.
We also undergo a significant number of safety inspections, safe work observations, and other measures to ensure that all risks are properly evaluated and controlled.
Engagement With Outside Resources
Beyond our internal safety procedures and systems, Malco turns to a wide variety of partners and resources to ensure we stay current on the latest best practices and certifications. We know that sometimes you need an external perspective on things, which is why we bring in outside safety consultants on an annual basis to review our facility in Annandale and provide recommendations for improvement.
For many years, Malco has viewed its relationship with Minnesota OSHA as a strong partnership. Prior to earning their top-level MNSTAR recognition this year, we continuously maintained the MNOSHA Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (MNSHARP) recognition for the last 20 years. Malco Safety and Environmental Manager Chris Strand is a member of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry’s Occupational Safety and Health Review Board (OSHRB).
We’re also members of the Minnesota Safety Council, having earned the Governor’s Safety Award 14 times in the last 20 years.
We’re incredibly proud of the safety program we’ve built here at Malco. This overview only begins to scratch the surface of the many ways we go “above and beyond” to ensure our employee-owners work in a safe and ergonomic environment.
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