NEW YORK–Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced today that two of its safety specialists have
been named “Rising Stars of Safety” by the National Safety Council
(NSC), a new program started by the organization that recognizes the
safety leadership of young safety professionals. Rebecca Cranford,
Environment, Health & Safety Manager at Alcoa’s Cleveland (Ohio) Works,
and Ken Grace, Environment, Health & Safety Director for Alcoa Building
and Construction Systems, headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, were named
to the NSC’s first-ever 40 under 40 ranking of individuals who have
distinguished themselves by improving workplace safety.
“I am extremely proud of Alcoa’s Environment, Health & Safety talent,”
said Bill O’Rourke, Vice President of Sustainability and EHS. “While
every Alcoa employee embraces our EHS Value, I see our EHS professionals
as the people with the education, training, background and experience to
remind each of us, every day, of the importance of living that value,
and bringing us the processes, systems and controls to insure our
constant improvement. I am encouraged when I see the next generation of
EHS leaders embracing our culture and challenging us to perform even
better.”
NSC’s Rising Stars of Safety program provides a way for the public
service organization–which is dedicated to protecting life and
promoting health in the United States–to meaningfully engage tomorrow’s
safety leaders in addressing current and future safety challenges. This
year’s honorees were chosen from almost 200 nominations.
Honorees were recognized at the opening session of the 2010 NSC Congress
& Expo in San Diego on October 4, among more than 10,000 of their safety
peers.
About Rebecca Cranford
Rebecca Cranford joined Alcoa in 1998 and has worked in environment,
health and safety (EHS) roles at the plant, regional, and business unit
levels. Most recently she served as EHS Manager at Alcoa Cleveland
Works, where she has been responsible for managing EHS for 1,000+
employees. During her tenure at Cleveland, Cranford has taken an active
leadership role in unifying the workforce around the common goal of
safety, and has developed strong partnerships with union officials to
drive safety improvements, which significantly impacted safety
performance.
Since 2007, Cleveland Works has achieved a 45 percent reduction in
number of injuries and also experienced nearly a 90 percent reduction in
injury severity, from over 1500 total days away from work in 2005 to
less than 200 days today. Cranford also drove $8 million in EHS capital
projects to improve fatality prevention, vehicle/pedestrian segregation,
and environmental compliance. She remains actively involved at her alma
mater, Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, addressing students in
the American Society of Safety Engineers campus chapter. In 2010,
Cranford was honored by the YWCA Cleveland Chapter as a Woman of
Professional Excellence.
Ken Grace
Since joining Alcoa in 1997, Ken Grace, a Certified Safety Professional,
has held leadership positions in plant locations and business units.
He was recently promoted to EHS Director for Alcoa Building and
Construction Systems. From 2007 to September 2010, he was Safety Manager
for the Alcoa Power and Propulsion business. Grace led a personal
protective equipment initiative in 2009 that resulted in better employee
protection and over $600,000 in savings. He also headed a team that
developed and deployed a fatality prevention process that has been
benchmarked by other businesses within Alcoa.
Grace currently serves as team leader for the Alcoa Global Safety
Committee. The Committee reviewed Alcoa’s serious injuries (total
recordable injuries), which have historically increased by 10 to 15%
between the months of June, July and August. In 2009, Alcoa’s May
through September recordable injury performance improved by more than
40% as a result of the seasonal safety initiative Grace coordinated
along with the other members of the Committee. Grace undergraduate
degree is from of Millersville University, Central Pennsylvania. He
obtained a master’s degree in Engineering Safety from Indiana University
of Pennsylvania.
About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated
aluminum and alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum
industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the
aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial
transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the
past 120 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled
products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa® wheels,
fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building
systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as
titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral
part of Alcoa’s operating practices and the product design and
engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow
Jones Sustainability Index for nine consecutive years and approximately
75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in
active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 59,000 people in 31
countries across the world. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.