For the fifth straight year, Trucks & Parts of Tampa received the Occupational Health & Safety Administration’s (OSHA) Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program [SHARP] award, signifying that the company “cultivates a culture of safety awareness” in conjunction with OSHA's consultation arm, headquartered at the University of South Florida (USF).
"It's a win-win for everyone," said Jim Ulseth, a consultant with USF Safety Florida consultation program.
Since the program's development in 1970, SHARP – a program free to any small business that requests help from OSHA – has assisted employers in avoiding costly OSHA fines and worker compensation claims by identifying safety and health issues and voluntarily addressing them before they become a problem, he noted.
According to Ulseth, there are only 60 companies in the state of Florida have been award SHARP status and noted that private companies that pass the certification process are then exempt from programmed OSHA inspections for up to three years.
"Keeping our workplace safe for our employees is very important to us – and keeps our Workers' Compensation expenses very low as well and this allows us to pass these savings on to our customers,” said Bruce Goldenberg, chief administrative officer for Trucks & Parts of Tampa.
He added that the company – a reseller of used garbage trucks and related components based in Tampa, FL, since 1950 – has been involved with the SHARP program since 2004.
