Concrete Division Sets Safety Mark for Second Year in a Row

Dragon Cement and Concrete has successfully completed the year 2000 without a lost-time injury in all of its divisions.

The new safety record also means that Dragon's Concrete Division, which has 10 concrete plants from Biddeford to Madawaska, has gone two years without a lost time injury, or 400,000 safe hours. Last year, that division went more than 200,000 hours without a lost-time injury. The new record means the division has been recognized for safety achievements four times in the past seven years.

The Cement Division, which includes the Thomaston plant, New England's only cement-making plant, now has more than 250,000 safe hours without a lost-time injury.

"We give credit to our employees and our management team for this company-wide safety record," said Joseph Koch, president of Dragon Cement and Concrete and recently elected chair of the Maine State Chamber. "The management in particular should be recognized as they developed a new safety program early in 2000 with the goal of no lost time this year. We also have the full backing of the employees as well as management to reduce workplace injuries, so we are very pleased that the new program appears to be fulfilling our ultimate goal of sending everyone home as healthy as they were when they arrived."

The safety program launched early last year at Dragon includes a number of incentives as well as an internal system for reporting unsafe practices. For example, when employees in each division go a full quarter without a lost-time injury, all employees in that division receive a gift certificate safety reward. In addition, employees fill out forms to report unsafe practices, so the situation can be corrected to prevent mishaps. Each quarter the employees go without a lost-time injury, the higher the amount of the gift certificates.

Although the incentive program costs the company money -- nearly $30,000 this year in the gift certificates -- Dragon officials say workplace safety is an important part of working at Dragon and that a successful program will benefit the employees, their families, and the company.

Koch pointed out the management team responsible for the new safety program includes Terry Veysey, vice president and head of the Cement Division, and Dave Grinnell, vice president and head of the Concrete Division. "Their commitment to providing safe working conditions and safe work practices was key," Koch added.

Grinnell, who joined Dragon in 1991, is a resident of Scarborough. Veysey, who has been with Dragon since 1983, lives in Falmouth.

Dragon was also recognized by MEMIC last year for excellence in the area of workplace safety and responsible management of workers' compensation claims. The Maine Employers Mutual Insurance Company, the state's largest workers' compensation insurance company, recognized Dragon as one of Maine's best employers and a leader in its industry. Dragon was one of a dozen companies singled out by MEMIC, which insures nearly 19,000 of the state's 27,000 insured businesses. The winners were selected based on achievement in either workplace safety or the compassionate and efficient management of injuries.

Headquartered at 38 Preble Street in Portland, Dragon employs 230 statewide and has 10 concrete plants throughout Maine which are located in Biddeford, Portland, Brunswick, Lewiston, Augusta, Fairfield, Canton, Farmington, Presque Isle and Madawaska. In addition to the safety awards, the company has also earned a number of environmental awards in recent years. Dragon has supplied cement or concrete to many major building projects throughout the state, such as the current BIW expansion, the Casco Bay Bridge in Portland, the Brunswick/Topsham Bypass, the Portland International Jetport expansion, Hadlock Field, as well as some of the cement for the "Big Dig" tunnel project in Boston. For additional information on the firm, visit their website at www.dragonproducts.com.