Safety Awards Program

Million-Hour Award Application
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 2009 Safety Award Application
Safety Awards Brochure
OSH Calendar of Events

Safety Awards Coordinator
(919) 807-2908


		Agricultural Safety & Health Compliance Consultative Services Education, Training & Technical Assistance Planning, Statistics & Information Management

Safety Awards Program

The N.C. Department of Labor safety awards program recognizes private and public firms throughout the state that achieve and maintain good safety records. The program is designed to stimulate interest in accident prevention and to promote safety in the workplace by providing an incentive to employers and employees to maintain a safe and healthful workplace.

In operation since 1946, the program now extends to more than 3,300 firms, and about 2,000 awards are presented annually. Two types of awards are administered through the program: annual safety awards and million-hour awards.

Annual Safety Awards
To qualify for an annual safety award, a firm must (1) have had no fatalities during the calendar year at the site or location for which the award was given; and (2) have maintained an incidence rate at least 50 percent below the average for its particular industry group. Two award levels are distributed—gold and silver. The gold award is based on the DART rate, which includes cases of days away from work, restricted activity or job transfer. See lines H and I of the OSHA form 300A to determine the DART rate. The silver award is based only on cases with days away from work. They are recorded when the worker misses at least one full day of work, not including the day of the injury. See line H of the OSHA Form 300A to determine the number of cases with days away from work.

The formula printed on the safety awards application form is used to compute the incidence rate for the firm. This in turn is compared with a table which lists the incidence rate calculated to 50 percent for each industry group. Annual safety awards are presented during ceremonies that take place each spring at 30 locations across North Carolina. Click here to see the 2010 schedule of safety awards banquets.

Applications for annual safety awards are mailed to participating firms in January. These are completed by the applicant and returned by February 15. To be added to the mailing list, please contact the Safety Awards Coordinator at (919) 807-2908.

Million-Hour Safety Awards
Million-hour safety awards are given to firms which accumulate 1 million employee hours with no case of injury or illness involving days away from work. Subsequent awards are given for each additional 1 million safe employee hours. Million-hour awards may be presented to the firm at its place of business at any time, or during the local annual safety awards ceremony. Million-hour award applications are available on the Web site and are sent to businesses at their request.

1101 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1101 • (919) 807-2796 or 800-NCLABOR