Lakeside Foods receives safety and health award

Workplace safety and health representatives from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) recognized Lakeside Foods for its achievement as a Minnesota Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (MNSHARP) worksite during a ceremony on Oct. 21, at 1055 West Broadway in Plainview, MN.

"Safety is one of Lakeside's core values. I'm happy and proud that Plainview took the initiative to earn this award," said Dave Yanda, president and CEO, Lakeside Foods.

MNSHARP is a Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA) program that recognizes organizations where managers and employees work together to develop safety and health programs that go beyond basic compliance with all applicable OSHA standards and result in immediate and long-term prevention of job-related injuries and illnesses.

"Worker safety is the goal. We are pleased at the commitment shown by Lakeside Foods employees and management to make workplace safety and health a priority," said Steve Sviggum, Department of Labor and Industry commissioner. "Our agency is proud to have them as our partner. Together, we will ensure more employees go home safe and healthy at the end of the workday."

Pictured above, left to right: Steve Sviggum, Karen Pernu, Mark Meyers, Pearlann Mansmith, Julie Eggenberger, Robert Mansmith, Teri Murphy, Bonnie Schultz, Steve Culbertson, Bill Martini, Patricia Todd, Dave Yanda

Attendees of the ceremony also included Richard Sawyer, Plainview's mayor; Rich Bartz and Pete Simon, western and eastern division directors of operations; Bill Arendt and Steve Holmay, general managers; and 175 Lakeside employees.

To achieve MNSHARP status, Lakeside worked with MNOSHA Workplace Safety Consultation to assemble a comprehensive safety and health program that includes management leadership and employee involvement, an allocation of resources to address safety issues, systems that identify and control workplace hazards, and a plan for employee safety training and education.

Commissioner Sviggum and other DLI representatives honored Lakeside's employee-employer partnership by presenting a MNSHARP flag and a certificate that exempts the worksite from MNOSHA Compliance scheduled inspections for two years.

MNSHARP began in Minnesota in 1996. Lakeside Foods is one of 35 active MNSHARP worksites in Minnesota; this is out of an estimated 178,000 businesses registered in Minnesota.

Although Plainview is the first of fourteen Lakeside facilities to achieve such recognition, a number of Lakeside facilities are beginning to pursue similar achievements in both WI and MN.