The National Association of Water Companies (NAWC) released its annual Safety Benchmarking Report earlier in April. During a time of unprecedented concern for the health and safety of working in areas that are critical to the ongoing response to COVID-19, the benchmark study demonstrates the approach of NAWC member companies when it comes to health, safety and security programs.
“Taken together, the benchmark report findings show that the proactive safety and security work member companies have been championing has enhanced their ability to protect employees and provide reliable, quality service to the communities they serve in times of crisis like the one we’re facing today with the COVID-19 outbreak,” said NAWC president and CEO Robert F. Powelson.
NAWC’s Safety Benchmarking Report focuses primarily on the prevalence of health, safety and security programs at NAWC member companies, as well as accident incidence rates in 2019. The report found that almost nine in 10 respondents (88.9 percent) reported that they have a specific health and safety policy already in place while a slightly higher percentage (94.4 percent) of respondents noted that they have a health and safety program.
Additionally, more than eight in 10 respondents (82.4 percent) reported having a cybersecurity program in place while more than nine in 10 respondents (94.4 percent) have a policy that defines employees’ accountability for workplace safety. More than eight in 10 (83.3 percent) of responding companies have an internal health and safety audit inspection program, and half of those companies also conduct safety audits.
The National Association of Water Companies (NAWC) is the voice of the private water industry, including the regulated drinking and wastewater utilities. NAWC is the only organization representing this group of quality service providers, innovation drivers and responsible partners.
NAWC members provide 73 million Americans with safe and reliable water service every day and have an exceptional record of compliance with federal and state health and environmental regulations. Ensuring this high standard of quality requires extraordinary amounts of capital investment. NAWC estimates its 10 largest members alone collectively invested $3 billion in 2018 in their water and wastewater systems. For more information about NAWC, please visit NAWC.org or follow on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
