Health & Safety Programs 

Wah Chang's aggressive approach to health and safety issues has transformed the company into one of Oregon's safest manufacturing facilities. Recognized on multiple occasions for accruing 1 million hours without a single lost-time injury; the result of hundreds of Wah Chang employees developing a keen appreciation for health and safety issues.

Wah Chang's first major safety awareness campaign to eliminate work-related illness and injuries began after 1974, a year wherein Wah Chang posted a dismal record of one injury for every five workers. By 1976 that figure dropped to one injury for every 13 workers – and that was only the beginning. By 1983 Wah Chang was experiencing one-fifth of the state wide average lost-time accident rate for manufacturing industries. And today, less than one in twenty workers experiences an on-the-job injury. That’s less than half the rate for facilities in the same industrial classification.

To preserve its safety record and to deal effectively with the emergencies that do take place, Wah Chang maintains a trained Spill Team and Emergency Medical Responders, all overseen by on-site Senior Emergency Response Officers. These resources are backed up by emergency crews composed of workers from every arena of the plant, three shifts a day, seven days a week.

Wah Chang provides a complete health services department, staffed by a full-time nurse to perform routine medical surveillance, administer company-wide health maintenance and back-to-work programs, and provide emergency medical care, when needed. Other ongoing health and safety awareness programs include monthly training, Joint Health & Safety Committee inspections, Wellness Committee initiatives under the direction of a full-time Wellness Coordinator, and on-going assessments of life threatening programs.

Thanks to a company-wide commitment to care in the work place, Wah Chang's health and safety record is clearly no accident.