Ciner Wyoming Recognized for Outstanding Safety Work

(Ciner Wyoming, July 22) – Recently, Ciner Wyoming, LLC (formerly OCI) was recognized by others for its success with the reception of several safety awards for 2015.

According to Craig Rood, Site Manager at Ciner Wyoming, “A successful year for Ciner is defined by our continued commitment to safety, our productivity and achieving/exceeding our commitments. At Ciner, safety is not a priority, but rather, a value. Priorities change, values don’t.”

Ciner Wyoming was awarded the State Mine Inspector Award (Large Category) sponsored by the Wyoming Mining Association. Site Manager, Craig Rood and team members Jeramy Spicer, Wendy Zawada, Adam Vernati, Clint Kendall and Jared Carter accepted the award on behalf of Ciner Wyoming. Five total underground mines – 4 trona and 1 coal – were eligible to receive this award. In order to be considered in the Large Category, 500,000 or more man hours must be worked. The average employee works 2,000 hours per year. The recipient of this award is the mine with the lowest Lost Day Incident Rate for the year which is calculated by taking the number of lost time accident x 200,000 divided by man hours worked, thus giving the lost time frequency. Ciner has won this award over 25 times in the history of the award.

Each year, the Wyoming Workforce Service Award, formerly known as the Governor’s Safety Award, is presented to a mine in both the small and large category. All variations of mining are considered for this award, not solely underground mining. The dividing point between small and large categories is 125,000 man hours. For 2015, Governor Matt Mead presented Kirk Milling, President and CEO, Craig Rood, Site Manager and Adam Vernati, Safety Manager with this prestigious award. Contributing factors in a mine receiving the Workforce Service Award include strongly implemented safety programs, regular work place audits, and active employee involvement regarding safety issues – all of which are deeply ingrained in the Ciner culture. In 2015, Ciner reported no lost time accidents which is a crucial determining factor in the reception of this award. There were no other large mines that reported working without a lost time incident during the year. Ciner is the first underground mine to win this award.

Accepting the Wyoming Safety and Workforce Services Award for Safest Large Mine are (L-R) Kirk Milling (President & CEO, Ciner Resources), Adam Vernati, (Safety Manager, Ciner Wyoming LLC), Governor Matt Mead, Craig Rood (Site Manager, Ciner Wyoming LLC).

Accepting the Wyoming Safety and Workforce Services Award for Safest Large Mine are (L-R) Kirk Milling (President & CEO, Ciner Resources), Adam Vernati, (Safety Manager, Ciner Wyoming LLC), Governor Matt Mead, Craig Rood (Site Manager, Ciner Wyoming LLC).

The Wyoming Mining Association Safe Sam Award is an elite award in which all MSHA categories in the state are considered eligible to receive. Underground and surface mines, construction companies, sand and gravel pits, as well as, equipment companies are all eligible to win this award. Information is compiled by the Wyoming State Inspector of Mines every year to determine the company with the most man hours worked without a lost time incident. Ciner recorded 817,834 worked man hours without a lost time incident. Safe Sam is a traveling award that has been all over the state. This year marks the 3rd time Ciner has won this award. Jared Carter and Clint Kendall accepted the award on behalf of Ciner Wyoming.

(L-R) – Adam Vernati (Safety Manager), Wendy Zawada Straub (Mine Manager), Clint Kendall (Surface I&E Technician), Jared Carter (Mine Production Operator), Craig Rood (Site Manager), Terry Adcock (Wyoming State Mine Inspector), and Jeramy Spicer (Surface Manager)

Accepting the WMA Safe Sam Award are (L-R) Adam Vernati (Safety Manager), Wendy Zawada Straub (Mine Manager), Clint Kendall (Surface I&E Technician), Jared Carter (Mine Production Operator), Craig Rood (Site Manager), Terry Adcock (Wyoming State Mine Inspector), and Jeramy Spicer (Surface Manager)

Rood said, “These awards were accepted on behalf of all Ciner employees. They serve as a reminder that safety is the most important thing that happens at the site every day. It is critical to continuously and consciously focus on safety for each and every task. While it is nice to be recognized for the accomplishments we must never forget…the most important thing to come out of the mine is the miners”.