CONSOL Energy's Fola Operations Celebrate J. Brett Harvey Safety Award Achievement
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CONSOL Energy's
Fola operations in Clay County, WV, recently celebrated the achievement of recording a second million exposure hours worked with no recordable injuries as they received the prestigious J. Brett Harvey Safety Award.Fola employees and their families were recognized for the achievement during a dinner held at the Summersville Armory.
'Safety has no rank and when it comes to safety, we are all equal,' CONSOL Energy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer J. Brett Harvey told those attending the banquet. 'That's what drives the zero thought process. This night is about you working safely for your family.'
The award, established in 2008, was the second J. Brett Harvey Safety award Fola operations employees have earned. They earned the first award in 2009.
'We are here tonight to celebrate what you do as employees and pioneers of safety,' Harvey said. 'You have proven that zero is a real number. Keep in mind that it is what your goal is - to be at zero.'
CONSOL Energy Chief Operating Officer Bart Hyita explained how strong the Fola employees operate as a team and that operating with zero accidents is not just a theory; it is in fact an achievable goal. He noted Fola employees had won the award, not once, but twice since the award was established.
Jack Richardson, CONSOL Energy Central Appalachia vice president, told employees they deserved to celebrate the award, but he urged them not to become complacent and to continue to stay focused on safety.
'You do a great job and are setting the standards for safety within our company,' Richardson said.
Fola operations employees achieved their second million hours without experiencing any recordable injuries, working safely since December 29, 2009. The record was achieved on Monday, August 29 and was earned by both Fola and Peach Orchard Preparation Plant employees.
Fola's surface operations and the Peach Orchard Preparation Plant have a total of 253 employees. Both were recipients earlier this year of Joseph A. Holmes Association safety awards and Mountaineer Guardian Awards from the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training and the West Virginia Coal Association.
The J. Brett Harvey safety award is named after CONSOL's chief executive officer and recognizes sites that have shown exemplary safety performance above and beyond the criteria established by past company safety awards. The award, established in January 2008, was named after Harvey in recognition of his work to develop the Absolute ZERO safety initiative which the company continues to implement and work toward at all of its operations every day. That initiative recognizes zero accidents as the norm and focuses employees and contractors on achieving an accident-free workplace.
CONSOL Energy's CNX Gas operations division is the only other CONSOL company to have met the zero accident criteria established to be eligible to win the award.
CONSOL Energy Inc., the leading diversified fuel producer in the Eastern U.S., is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Equity Index and the Fortune 500. It has 10 bituminous coal mining complexes in four states and reports proven and probable coal reserves of 4.4 billion tons. It is also a leading Eastern U.S. gas producer, with proved reserves of over 3.7 trillion cubic feet. Additional information about CONSOL Energy can be found at its web site: www.consolenergy.com.
CONSOL Energy Inc.
CONTACT: Cathy St. Clair, 1-276-498-8239
Web site: http://www.consolenergy.com/