Founded in 1954, McElroy Manufacturing, Inc. is a second-generation family-owned company located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. McElroy manufactures pipe fusion products at its 51st Street location. The company uses several machine tools, along with welding, grinding, and painting to manufacture its pipe fusion equipment. McElroy has a longstanding relationship with the Oklahoma Department of Labor and has worked with them dating back to 1964.  Its dedication to safety and health continued throughout the years and in 2015, McElroy contacted Oklahoma OSHA Consultation Services for a safety and health consultation visit.

McElroy corrected the hazards that were found during the consultation visit. Oklahoma consultants also worked with McElroy to improve its workplace safety processes and policies. McElroy developed a comprehensive safety program that includes management commitment, employee training, open communication, and individual accountability. A key part to its success is accident/near miss reporting mechanisms, job hazard analyses, refresher training, and the company’s Lean to Safety policy. Under the most recent edition of the Lean to Safety policy, employees are given time each day to identify areas of improvement within their work areas. Ideas are brought to their daily meetings. These ideas are brought to daily meetings and have resulted in a positive safety culture with employee ownership and involvement. Ideas that have been implemented include marking specific locations for tools, color coding tools for jobs, and uniform work station flexibility.

McElroy received its first Safety and Health Recognition Program (SHARP) certification in 2015 and set an ambitious goal to sustain its SHARP certification for the long term. Since 2015, McElroy has achieved SHARP recognition four times, with the most recent in October of 2020. SHARP acknowledges small and medium-sized businesses that have used OSHA On-Site Consultation Program services and operate exemplary workplace safety and health programs. Small businesses that achieve SHARP status receive a deferral from OSHA or the State Plan programmed inspections for the period that the SHARP designation is valid. Acceptance of a worksite into SHARP is an achievement that identifies the employer as a model for occupational safety and health among its business peers.

McElroy’s Total Recordable Incident Rate (TCIR) has gone from 2.3 in 2016 to zero in 2020. During this same timeframe, it maintained a Days Away, Restricted Time (DART) rate of zero. The company is at the lowest insurance rates that it has ever been due to having no recordable injuries in over four years.

“The McElroy’s believe in an honest work ethic. McElroy holds teamwork, innovation, accountability, integrity, mutual trust and respect, and a desire to continuously improve safety and quality above all else,” said Tony Little, McElroy Safety Manager.

Companies interested in SHARP can contact their local OSHA On-Site Consultation program to discuss details and schedule an on-site safety and health evaluation. To locate the On-Site Consultation program nearest you, call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) or visit www.osha.gov/consultation.