There's been one work time loss accident in over 500 days at Monarch Industries in Winkler. The achievement is a reflection of the culture of safe work practices at the foundry.

Monarch Industries also recently became the first foundry in the province to become 'Safe Work Certified'.

"It's a huge deal for our company," said Monarch Chief Operations Officer Mitch Tetreault. "We are very proud to be here today celebrating this with our employees in Winkler."

Tetreault explained a foundry business can be a dangerous environment, it's why Monarch has procedures and safe work processes for everyone to abide by.

"Our employees are very committed (to safety)... they're always thinking about it because we're always talking about it," said Plant Manager Joe Castellano.

"We firmly believe that it is our responsibility to our employees and their families that we collectively do all that should be done to eliminate the risk of injury in our operations. The Made Safe certification is a public confirmation to all that our safety culture is ingrained in the thinking and actions at all levels of our organization. We thank Made Safe for their consultation and training throughout the certification process." said Monarch President and CEO Roy Cook.

VP of Human Resources Mark Coates explained a number of employees are randomly selected and interviewed about safe work practices during the process of becoming certified.

SAFE Work Certified is Manitoba's safety and health certification standard that helps make workplaces safer and provides a financial reward to employers that take proactive steps to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses.

By meeting this standard, employers that obtain SAFE Work Certified for their organization can experience benefits such as:

- lower WCB premiums over time
- improved employee engagement
- assistance in meeting legal safety requirements.
- Rewarding employers that prioritize safety and prevention
- Employers that achieve SAFE Work Certified can also qualify to receive a Prevention Rebate of 15 percent on their WCB premium, while smaller employers will receive up to a maximum of $3,000. Learn more about the Prevention Rebate Program.