EHS GRADES INTERNATIONAL FORMALLY LAUNCHED IN HOUSTON

On Tuesday, August 14, 2018, industry professionals including former federal safety investigators, university professors, and leading business experts announced the opening of EHS GRADES International, a groundbreaking performance solutions company to revolutionize the industry through a variety of cost-effective and life-saving delivery systems including performance management, contractor management, compliance auditing, training resources, and other improvement programs.

The new company focuses on integrating the distinct needs and demands of its members into one online platform. Clients can take advantage of emerging technology and support provided to continuously improve their EHS programs at the highest level of performance. Speaking at the event, Mr. Rixio Medina, President of the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) in his keynote address provided factual data and statistics on workplace incidents and injuries around the world. He emphasized past efforts aimed at reducing workplace incidents including injuries and illnesses but indicated there was more work to be done. He stated that "EHS GRADES International is comprised of uniquely qualified individuals, experts, and specialists that are capable of helping the global industry in its quest to reduce serious injuries and catastrophic incidents. A major contribution to the workforce."

EHS GRADES opens its doors to clients, corporations, and owners of industrial facilities, contractors, vendors, and suppliers across various industries around the world, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. The new organization expects to provide innovative and long-lasting solutions to businesses and organizations around the world by working proactively to save lives and reduce the incident rates of its members by as much as 70% during the next three years. The company is integrating programs including compliance auditing, training, and other continuous improvement initiatives into its revolutionary solutions platform.

The global challenge of creating and maintaining safe conditions and healthy work environments for all employees, including contractors, suppliers and third-party operators in the industry is well known. For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a total of 5,190 fatal work injuries in the United States in 2016, a 7-percent increase from the 4,836 fatal injuries reported in 2015. Similarly, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported that a total of 137 workers were killed at work in the United Kingdom between 2016 and 2017. According to the ILO, work-related illnesses and diseases accounted for the most deaths, with exposure to hazardous substances alone causing an estimated 651,279 deaths a year. Younger/newer employees and older workers were found to be most vulnerable, especially with the increasing aging population in the workforce in countries including the United States.

EHS GRADES anticipates changing these trends by providing outstanding technical support, customized services, and delivering advanced solutions so that businesses can adequately address issues that could occur due to unanticipated risks and hazards. These hazards include risks created by rapidly evolving technology, turnover of the workforce, aging equipment and infrastructure, complex industrial and compliance standards, and complicated regulatory or legal requirements.

The Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of EHS GRADES, Dr. Samuel Oyewole, a former Penn State University professor of environmental health and safety engineering, who was also a chemical incident investigator at the U.S. Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) stated, “We are aiming for zero incidents so that no one is left behind in the field of environmental health and safety, regardless of their location around the world.” Dr. Oyewole said. “After many years in the industry, academia, and in government investigating industrial accidents involving multiple injuries and fatalities, some of us were no longer comfortable with the existing state-of-affairs and decided to do something about it. We are collaborating and unleashing our wide-ranging and varied expertise to provide businesses and employers with the unique technical support, technology, and resources that they need to ensure everyone returns home safely at the end of every workday.”

The experts at EHS GRADES call themselves the “doctors of the industry.” According to one of the Board Members and Executive Advisors of the new company, Johnnie Banks, oil refinery expert for more than 22 years, and a 15-year supervisory investigator who retired recently from the CSB, “Today, we are pleased to announce the formal opening and introduction of EHS GRADES International. EHS GRADES is a first-of-its-kind global performance improvement solutions company that specializes in the delivery of a variety of life-saving and cost-effective services including performance management, contractor management, compliance auditing, training resources and improvement programs to various industrial sectors. These sectors include construction, agriculture and food/beverage, biotech and pharmaceutical, power utility, healthcare, transportation, chemical processing, energy, oil and gas, manufacturing, mining and quarry operations, among others."

He stated further, "EHS GRADES was formed to revolutionize the industry and provide immediate breakthrough innovations to the environmental health and safety challenges of its clients around the world. We are aiming for zero incidents by preventing work-related illnesses, injuries, and fatalities. Our mission is to help organizations achieve their performance goals through accurate program diagnostics, evaluation, and continuous improvement. The global challenge of creating and maintaining safe conditions and healthy work environments for all employees, including contractors, suppliers and third-party operators in the industry is well known."

"At EHS GRADES, we are intently focused on providing quality services and developing groundbreaking solutions that are specially designed to improve the environmental health and safety program outlook of business organizations from an unbiased, independent, third-party perspective. Our common goal is to prevent loss of lives. We want to remove all obstacles along the way and provide the expertise and support for companies to improve safety and health in the workplace. We call ourselves the doctors of the industry because we can diagnose and identify the true state of EHS programs by adopting a highly efficient, transparent, reliable and comprehensive process." Banks stated.

EHS GRADES intends to stand out in the industry by using its advanced scientific techniques to diagnose and reveal gaps including latent hazards and risks which existing performance management systems may be unequipped to identify. With a common goal of prevention of loss of lives, the new company is intently focused on providing quality services and developing groundbreaking solutions that are specially designed to improve the environmental health and safety program outlook of business organizations from an unbiased, independent, third-party perspective. The evaluation process will help businesses, especially those in the highly hazardous substance industry, chemical plants, and refineries, to identify where their program performance currently stands, and how it measures against well-established, tested and internationally accepted key performance indicators. It offers a detailed outlook of what is working, current gaps, and provides recommendations for continuous improvement.

To achieve its objective, the company has developed a scientific method to continuously collect, analyze and track company-specific and standardized industry-wide performance measures. The obtained information is then validated and compared to thousands of similar companies within its database and across the world, to provide customers with the highest accuracy of performance ratings in the industry. EHS GRADES assigns letter grades similar to those used in academic settings, to depict the EHS performance rating of its members on an annual basis. This new approach will provide an extra layer of protection to organizations that already have an active performance assessment system in place for their EHS programs.

Several insurance companies tend to agree on the reliance on data, rather than on intuition and have partnered with EHS GRADES to prevent incidents and other losses arising from occupational illnesses and injuries. These insurance corporations have each signed a memorandum of understanding to rely on the results of the EHS GRADES performance evaluation program to set rates and discounts for the workers’ compensation premiums of their insureds, offering affordable, competitive rates and performance-based discounts. With increasing costs of work-related injuries and accidents, EHS GRADES can save insurance companies (and businesses) billions of dollars on a yearly basis.

In the United States alone, the economic toll of occupational injuries and illnesses is staggering, costing businesses close to $200 billion a year. Recent estimates according to OSHA indicate that companies pay more than $1 billion per week for workers' compensation. With rapidly increasing premium rates, organizations are trying to carefully allocate resources and implement results-driven loss prevention measures to reduce the risks and hazards in the workplace, and ultimately the costs of incidents. One of the strategic goals of the new company is to help businesses reduce their incident rates by as much as 70% over the next three years, amounting savings of over $145 billion per year in the United States.

In addition to performance improvement, the new company is aiming to revolutionize the management of industry projects and contractors. “When wrong contractors or suppliers are pre-qualified and selected to work on projects, owners are often left with the burden, stress, and costs of the failed project, loss of brand reputation, litigation and loss of profitability. A thorough contractor management system is essential for any project to be successful. The first step to a sound contractor EHS management program is the procurement and selection of a qualified contractor. Unfortunately, some project owners blindly invest in contractor management systems and programs that do not measure up.” Dr. Oyewole said.

“To those project owners, hiring clients, contractors, suppliers, and operators that have dealt with inefficient contractor management processes in the past, we say to you, finally, the long wait is over. We are here to help. We are EHS professionals with the right expertise and experience. At EHS GRADES, we understand the process and offer sorely needed solutions. We will provide you with a world-class, technical support that you need throughout your project lifecycle, from project announcement through procurement, prequalification, on-the-job activities, to project completion and closeout. We will ensure the successful execution of your projects. ”

EHS GRADES will help companies around the world reduce costs, risks and increase the chances of project success by streamlining the process of their contractor management lifecycle through a one-source platform that connects project owners with prospective contractors. Companies can invite multiple contractors to pre-qualify before bidding on industry projects from the EHS GRADES website, and contractors can search, obtain quick leads and immediate access to posted industry projects. The new company’s contractor management program will utilize a methodical five-step process including full support throughout the project life cycle during all stages of contractor procurement, prequalification, on-the-job monitoring, project closure, and follow-up.

The new organization intends to enable businesses to experience immediate, positive results in their EHS programs. The progressive improvements will lead to a reduction in workplace injuries and incident costs, low insurance premiums, high productivity and improved quality, reduced employee turnover, minimized costs, and increased employee morale and satisfaction. The CEO of the company concluded that "based on the positive results that we will deliver to our clients, we are optimistic that EHS GRADES will become an industry-household name in a few years. These benefits lead to financial gains and identification of opportunities for improving the overall efficiency of their operations. Lastly, companies will be able to establish and maintain goodwill with their neighbors, improve their bottom line, and remain attentive to their business values."