COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — Cummins Filtration (formerly Fleetguard), a global filtration, exhaust, coolant and chemical specialist for diesel and gas powered equipment, received its third consecutive Tennessee Commissioners Award of Excellence for Workplace Safety and Health. The Cummins Filtration Cookeville facility is the first company of its size to win this prestigious award three times.

The award was presented by James Neely, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, during a special ceremony at the 29th Annual Tennessee Safety and Health Congress and Exposition held at the Opryland Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. on Aug. 2. The Commissioner’s Award of Excellence honours Tennessee employers and employees, who together achieve a specific number of hours worked without having an injury resulting in days away from work. The number of hours required to apply for the award is based on the size of the company, and each worksite must also meet additional industry-specific standards to qualify.

Each year, only a small number of facilities in Tennessee meet the criteria for the award. The Cummins Filtration Cookeville facility qualified for this and previous awards by working more than one million hours without a lost workday injury in each of the last three years.

This milestone represents the total commitment by our Cookeville workforce to protect the health and safety of our employees, and I am very proud of their record of achievement in the area that is most important to our company, said Pamela Carter, president of Cummins Filtration.

Accepting the Commissioner’s Award on behalf of Cummins Filtration along with Carter were Joseph Jihad Saoud, Cookeville facility general manager; Ray Higgs, environmental health and safety manager; Dawn Neal, safety committee chairperson; and representing UAW Local 1407, Ron Pinkley, safety technician.

I am very proud of our employees for this monumental and historic accomplishment, Saoud said. A safe and healthy working environment is a top priority at Cummins, and we are very pleased to have achieved the safety performance necessary to receive this prestigious recognition.