Bend’s Suterra earns OSHA safety, health recognition

Oregon OSHA has announced that Suterra LLC in Bend has graduated from the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP).

SHARP provides an incentive for Oregon employers to work with their employees to find and correct hazards, develop and implement effective safety and health programs, and continuously improve. The program encourages employers to become self-sufficient in managing workplace safety and health issues.

Currently, about 23 employer locations in Oregon participate in SHARP. That’s in addition to about 157 employers that have graduated from the program. An employer becomes a graduate when it completes five years of SHARP.

With 70 employees at the Bend facility, Suterra LLC is a leading provider of bio-rational products for crop protection and commercial pest control. Through international product sales, the company works to help growers reduce their use of traditional insecticides.

The SHARP program helped the company take a fresh look at its policies and processes, and reinforced the company’s ongoing efforts to improve safety, according to Aman Khapoya, vice president of global operations for Suterra.

The recognition that comes with being a SHARP company also serves as a valuable tool to recruit new employees, Khapoya said.

“As our business grows and we compete for new talent, we hope candidates see our achievements under the SHARP program and realize that we are truly committed to the health and safety of our team,” he said. “The candidates for whom that safety commitment is important are precisely the ones we want — and the ones we will need to make Suterra even better.”

Oregon employers that have been in business for more than one year are eligible to apply for SHARP, regardless of size or type of business, although the program is primarily designed to help small and mid-size businesses.

For information about SHARP, visit http://osha.oregon.gov/consult/Pages/SHARP.aspx.

For information about Oregon OSHA’s no-cost consultation services, which help employers develop worker safety and health programs, visit http://osha.oregon.gov/consult/Pages/index.aspx.