Crowley awarded Signal Mutual Safety Excellence Award

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.; Feb. 9, 2009) Crowley Maritime Corporation’s commitment to protect life, property and the environment was recognized recently when Signal Mutual presented Crowley with their Gerald H. Halpin Safety Excellence Award at Signal’s board of directors meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The award, given at Signal’s board of directors’ meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., honors companies, insured by Signal, that demonstrate initiative and outstanding safety performance.

Joe Roach, Signal’s administration president, who presented the award to Crowley Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President Bill Pennella, told the Signal board of directors and executives from represented companies in attendance that the Safety Excellence Award is given only to companies that demonstrate initiative and outstanding safety performance. It is not an annual presentation.  

“The award is only given in a year when a company clearly demonstrates outstanding accomplishments in safety performance as well as promoting safety initiatives for our maritime industry. Crowley has certainly demonstrated this safety leadership,” Roach said.
 
Pennella and Charlie Nalen, Crowley’s vice president of environmental safety and quality assurance, were congratulated for the success of the company’s safety programs, which have had a positive impact in reducing claims and losses.  
 
“The Gerald H. Halpin Safety Excellence Award is an honor we will share with our 4,000-plus employees around the world,” Pennella said. “Safety is our No. 1 and most important core value, and as such we consistently reinforce safety in all business activities. It starts with the fundamental belief that all accidents can be prevented.”
 
Crowley was recognized as being a leader in promoting an industry safety culture by developing best practices and safety initiatives and implementing training programs that exceed regulatory requirements. In 2008, Nalen was named Signal Mutual’s first Safety Professional of the Year.
 
“At Crowley our vision is to be recognized as the global safety leader in the transportation industry,” Nalen said. “Our ongoing safety leadership training and Operational Excellence Management System continues to involve all of our employees in building a strong safety culture. Crowley’s safety program has been strengthened by our membership in Signal who has provided excellent safety support staff and training materials.”
 
Crowley created an Operational Excellence Management System to ensure operating excellence. The Management System is an integration of the OHSAS 18001 standard for occupational health and safety management; ISO 9001 quality assurance program; the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Control (ISM Code); the American Waterways Operators (AWO) Responsible Carrier Program (RCP) and the ISO 14001 environmental management system. These safety, environmental, and quality assurance programs are combined into a single Operational Excellence Management System. All of these international management system certifications exceed regulatory requirements.
 
Established in January 1986, Signal Mutual Indemnity Association is the largest provider of longshore benefits in the United States and boasts over 200 member companies.
 
Jacksonville-based Crowley Holdings Inc., a holding company of the 117-year-old Crowley Maritime Corporation, is a privately held family and employee-owned company that provides diversified transportation and logistics services in domestic and international markets by means of six operating lines of business: Puerto Rico/Caribbean Liner Services, Latin America Liner Services, Logistics Services, Petroleum Services, Marine Services and Technical Services. Offered within these operating lines of business are the following services: liner container shipping, logistics, contract towing and transportation; ship assist and escort; energy support; salvage and emergency response; vessel management; vessel construction and naval architecture; government services, and petroleum and chemical transportation, distribution and sales. Additional information about Crowley its subsidiaries and business units may be found on the Internet at www.crowley.com.

By Professional Mariner Staff