Vinylmax employees Brian Riley and Joe Hester sport their safety t-shirts.

Vinylmax Windows, an Ohio-based manufacturer of custom wood and vinyl replacement windows, has achieved one full year, more than 300,000 man hours, without a lost work time accident. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates an average of 7.7 lost work time incidents for manufacturing firms of similar size and type, according to the company.

This milestone shatters the company’s previous record of 267 days, set in 2008. Its third best stretch was 94 days, set in 2002. The improvement was based not on luck, but hard work according to Mark Nolte, assistant plant manager.

“It was a lot of talk and a lot of action,” he says. “We truly prioritize safety. It’s not just a slogan.”

The manufacturer celebrated with t-shirts sporting the company’s safety slogan: NO SAFETY, KNOW PAIN. KNOW SAFETY, NO PAIN.

“Safety protects our greatest asset; you, our workforce,” says president and general manager Laura Doerger-Roberts when she congratulated employees on their success. “Without you, we cannot achieve any of our goals.”

What is the next safety goal for Vinylmax?

“Four hundred days is right around the corner,” says Nolte. [At press time, the company was set to meet that goal on October 12]. “After that, two years sounds real good.”