Cintas First Aid and Safety Location in Canton, Ohio Certified as VPP Star Site
CINCINNATI – Ohio OSHA formally honored Cintas Corporation’s (Nasdaq: CTAS) First Aid and Safety Location in Canton, Ohio, as a Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star certified location during Friday’s ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The VPP Star program was created by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to recognize stand-out worksites that have comprehensive, successful safety and health management systems. Companies that have earned a VPP Star designation have achieved injury and illness rates at or below the national average of their respective industries and have established strong workplace hazard control programs.
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During the presentation, Michael Smith, the location’s General Manager, accepted the honor on his team’s behalf.
“Being recognized by the Ohio Board with VPP Star certification is a tremendous honor for us,” Smith said. “We have dedicated employee-partners at our location, and they are invested in maintaining a safe workplace for each other. Gaining VPP certification was a long, thorough process, but it means so much to everyone here at this operation.”
OSHA established VPP to promote effective and cooperative worksite safety and health in both private industry and at federal worksites.
Achieving VPP certification is rigorous. Businesses must demonstrate that management and employees work cooperatively – and proactively – to prevent workplace accidents by implementing a comprehensive safety and health management system and maintaining injury and illness rates below national Bureau of Labor Statistic averages for their respective industries.
This program is OSHA’s official recognition of the outstanding efforts of employers and employees who have achieved exemplary occupational safety and health. To remain in the program, VPP participants must be re-evaluated every three to five years.
Cintas’ commitment to OSHA’s VPP has set a new standard for U.S. companies. As of August 2023, 125 Cintas facilities in the United States are VPP Star certified, a total that far outpaces every other American company.
“The most important requirement for earning this distinction is that the location management team and the front-line employee-partners must work together toward the common goal of eliminating workplace injuries and illnesses,” said Stephen Jenkins, Cintas Director of Health & Safety, whose department oversees the company’s VPP certification process. “Without this critical element, a company will not qualify for this recognition. We’re incredibly proud of our employee-partners’ dedication to working collaboratively to maintain safe and healthy worksites throughout our company.”
About Cintas Corporation
Cintas Corporation helps more than one million businesses of all types and sizes get Ready™ to open their doors with confidence every day by providing products and services that help keep their customers’ facilities and employees clean, safe, and looking their best. With offerings including uniforms, mats, mops, towels, restroom supplies, workplace water services, first aid and safety products, eye-wash stations, safety training, fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems and alarm service, Cintas helps customers get Ready for the Workday®. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Cintas is a publicly held Fortune 500 company traded over the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS and is a component of both the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and Nasdaq-100 Index.