Safety

Hormel Foods is known for its award-winning safety programs. Our dedicated corporate safety department develops and administers companywide policies to ensure the safety of each employee and compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards.

The corporate safety department also conducts annual audits of our manufacturing plants to ensure compliance with company safety policies. View our latest safety data in our global impact report.

Safety Training

Our corporate safety department administers the monthly, Our Way to Safety employee training program. Plant safety managers coordinate monthly train-the-trainer safety meetings for plant supervisors.

Examples of topics covered by the trainings include:

Electrical safety,
Emergency action plans,
Ergonomics,
The global harmonized system for hazard communication,
Inclement weather,
Lockout–control of hazardous energy,
Machine guarding, and
Personal protective equipment.

There are more than 100 automated external defibrillator (AED) devices located in Hormel Foods plants and more than 1,000 trained responders. Response team members receive biennial training in blood-borne pathogens, first aid, CPR and the use of the AED. AED readiness is ensured through a daily check of the AEDs, and biannual drills are conducted to enhance responder readiness.

View our latest safety training information in our global impact report.

In 2021, we completed approximately 1,000 safety assessments each month companywide.

Safety Management

Hormel Foods has a Corporate Safety Steering Committee that provides companywide safety process leadership to all business units of Hormel Foods and its subsidiaries. Hormel Foods has long been at the forefront of the industry in employee safety. The committee further drives our leadership in this area.

The goals of the committee include:

Driving continuous improvement of the safety process;
Analyzing key safety metrics and worker compensation trends;
Evaluating and approving initiatives that will support continuous improvement of the safety process;
Cascading standardization of the safety process to all business units; and
Demonstrating safety champion commitment to always ensure employee safety as the No. 1 priority.

Our Safety, Health and Ergonomic Policy states that the safety, well-being and comfort of each employee are a team effort requiring everyone’s participation. Each location operates with a manager responsible for the program and a committee that meets monthly to review and discuss topics and ideas. The committees are responsible for assisting in the development of the plant’s protection processes and keeping employees engaged. In addition, they perform monthly care and ergonomic audits and when necessary, ensure corrective actions are implemented. Companywide, our safety committees are comprised of more than 1,000 hourly and salaried employees. In addition, the company has a Safety Elite and Excellence Awards Program that recognizes locations for exceptional safety achievements.