JAY – Verso Paper’s enrollment in a voluntary safety program is keeping employees safer and healthier and the Androscoggin Mill running strong without lost time, company spokesman Bill Cohen said.

The mill, which has 970 employees, has hit 2 million safe work hours without lost work time four times, the last this spring, and 1 million safe work hours 14 times since 1965. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t an injury, it means that there was no lost work time because of that injury, Cohen said.

The Androscoggin Mill is enrolled in the Occupational Health and Safety Administration Voluntary Protection Programs, which promotes effective work site-based safety and health, according to OSHA’s Web site.

Management, labor and OSHA establish cooperative relationships at workplaces that have implemented a comprehensive safety and health management system. Approval into the program is OSHA’s official recognition of the outstanding efforts of employers and employees who have achieved exemplary occupational safety and health, the Web site states.

Studies have shown that a more proactive work force means there are fewer accidents and fewer lost work days leading to a more healthy work force, Cohen said.

Androscoggin Mill in Jay is classified as “star” facility, OSHA’s top level, Cohen said.

Right now, Verso’s Bucksport Mill is going through the audit and applying to participate in OSHA’s safety program. That mill has just reached 1 million hours of safe work time.

The process means audits and inspections with a lot of self-policing involved, he said.

“One of the key elements in the OSHA program is employees have to embrace and accept it and actively participate in it,” Cohen said.

In a working environment that involves 60-ton rolls of paper, lots of large equipment and lots of steam, people consistently spend a concerted effort on health and safety, he said.

He credited Androscoggin Mill Manager Dick Jackson and employees for working safe and implementing preventative measures to continue to do so.

The Androscoggin Mill is going through the recertification process, which is done every five years.

There are safety teams, safety administrators and an employee safety steering committee to help keep the working environment safe, Cohen said.

Every meeting starts with elements of a focus on safety and reporting on environmental status, he said.

“That way the mill can return folks home the way they came to work,” Cohen said.

Employees are looking out for themselves and looking out for fellow workers, he said.

“Androscoggin is living it to their credit,” Cohen said.