The Carolina Star Program recognizes leaders in occupational safety and health that are successfully protecting employees from death, injury, and illness by implementing comprehensive and effective safety and health programs and management systems. Carolina Star participants are proactive and willingly share their experience and expertise, and they encourage others to work toward comparable success. These worksites are self-sufficient in their ability to control hazards at their worksites.
Note: Note: The Carolina Star Program is not designed for the public sector or construction industry. However, onsite contractors, temporary agencies, etc., located at a Carolina Star worksite may apply if they receive written support from the worksite’s owner and they have been working onsite for at least 12 months.
Participation
The term for participation in an approved Carolina Star Program is open-ended so long as the participating worksite continues to maintain its excellent safety and health management systems as evidenced by a favorable onsite evaluation by the Star Program evaluation team within 36 months of the initial onsite Star evaluation, and every 60 months thereafter. In addition, the worksite is required to submit the required Star Annual Report (“SAR”), which includes annual Total Recordable Case (TRC) rate and Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate data, safety and health management system evaluation, participate in Carolina Star Safety Conference planning meetings, and provide mentoring to other companies.
Carolina Star participants are proactive and partner with the N.C. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Division in an effort to prevent fatalities, injuries, and illnesses through a system focused on:
- Management commitment and leadership
- Employee involvement and participation
- Hazard identification and evaluation
- Hazard prevention and control
- Safety and health training
Benefits of being a Star Worksite
- Improved employee motivation to work safely, leading to better quality and productivity.
- Reduced workers’ compensation costs.
- Recognition in the community.
- Improved safety and health management systems and performance.
- Star participant sites generally experience from 60 percent to 80 percent fewer lost workday injuries than would be expected of an “average” site of the same size in their industries.
Contact Information
If you are interested in Carolina Star, please contact LaMont Smith, Carolina Star's recognition program manager, or call 919-707-7852 for more information.