CalPortland’s Mark Rock Wins Award for Safeguarding Workers

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 8 -- The National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association issued the following news release:

Mark Rock, senior vice president of risk management for CalPortland, will receive the 2017 James M. Christie Safety & Health Professional of the Year Award. The award, presented annually by the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) recognizes an individual for substantial commitment and contributions to safe and healthy practices within his or her company and the industry.

"Mark has made a significant impact on the management of safety and health throughout the industry," said NSSGA President and CEO Michael W. Johnson. "His leadership is emblematic of our industry's commitment to working safely, as evidenced by our industry's historically low injury rate."

Rock established a sophisticated program for managing compliance and worker safety and health at CalPortland. He collaborated with senior management, insurance companies, safety business partners and employees to advance a culture of safety and health. He pushed for a shift in the company's emphasis from simply reporting injuries to a more thorough effort aimed at avoiding accidents. A rigorous auditing program was critical to this shift in addition to creating safety training for specific pieces of equipment.

Rock has led presentations during NSSGA's AGG1 Academy, AGG1 Online webinars and MSHA Spring Thaw workshops on the West Coast in an effort to share the successes of his program with the entire aggregates industry,

The award will be presented on Sept. 27 during NSSGA's Legislative and Policy Forum/Fall Board Meeting at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill.

The James M. Christie Safety and Health Professional of the Year award was created in 1987 by the National Stone Association (NSA) in recognition of the then-corporate safety director for Vulcan Materials Co. In the early 1980s, Christie challenged a young MSHA agency to focus regulations on the safety practices of manager and worker behavior and not strictly on a facility's conditions. NSSGA continued this tradition when NSA later merged with the National Aggregates Association.