DURANT, OK – For the second straight year, the National Safety Council has recognized the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma with the Occupational Excellence Achievement Award for 2024. The Choctaw Nation (CNO) is the first tribe to receive the award, recognizing organizations with injury and illness records better than or equal to 50 percent of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for their NAICS code – and have no fatalities during the previous calendar year.
CNO’s total facilities worked more than 20.8 million hours in calendar year 2023 and had zero fatalities and 57 incidents with injuries and illness, which involved days away from work. These statistics resulted in a “Facility Total Lost Workday Case Incident Rate” of 0.55, significantly below the NAICS Code 92 industry standard of 2.0.
“Congratulations to our associates for working safely to earn this important safety recognition milestone for our team members and tribe,” said Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton. “I’m so pleased and proud of the commitment to a safe workplace as reflected in being honored with this National Safety Council award for two straight years.”
Chief Batton pointed out that in addition to its ongoing safety training, the Choctaw Nation also works to highlight good safety performance with a quarterly safety recognition program led by the Choctaw Nation Occupational Safety and Health team in collaboration with Choctaw Nation work groups, departments, and divisions.
“This daily emphasis on safe work helps our associates understand the importance of safety and drives home the essential role that having a safe workplace plays in the success of the Choctaw Nation,” said Chief Batton.