Employees of the Southeast Alabama Gas District recently accomplished what no SEAGD employees before them have done. On March 11, 2015, they worked their 500,000th safe work hour, representing 432 days worked without a lost time accident.

“SEAGD has 187 full-time employees, and a 14,000-square mile service territory to cover, with more than 100 service vehicles on the road at different times throughout the month,” Mark Fowler, SEAGD safety coordinator, said. “So, for us to reach this milestone is huge.”

Fowler attributes the achievement to the overall safe working mentality of the SEAGD work force. “Our supervisors regularly meet with their teams to discuss safe work practices that directly impact those departments,” he said. The company also has a Safety Team consisting of employees from all divisions, and comprised of front-line employees as well as supervisory employees.

In addition to a workforce that has remained safe for more than a year, this accomplishment is also of monetary significance. As a company, SEAGD went from an extremely high MOD factor of 2.20 percent in 2004 to its current factor of .88 percent. The MOD – Workers’ Compensation Experience Modification Factor – is based on losses and company size, and is an insurance multiplier. A lower MOD factor means lower insurance premiums for SEAGD’s worker’s compensation policy,” SEAGD’s Shannon Jackson explained. Much like an automobile policy, the worker’s compensation policy cost fluctuates based on performance.

In addition, the company’s loss ratio, which measures the percentage of claims against premiums, has dropped from a whopping 577.92 percent in 2000 to its 2014 loss ratio of 2.88 percent, Jackson said.

The company celebrated the safety milestone with a luncheon on Tuesday. Also present were SEAGD board members Kennith Mount (Andalusia), Jason Bryan (Opp), Dexter McLendon (Greenville) and Fletcher Fountain (Fort Deposit).