Knife River Corp. employees continued their strong safety commitment, marking another year of reduced injury and illness rates. In the past 11 years, Knife River has reduced its injury and illness rates by 83 percent, according to the company.

In 2010, Knife River’s overall recordable-incident rate was 2.19, down 19 percent from 2009 and 50 percent lower than the national industry average. The lost-time-accident rate for 2010 was 0.41, which is 14 percent lower than 2009 and 75 percent below industry average.

“This is a remarkable achievement that every employee can take pride in,” Knife River Corp. Safety Director Zach Knoop said in a written statement. “Safety is a fundamental value of our organization and we know the positive effect it has on business performance. It is more than compliance, it is about fostering a culture of safety, and that is what we are working hard to achieve.”

In 2010, Knife River increased its safety training efforts, rolling out company-wide safe driving training and electrical safety education, plus individual operations have employee-driven safety teams addressing areas of concern.

“I commend every employee at Knife River for making safety the top priority each workday,” Knife River President and CEO Bill Schneider said in a press release. “In an industry that can pose many safety hazards, our employees have worked hard to minimize risks and came together as a team to meet safety goals.”