Lincoln Industries

Workplace safety and environmental protection have been top priorities at Lincoln Industries for decades, and consequently, its performance in these areas leads the metal finishing industry. Increasingly, widespread concern regarding these issues has been translated into new and more stringent regulations by various governmental agencies. Complying with these new regulations is a challenge for many businesses. At Lincoln Industries, such challenges are seen as opportunities to do the right thing for its people, the environment, customers and, ultimately, its business, by being proactive in working to develop and implement the right solutions.

Getting involved early in the process of identifying issues and crafting the appropriate legislation is critical for Lincoln Industries. The company works with industry associations and lobbyists to help regulators better understand the issues, technological options, costs and impacts as a critical first step. According to Rick Dickey, Director of Environmental Programs at Lincoln Industries, “We try to be involved in the regulatory process from its inception to ensure the best solutions to workplace safety and environmental protection are identified and balanced with the needs of the industry to remain competitive in the global marketplace.”

Once a regulation is adopted, the process for ensuring Lincoln Industries meets or exceeds all requirements involves thoroughly understanding regulations, conducting a rigorous gap analysis, developing a plan to address any need and then aggressively implementing the plan. Due to the long history of leadership in these areas and working to help shape appropriate regulations, Lincoln Industries challenges of complying with new legislation are relatively minor. “In most cases, we find via our gap analysis that we are exceeding the new requirements or require only minor modifications,” said Jim Small, Lincoln Industries’ Safety Manager.

Two recent examples where Lincoln Industries’ philosophy has enabled the company to take new regulations in stride are the 2007 OSHA requirements for personal exposure to hexavalent chromium and the July 2010 requirements for hazardous air pollutants for the plating and polishing industry. In both cases, compliance was a minor issue compared to being a significant resource expenditure and a very costly issue as for many companies in the industry.

At Lincoln Industries, compliance with environmental and safety regulations is just the beginning. The company ensures performance with sampling, monitoring of procedures and equipment testing that exceeds requirements. Additionally, the company provides ongoing communication and training for all of its people regarding environmental and safety regulations and performance. Consequently, Lincoln Industries’ environmental management system has been certified ISO14001 compliant for meeting the most rigorous standards of quality and control.

While meeting workplace safety and environmental regulations for the well-being of Lincoln Industries’ people and communities is of the utmost importance, the company’s customers can also take comfort in knowing their supply chain is secure from interruptions due to unanticipated or unattainable legislation. Whether it is meeting a regulatory challenge or the needs of a customer, Lincoln Industries can be counted on to take the same proactive approach to ensure success.