Safety is a top priority for all Sodexo employees who work at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.  That dedication to excellence was recently rewarded in an international setting when the Sodexo unit at ABAC received the Global Safety Award for Contract Site Performance from former Sodexo CEO Michel Landel in Paris, France.

Dan Miller, the ABAC General Manager for Sodexo, traveled to Paris to receive the award along with ABAC Sodexo employees Margie Dove and Tomira Tucker.

“We have a great employee family that is dedicated to looking for new ways to improve campus safety,” Miller said.  “This award wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of our staff.”

ABAC’s Sodexo unit is comprised of three departments:  Maintenance, Grounds, and Environmental Services. To make certain that safety remains a priority on the ABAC campus, the entire unit meets once per month to go over concerns and recommendations.

“It is a huge accomplishment that we were the only ones from North America nominated to go,” Dove, Unit Clerk and Safety Director, said. “Sixty percent of Sodexo’s business takes place in the United States.  Winning this award places ABAC’s name out there on a global scale.”

A Safety Awareness Award has been implemented which requires employees chosen at random to correctly answer a series of safety questions related to the job they are currently performing.  Correct answers earn the employees’ names a spot on a special plaque on the physical plant wall.

“We aim to make people interested in safety rather than just something they have to do,” said Dove.
At least three people from each department are always CPR certified.  At the time of the trip, ABAC Sodexo employees had compiled 939 days OSHA accident free. Dove said the unit works well as a team and adds significant meaning to Sodexo’s “Quality of Life” slogan by providing ABAC students, faculty, staff with a safe place to work, study, and live.