Local CEOs get lesson in culture vs strategy
Jerry Krankovich, director of risk insurance at the J.M. Smucker Company, discussed the benefits of developing a strong safety culture with loss prevention as the goal at the second annual CEO Breakfast on March 14.
Working with the belief that most loss is preventable, Jerry Krankovich, director of risk insurance at the J.M. Smucker Company, discussed the benefits of developing a strong safety culture with loss prevention as the goal to a room full of 76 CEOs and senior management health and safety professionals at the second annual CEO Breakfast on March 14.
The breakfast event, held at the University of Akron Wayne College, was coordinated by the Orrville Area Safety Council, a program of the Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Krankovich opened his presentation with the quote, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” attributed to Mark Fields, president of Ford Motor Company and Peter Drucker, business management guru.
Recognizing some losses will still occur, Krankovich advocated that organizations can leverage good culture and practice to drive costs down and get injured workers back on the job.
Krankovich has nearly 30 years of commercial insurance and risk-management experience.
Since 2011 he has served as director of insurance risk at the J.M. Smucker Company. In this role he is responsible for identification, quantification, elimination and mitigation of risks of loss for the company.
Krankovich referenced in his talk that the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation Division of Safety and Hygiene provides many valuable resources to companies of all sizes.
Mark Clendenin, regional business development manager for the Ohio BWC, and Michelle Francisco, program manager for safety councils, were both in attendance along with Eric White from the Canton BWC office.
"The Orrville Area Safety Council is doing an outstanding job providing quality programs, like the one this morning, to improve workplace safety," Francisco said.
The Orrville Area Safety Council was recognized by the Ohio BWC with an Honorable Mention in the Safety Council of the Year competition last year, ranking among the top-8 safety council programs in the state. There are currently 83 safety councils in Ohio.
Jodi Taylor presented a video introduction to Pure Water Technology systems Go Beyond Green initiative, which not only eliminates the environmental impact of bottled water, but also provides safer, fresher and better tasting drinking water to employees in the workplace.
Pure Water Technology was the corporate sponsor for the event and provided water samples to everyone in attendance. Additional event sponsors included P Graham Dunn, D+S Distribution and AloNovus.
The Orrville Area Safety Council welcomes any business or organization interested in workplace health and safety to attend their lunch meetings on the second Wednesday of each month. Meetings are held in the community room at White’s Ford on state Route 57.
The topic for April 11 will be "Drones: Commercial Uses, Regulations and Best Practices," presented by Josh Grappy, unmanned aircraft systems manager for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Cost to attend is $5. Reservations are required.
Call Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce at 330-682-8881 ext. 51.