City of Keizer graduates from Oregon OSHA program, exemplifying excellence in safety, health

Keizer, the 16th-largest city in Oregon, has achieved a milestone in its ongoing work to bolster workplace safety and health: graduation from Oregon OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP).

SHARP, primarily set up to help small- and mid-sized employers, coaches employers on how to effectively manage workplace safety and health. The program encourages Oregon employers to work with their employees to identify and correct hazards and to continuously improve. In turn, companies are recognized for their success in reaching specific benchmarks during the five-year program. An employer may graduate from SHARP after five years of participation.

Keizer has completed its SHARP journey, graduating in April 2025. During Keizer’s SHARP process, the city – with guidance and assessments provided by Oregon OSHA safety and health consultants – engaged in numerous project and process improvements designed to strengthen on-the-job protections for its workers. Examples include everything from installation of eyewash stations at key locations and the completion of training for all new safety committee members to updates of the city’s respiratory protection program and implementation of safety protocols addressing the use of ATVs.

The positive impact of the city’s participation in SHARP includes a days away, restricted, or transferred (DART) rate of 2.21 in 2023 for the city’s police department, public works field staff, and City Hall staff. The rate was well below the national average of 3.1 and Oregon’s average of 2.7.

In assessing the city’s efforts as a SHARP participant and approving it as a SHARP graduate, Oregon OSHA consultants recently concluded that the city “has consistently followed through with all evaluations, training, programs, and procedures for the safety and health for all employees.”

“Graduating from the SHARP program is a reflection of the city of Keizer’s commitment to creating a culture where safety is at the heart of everything we do,” said Jeff Heyen, chairperson of the city’s safety committee. “It’s been a true team effort – staff across every department have worked hard to build and sustain safer workplaces, and this recognition reinforces that those efforts matter.”

The benefits of the SHARP program, which is part of Oregon OSHA’s free consultation services, include lower injury and illness rates, decreased workers’ compensation costs, increased employee morale, lower product losses, and community recognition.

Learn more about SHARP and Oregon OSHA’s free consultation services, which include hazard assessments, recommendations to control and eliminate hazards, written program evaluation, and hands-on training. Consultations involve no fault, no citations, and no penalties. Oregon OSHA consultants in workplace safety, industrial hygiene, and ergonomics can help employers reduce accidents and related costs and develop comprehensive programs to manage safety and health.

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Oregon OSHA, a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, enforces the state's workplace safety and health rules and works to improve workplace safety and health for all Oregon workers. For more information, go to osha.oregon.gov.

The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon's largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. For more information, go to oregon.gov/dcbs.

The Oregon AFL-CIO is the statewide federation of affiliated unions, representing more than 300,000 working Oregonians. For more information, visit Oregon AFL-CIO.

Contact information

Aaron Corvin,
public information officer
971-718-6973
Aaron.corvin@dcbs.oregon.gov