Whether it’s maintenance or repair, AFM and its 120 employees work hard every day to keep the Naval Academy up and running full speed.

Serving since 2003, AFM is the base operating services contractor. The company manages the Academy’s utilities, heating plants, water plants, waste water treatment facilities, transportation, maintenance and preventative maintenance, and safety is the organization’s top priority.

''We’re a small organization and we can’t afford for our peo-ple to get hurt. It’s critical that all of our people remain healthy,'' said Dave Barry, General Man-ager of AFM. ''Secondly, from a financial standpoint, it is expe-nsive to have people out and hurt, and lastly, we don’t want to see our people needlessly go through pain and suffering.''

The competition for the award was based on a variety of criteria brought together on a score sheet. Factors included total man hours, job complexity, number of Occ-upation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) record-able mishaps, and lost work days.

''When you compare AFM with everyone, the work-to-man-hour ratio is greater and their safety program far exceeds the others,'' said Tom Fisher, Facility Contract Manager. ''They have a proactive safety program that is taken seriously and their quality of work is excellent. They’re well-deserving of this award.''

AFM maintains a safety prog-ram which requires employees to undergo an OSHA refresher course annually. They also require periodic safety courses for indi-vidual hazardous environments and general training on personal protective equipment.

''We approach our safety culture as a partnership with our employees. They own a piece of it, and management owns a piece of it,'' said Barry. ''We have a safety committee consisting of employees from each work area. They provide vital information to management that helps to provide the work force with all the tools needed for a safe working environment.''

In earning the award, AFM displayed excellence throughout the past year in safety procedures and precautions. Their efforts resulted in nearly 600 days since a lost-time incident, which renders an employee unable to work by a doctor’s order. AFM also recorded only one incident requiring medical attention in over 236,000 hours of work.

''We’re extremely proud of this. It’s a goal we’ve worked hard to achieve to have a positive safety working culture and to work in a safe environment,'' said Barry.