Celebrating companies who go above and beyond when it comes to workplace safety, Rockwell Automation announced it is now accepting nominations for its third annual Manufacturing Safety Excellence Awards.

Companies are evaluated based on their commitment to three pillars: a strong safety culture, well-executed compliance procedures, and effective use of current safeguarding and automation technology.

“The 2014 winners – Corning Environmental Technologies and Bevcorp – were selected because their commitment to safety stretches beyond compliance to help achieve business goals,” said Mark Eitzman, safety market development manager at Rockwell Automation. “For them, keeping workers safe is the top priority. But safety also improves operational efficiency and company profitability, so it’s viewed as a barometer of company success rather than a costly obligation.”

Past winners also include General Motors, Procter & Gamble and the PepsiCo divisions of Walkers Crisps and Pepsi Flavors.

The awards are open to manufacturers, machine builders (OEMs) or system integrators and nominations are due Sept. 14.

Winners will be announced at the Safety Leadership Conference Oct. 26 to 28 in Greenville, SC.

 Entry forms can be found here and submitted to swludwig@ra.rockwell.com with “Safety Excellence Awards Nomination” in the subject line. Entries can also be mailed to: Rockwell Automation, Attn: Steve Ludwig – Safety Excellence Awards, 1 Allen Bradley Drive, Mayfield Heights, OH 44124.