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Careful efforts to keep its employees safe have earned KBR the highest workplace safety award in South Dakota.  

KBR received the 2020 Award of Honor in Occupational Safety during the South Dakota Governor’s Workplace Safety and Health Awards held on Dec. 8, 2021, in Sioux Falls. Doug Jaton, the KBR Technical Support Services Contract’s (TSSC) program manager at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) center, accepted the award from South Dakota Safety Council Executive Director Janie Ritter and South Dakota Lieutenant Governor Larry Rhoden. 

KBR was one of six employers to achieve the South Dakota Safety Council’s top distinction for workplace safety, and EROS was another. The award is presented to employers and their employees for exceptional accomplishment in reducing workplace injuries and illnesses. The Days Away Restricted Transferred (DART) rate – or the days spent away from work, on restricted work activity, or transferred – and OSHA recordable incidence rate must be at least 91% or better than the national average for an organization to win. 

"The KBR TSSC team is proud to be recognized, along with our USGS EROS customer, by the South Dakota Safety Council as industry leaders in workplace safety,” Jaton said. “This team award speaks to the successful Zero Harm management culture at all levels within our program." 

The company has supported the acquisition, archival, processing, as well as the creation and distribution of science products at the EROS center since 2008. The center is responsible for the study of land change and the production of land change products used by researchers, resource managers, and policymakers around the world. KBR’s work with EROS equips decision-makers with valuable data to better understand and positively impact the planet by combining remotely sensed data and science to gauge how the Earth’s changing landscape impacts ecosystems, economics, and everyday life.

EROS is known for the operation of the joint USGS/ NASA Landsat satellite program and maintenance of the largest civilian collection of images of the Earth’s land surface in existence. The data serves multiple user communities including first responders, wildfire, intelligence, agriculture, academia, and research. For example, satellites orbiting Earth, like Landsat, offer insight into large geological events, such as the recent Hunga Tonga underwater volcano eruption. Therefore, safety both inside and outside of the program is vital to protecting and aiding humanity.

Notably, EROS advanced an award category from the year before, when it received the 2019 award for Outstanding Achievement in Occupational Safety, and this was the 15th time the TSSC contract has received the Award of Honor. The recognition reflects KBR’s commitment to Zero Harm — a company-wide value emphasizing safety and sustainability for its people and the planet. 

“The TSSC safety team values its successful partnership with the corporate Zero Harm team to continuously improve our operational processes and best practices to identify and eliminate the potential for safety issues,” said Brent Nelson, KBR/TSSC Zero Harm Safety Manager.