Each Raytheon Co. facility prominently displays a “safety performance chart” published quarterly to show how the site's injury rate ranks against others within the corporation.

Copies of the chart also are distributed to the defense and aerospace contractor's board of directors, including Chairman and CEO William H. Swanson.

“You don't want to be at the bottom of that chart,” said Ken J. Tierney, corporate senior director for environmental health and safety at the Waltham, Mass.-based company with 75,000 employees worldwide.

The chart is one of Raytheon's best practices to reinforce the importance of safety measures and reducing injuries, Mr. Tierney said.

As Raytheon's leader, Mr. Swanson is known for his commitment to safety and stressing business unit accountability in preventing injuries. The National Safety Council's Safety+Health magazine recognized Mr. Swanson as one of its 2010 CEOs Who Get It, meaning he actively oversees the well-being of Raytheon's employees.

“I don't think I have ever met another officer of any company as passionate about safety as he is,” Mr. Tierney said of his boss. “Safety is just part of his DNA.”

Mr. Swanson views safety as an indicator of Raytheon's overall performance. So a poor safety record probably would mean the entire company is underperforming while a good safety record indicates strong business productivity, Mr. Tierney said.

The impact of Mr. Swanson's order to prominently display the safety chart across about 110 locations is evident, Mr. Tierney said.

The chart highlights each facility's Occupational Safety & Health Administration recordable injury rate. About seven years ago, when the charts first were posted, the corporate average stood at around 3.5, or about 3.5 injuries per 100 employees per year.

Now the average is 0.66, with the chart a significant catalyst in reducing the injury rate, Mr. Tierney said. Managers at facilities with an above-average injury rate receive notes regularly from Mr. Swanson expressing his expectations for improvement while those with a below-average rate receive his praise, Mr. Tierney added.

Facilities with an injury rate of 1 are considered World Class while those with an injury rate of less than 0.2 are considered Gold Standard, according to internal company rankings.

Individual facilities also have developed practices to encourage their employees to participate in safety.

A Texas operation, for example, created a Safety Torch program that encourages workers to nominate co-workers demonstrating exceptional efforts.

An environmental health and safety council on the site then selects a monthly winner, who receives a gift certificate and trophy. The trophy is passed on to the next month's winner.

Another business unit formed employee safety teams that meet biweekly to review safety trends, participate in area audits and help with incident investigations. They also review employee safety suggestions and provide monetary rewards for good ideas.

Practices companywide include maintaining a Web-based database so employees can report near-accidents or submit information about safety concerns. Raytheon's environmental health and safety department tracks the database for potential improvements.

Ergonomic issues are the No. 1 cause of injuries at Raytheon, followed by slips and falls, Mr. Tierney said. But the company is working to reduce those with studies, such as surface coatings that can help prevent falls.

Overall, Raytheon's safety efforts derive from its core principles of valuing individual integrity, commitment and excellence, Mr. Tierney said.

“The first value is people,” Mr. Tierney said. “If you can't provide a safe workplace, how can you say you value people?”