TxDOT maintenance section personnel representing Lampasas County for the "No lost time accident" safety award include, front row from left, Darrell Jordan, one year; Chris Nauert, one year; Rudy Martinez, two years; Luis Herrera, 20 years; and David Brooks, 14 years; back row from left, Bill Henderson, 12 years; Robert Carroll, 13 years; Steve Hamrick, eight years; Gary Watson, one year; and Will Mulhollan, nine years. Not pictured: Celeste Johnson, office manager. The Brownwood district of the Texas Department of Transportation has reached a milestone in TxDOT's 91-year history. Fiscal year 2008 marked the fourth time the district has logged a "No lost time accident" year.

The Brownwood district has received many accolades because of its safety record, but the most important component is the employees who have made it successful, said Lynn Passmore, district engineer.

"The achievement of this district is unmatched in TxDOT history. A year without a losttime accident means that every employee went home safe at the end of the day. This is the kind of record all TxDOT districts strive for, and the Brownwood employees have accomplished it four different times."

Personnel representing the Lampasas area office of TxDOT include, from left, Bob Lund, 14 years; Rick Martin, 10 years; Debbie Hirsch, office manager; Brad Neely, engineering tech; and Tom Dahl, area engineer. Not pictured: Peggy Bledsoe, 11 years; Andy Skiles, engineering tech; and Hilda Whetzel, record keeper. Brownwood logged its first no-lost-time accident record in 1996, followed by back-to-back years in 2005 and 2006, and now 2008.

The success of the program is a direct result of employees making safety the first priority of their jobs, a safety officer who is proactive in keeping the district informed about the best safety practices and strong support from management, said Passmore.

The Brownwood district consists of Brown, Coleman, Comanche, Eastland, Lampasas, McCulloch, Mills, San Saba and Stephens counties with responsibility for 5,823 lane miles that include 40 miles of Interstate 20.