The Kirkland Fred Meyer is the first store in the Greater Puget Sound and 10th overall to achieve the corporations’ STAR safety certification.

Becoming certified requires consistent completion of a rigorous checklist of tasks, including raising awareness on a variety of safety issues, educating every new associate and the testing of safety committee members to ensure 100 percent compliance.

So, what makes this an even more remarkable feat? It was accomplished while the store was undergoing a major remodel.

During the remodel, store director Mike Johnson, the management team and every associate made it their focus to maintain a clean, safe environment for our customers.

“We are very proud of how our new store looks, but we knew the process was going to be pretty disruptive. We wanted to make sure we minimized the mess and kept our store safe for our loyal customers. Our entire team did an outstanding job being aware of any potential hazards,” said Johnson.

The STAR Safety Team, led by the tireless efforts of team leader Paul Schulfer, was successful during this process of changing the safety culture of the store by engaging associates in various ways.

Associate driven safety events, customer events and store huddles were just a few of the ways Schulfer and his team were able to keep everyone informed and involved, and succeeded in achieving this milestone event.