Liberty Mutual Boosts Safety Initiative

For the 10th Year in a row, Liberty Mutual Insurance has supported key efforts to improve workplace safety, donating $30,000 to the American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) Foundation toward the Liberty Mutual Safety Research Fellowship Program. This program encourages research activities in occupational safety and health, and provides a forum for safety professionals to guide research based on industry needs, which reflects Liberty Mutual’s mission of “helping people live safer, more secure lives”.

The ASSE Foundation encourages people to apply for the Fellowship program now through February 11, 2012, by going to http://www.asse.org/foundation/research/L M_program.php. Those selected as Liberty Mutual fellows will spend four to six weeks during the summer of 2012 at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety located in Hopkinton MA, and will receive a stipend for living expenses. Additionally, fellows will write either an 800 word article for the ASSE Foundation newsletter explaining the results of the research or an article for ASSE’s Professional Safety Journal.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, must possess a Ph.D. or be working toward a Master’s Degree or Ph.D. Preference will be given to applicants holding appointments or enrolled in a department with an ABET accredited safety program. Members of ASSE will receive special consideration for this fellowship.

“This is an excellent opportunity for students and safety professionals to not only research a major issue on workplace safety, but to also identify solutions aimed at increasing worker safety and health,” ASSE Foundation Chair, Eddie Greer, CSP, OHST said today. “In the long run this research helps the 33,000 occupational safety, health and environmental members of ASSE, businesses, other students and the public alike.”

Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group is a diversified global insurer and third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on A.M. Best Company’s report of 2010 net written premium. The Group also ranks 82nd on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2010 revenue. As of December 31, 2010, Liberty Mutual Group had $112.4 billion in consolidated assets, $95.4 billion in consolidated liabilities, and $33.2 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

Through laboratory and field-based investigations, the Research Institute seeks to advance scientific, business-relevant knowledge in workplace and highway safety, and work disability. Research findings are shared with the worldwide health and safety community through peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations. Ultimately, these findings are used to develop recommendations, guidelines and interventions that help reduce risk and control costs.