Simms Fishing Products
The Road to SHARP
Simms Information
Established in the early 1980’s by Jackson Hole,
WY fly-fishing guide, John Simms to provide fly-
fishing wading gear and accessories.
Design, develop, and manufacture waders, wading
boots, technical outwear, accessories and clothing
for fly-fishers.
100% of Simms’ waders are produced in the
factory in Bozeman.
Recognition
1994 – Received Kudo award from FLY ROD & REEL Magazine for the
Simms/Gore-Tex Cordura Waders.
1995 – Received EMAP Angling Awards, “Accessory of the Year – Game” for the
Simms Gore-Tex Waders from TROUT & SALMON, ANGLING TIMES and TROUT
FISHERMAN.
1996 – Simms president, K.C. Walsh, featured in FORTUNE Magazine article,
“Casting Off”.
1998 – Received “The Best of Gray’s Sporting Journal” for the Simms Gore-Tex
Guide Pants.
1998 – Received Communication Arts’ 1998 Award of Excellence for Design Annual:
Catalog.
2000 – Received Kudo award from FLY ROD & REEL Magazine for the Simms
Guide Vest.
2000 – Received “Game Accessory of the Century” from TROUT & SALMON
Magazine for the Simms Gore-Tex Guide Weight Waders.
2000 – Received Communication Arts’ 2000 Award of Excellence for Advertising.
2001 – Received “Retailer’s Choice” designation from FLY-FISHING RETAILER
2002 – Awarded “Editor’s Choice 2002: Best Waders” for the Simms Gore-Tex
Guide Weight Waders from Fish Alaska.
Simms - 1993
1993 - KC Walsh purchased Simms, a division
of Life-Link International.
The entire Simms organization was moved to
Bozeman and began operating in a 8000 sq ft
building with 15 employees.
20 waders were produced per day.
Why SHARP?
Desire to operate and maintain a safe working
environment for Simms’ employees.
Recognition for the safe and healthy work
environment within the Bozeman business
community.
Long-term employee health and job satisfaction.
First Things First
Identified our greatest weaknesses and
strengths.
Trained our Safety Committee on safe work
practices.
Developed policies/procedures for our safety
and health program.
Educated our employees on safe work
practices.
Continued employee development in safety and
health.
Historical Weaknesses
Greatest Weaknesses:
Poor ventilation
Poor lighting
Poor power sources
Use of many extension cords
No evacuation plan
No fire prevention plan
Historical Weaknesses
No safety policies or procedures
No hazard communication program
High staff turnover
Strengths
Greatest Strengths:
1995, new state-of-the-art production facility
Improved ventilation
Overhead power supply
Well lit, clean factory space
Established a Safety Committee
Strengths
Beginning in 2000:
Increased management focus
Safety became a high-level priority
Hazard Communication program
Getting Outside Help
Carl Crouse and Tina Smollack provided consulting
services:
Safety Inspections Training
Job Analysis Training
Documentation Assistance
Air Quality Monitoring
Policy Development
Employee Training
Policy Development
Safety Committee members wrote all policies and
procedures.
Conducted Job Analyses on all hazardous
positions.
Developed Safety Inspection Checklists.
Developed Job-Specific Safety Training Checklists.
Training
All employees receive:
Training on all policies and procedures
Hazard Communication Training
Job-Specific Safety Training
Safety Walk-thru
MSDS Training
Annual Fire Drills
Bumps in the Road
Time
Productivity
Resistance to change
Increased complaints of unsafe conditions
Employee Buy-In
Employee Involvement
Safety Committee Members:
3 permanent members from management.
4 rotating members from operations group.
Assigned monthly safety inspections.
Education
Continuing education for all employees on the
issues of a safe and healthy work environment
occur:
Quarterly - production staff
Annually – administrative staff
Making Sense of SHARP
Employees are the key to success.
Strong management commitment to a safe and
healthy work environment.
Accountability is company-wide.
Commitment from management.
Life with SHARP
Employees feel free to comment on unsafe or
unhealthy working conditions.
Mandatory job rotation to prevent CTD.
Mandatory stretch program for all production
employees.
Utilize outside resources to maximize ergonomic
efforts in production.
Simms - 2003
We are now in a 37,000 sq ft. building space.
Our staff has grown to 70 employees + 17 sales
reps.
Increased wader production by 1000%.
Established Simms Europe.