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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA NOVEMBER 4, 2011 Representatives of the Federal Government’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) took the rare action today of designating GE Intelligent Platforms’ Huntsville, Alabama campus a “STAR” site. The honor was conferred during a ceremony held at the site with employees, top management representatives from GE Intelligent Platforms headquarters in Charlottesville, state and local officials and OSHA officers in attendance.
In achieving STAR status, the GE Huntsville site joins an elite group composed of less than 4% of all U.S. worksites. Only 2,300 worksites are designated as a STAR status worksite under OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). The STAR designation is earned by achieving excellence in workplace health and safety programs.
GE Intelligent Platforms’ Huntsville campus consists of four buildings housing engineering technology, sales, returns, manufacturing, and customer care. The core business is the design, manufacture, sales, and customer care of single board computers.
“This award represents the commitment and concern of our employees for maintaining a safe workplace,” said Al DiLibero, President, Military and Aerospace. “It is their involvement in taking on difficult challenges that allows all of us to enjoy the benefits of a workplace with high safety standards. Our employees have made this site a STAR. We are extremely proud of our people and this recognition.”
Employee involvement is a key aspect of gaining VPP status. “Preventing and controlling potential safety and health hazards are only achieved through a team effort by everyone at the site,” said Charles Crayton, Huntsville Environmental Health & Safety Manager. ”There are close to 70 employees actively involved on health and safety teams who work on ergonomics, emergency response, accident investigation and on-the-job safety. Their dedication and hard work are largely responsible for being awarded STAR certification.
“In addition to exemplary worker health and safety, we’ve seen our employees’ motivation to work safely rise sharply,” said Crayton. “This has been realized through improvements in quality and productivity as well.” VPP sites also see workers’ compensation and other injury-related costs fall substantially. Lost time injury rates are typically 60 to 80 percent below industry average.
GE ranks among the top U.S. companies in participation in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program. To date, 123 GE work sites around the country have been approved or recommended for acceptance into federal or state OSHA programs.
About GE Intelligent Platforms
GE Intelligent Platforms is an experienced high-performance technology company and a global provider of software, control systems, services, and expertise in automation and embedded computing. We offer a unique foundation of agile and reliable technology providing customers a sustainable competitive advantage in the industries they serve, including energy, water, consumer packaged goods, oil & gas, government & defense, and telecommunications. GE Intelligent Platforms is headquartered in Charlottesville, VA. For more information, visit www.ge-ip.com.
Media Contact:
Elli Holman
GE Intelligent Platforms
+1 508 698 7456