Outstanding Achievements

GE Aviation Facilities Team Earns Prestigious OSHA Safety Designation

April 11, 2012 —The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently awarded its Star Voluntary Protection Program designation, the U.S. government’s highest recognition of health and safety excellence, to the Operations & Maintenance Business Group facilities project team at the GE Aviation Evendale Facility near Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Star level of OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program recognizes employers and employees who demonstrate exemplary achievement in the prevention and control of occupational safety and health hazards through the development, implementation and continuous improvement of their safety and health management system.

O&MBG staff members at the Evendale facility have worked hard to keep their worksite and each other safe, and the Star designation is validation of their continuous efforts in striving toward CH2M HILL’s “Target Zero” goal, says Brad Spackman, GE Program Director.

“The team has worked for more than three years to obtain this recognition, and it is a well-deserved award that everyone should be proud of,” Spackman says. “I would like to personally thank everyone in the organization for the cooperation, teamwork, and dedication in achieving Star VPP status.”

To be considered for the VPP, a site must first apply to OSHA, which assesses various performance-based criteria for that site’s managed safety and health system. If approved, OSHA then conducts a rigorous on-site evaluation to determine if the site meets VPP requirements. Once it is determined that a site does meet the requirements, it is assigned to the Star, Merit or Demonstration level. Once designated, sites must submit an annual self-evaluation and undergo periodic on-site re-evaluations to remain part of the program.

The VPP began in 1979 with an experimental program in California and OSHA formally announced the program in 1982. According to OSHA, over the program’s 20-plus-year history the average VPP site has a Days Away Restricted or Transferred case rate that is 52 percent below the average for its industry.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment and all of our associates at this project should be proud in obtaining this excellent safety milestone,” says Mark Zachary, Corporate Safety Director for the Operations & Maintenance Business Group. “This accomplishment is the ‘Super Bowl of Safety’ and we congratulate the whole CH2M HILL team at GE Aviation Evendale for obtaining this prestigious award.”

Over the course of CH2M HILL’s 13-year facilities contract period at Evendale, the team has experienced only one minor safety event and has never recorded a lost-time incident, says Scott Irvine, the program’s health and safety manager. The project has earned numerous safety awards from both CH2M HILL and other safety organizations. CH2M HILL employees also work extensively with contractors to assure everyone is working in a safe and responsible manner while adhering to Target Zero initiatives, OSHA standards and the client’s own safety requirements.

“Our Evendale team is a diverse group who provide an assortment of construction, procurement, and health and safety functions,” Irvine says. “The one thing that does not change, no matter what an employee’s function, is the focus on safety. We’re proud of the awards we have won in the past and are very proud of achieving VPP Star status.”

CH2M HILL provides project management, construction management, procurement services, oversight of the contractor safety program, cost and schedule controls, crib management, warehousing and material expediting, and various environmental, health and safety activities for GE Aviation, a subsidiary of General Electric, while managing approximately $100 million annually in construction projects and facilities-related services. The Evendale team is part of a larger O&MBG program that supports multiple General Electric businesses including aviation, rail, energy and GE corporate at more than 80 domestic and international facilities. The CH2M HILL program has overseen more than $1.3 billion in projects for General Electric since the contract began in 1999.

The Evendale facility is the worldwide headquarters for GE Aviation, the world’s largest manufacturer of jet engines for commercial, military and industrial applications. The site includes 500 acres with more than 4.5 million square feet of building space and employs more than 10,000 employees and contractors.

 

CH2M HILL Virtual Office.  April 11, 2012. CH2M HILL. April 4,2012. <https://www.int.ch2m.com/employeeportal/default.asp?page=/intrnl/voffice/gen&AuthResend1908BC2350124b5095AB75012FA405BA>.