October 11, 2006—The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently highlighted several companies with outstanding safety and health records that have earned various OSHA awards.
Western Aircraft’s facility in Boise, ID, earned membership in OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP). Western Aircraft is an independent aircraft-services company with five large hangers totaling more than 70,000 square feet, and approximately 150 employees.
SKF Sealing Solutions of Seneca, KS, earned membership in OSHA’s “Star” Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). The facility employs 220 workers, who manufacture seals and gaskets for the automotive industry.
Washington Group International, a resident contractor at Monsanto World Headquarters in St. Louis, MO, is the first resident contractor in OSHA’s Region 7 to receive the VPP Star award. The company employs 56 workers who perform maintenance and building services for Monsanto’s headquarters.
The BMC West worksite in Fort Collins, CO, was designated a VPP “Merit” site. OSHA particularly noted such innovative company initiatives as a driver enclosure to protect forklift operators from harsh weather conditions. BMC West is a supplier of lumber and building materials.
CR Meyer, an industrial and commercial general contractor headquartered in Oshkosh, WI, is the first company to achieve the VPP Star status directly resulting from participation in the VPP OSHA Challenge Pilot. OSHA said that the company’s written safety and health management system effectively addresses worksite hazards by identifying and tracking them to ensure their correction and control, and that its training programs ensure that employees understand occupational hazards and how to control them. CR Meyer employs nearly 1,000 people.
Raytheon in Aurora, CO, was designated a VPP Star site. The software-development site was recognized for its sustained level of high performance in its employee safety and health program, as well as “tremendous employee involvement systems and a world-class health and wellness program for employees.”
XEROX OKC Supplies Manufacturing of Yukon, OK, also earned VPP Star membership. OSHA said the company maintained an injury and illness rate 50 percent below the national average for its industry. XEROX OKC, a division of Xerox Corp., produces photographic equipment supplies and employs about 177 workers and 10 contractors in Yukon.
The US Postal Service Main Post Office in Casper, WY, also received a VPP Star. OSHA particularly noted the site’s emergency preparedness plans and drills and its comprehensive set of written job-hazard analyses, as well as its proactive injury prevention program.
For a complete list of all recent VPP approvals, visit OSHA.
