JLG Industries, leading manufacturer of aerial work platforms and telehandlers, received OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program STAR Site Certification at its Shippensburg and Bedford, Pa., facilities. JLG is the first company in the access industry to achieve this recognition from OSHA, JLG said, and both facilities are the first in Cumberland and Bedford Counties to be named Safety Through Accountability and Reliability sites.
STAR Site certification is the highest VPP certification level awarded by OSHA and follows a rigorous audit and onsite interviews that ensure a site is adhering to the strict guidelines set for by VPP. Companies that achieve the VPP Star award record injury and illness rates at or below the national average for their industry. JLG reports a rate that is less than half the industry average.
“JLG joins a short list of just 2,217 facilities or one half of one percent of the approximate six million U.S. companies that have received this certification,” said Jeffrey Rush, vice president of manufacturing, Americas, for JLG Industries. “This puts us in some pretty elite company and reflects the value JLG, parent company Oshkosh Corporation, and production teams in Shippensburg and Bedford place on safety.”
To recognize their achievements, the Shippensburg and Bedford facilities hosted employee appreciation meals and public celebrations attended by employees, Oshkosh and JLG executives, OSHA representatives and local dignitaries.
“The significance of this recognition cannot be overstated and is definitely worthy of celebration,” said Josh Horton, JLG Industries, director of manufacturing at the Shippensburg facility. “It is a testament to members of our team who work tirelessly every day to ensure the safety and well-being of those around them.”
Created in 1982, OSHA’s VPP recognizes and partners with businesses and worksites that show excellence in occupational safety and health. VPP sites are committed to effective employee protection that reaches beyond the requirements of OSHA standards. In its report, OSHA cited a number of areas of excellence at the JLG facilities, including: employee participation in safety, specifically as it relates to safety committee projects and writing job safety analyses; new employee training programs that teach job skills and ergonomic practices prior to introduction to the production environment; and response times to fix action items.
Rush said that five years ago Oshkosh Corp. introduced a three-level safety management system that looked at basic safety practices as well as processes and employee engagement in safety, which positioned the company to invite OSHA into its facilities to audit its processes and measure the team’s engagement in safety and safe-working practices.
“Safety is who we are at JLG,” said Rush. “It’s part of a culture that makes the health and safety of our employees paramount and allows us to produce the outstanding results that earned this prestigious recognition.”
Employees at the Shippensburg plant manufacture boom and scissorlifts and telehandlers. Those at Bedford recondition boomlifts and telehandlers to like-new condition.
