June 15, 1999

John Ira Petty
Johnson Space Center, TX
(281) 483-5111

Release: J99-20

Johnson Space Center Shines With OSHA Star Rating

There’s another new star on the horizon.

Johnson Space Center, NASA’s lead center for human spaceflight, has been approved as a "VPP Star Site" by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in recognition of the center’s outstanding safety and health programs.

The prestigious Star status is the highest category of OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). The award follows years of preparation at Johnson Space Center and two weeks of intensive, on-site inspection by OSHA representatives.

While safety has always been the top priority of Johnson Space Center, achieving the Star status acknowledges the cooperative effort that exists between employees, unions, management and OSHA as they work together to achieve a safer, healthier work environment.

"This is important recognition for JSC in its continuing efforts to provide a safe and healthy workplace for its employees," said George W.S. Abbey, Johnson Space Center director. "Everyone on site, at every level of the organization, contributed to the success of this program and deserves credit for a job well done."

Johnson Space Center is among the first of three federal sites throughout the nation to be recommended for VPP Star status, and is by far the largest and most complex facility of those so designated. It is the only federal site that is both ISO 9000 certified and recognized as a VPP Star Site. The OSHA inspection team led by Bill Klingbeil, OSHA’s Region VI VPP Director, spent two weeks at the center interviewing employees and surveying safety and health-related programs. After the inspection, he said Johnson Space Center was "as well-prepared a site as any we’ve ever been to."

A certificate and flag honoring the Star achievement are being prepared by the Department of Labor for presentation to Johnson Space Center.

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