[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 26, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1320]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               OSHA AWARD FOR SPRINGFIELD REMANUFACTURING

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ROY BLUNT

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 25, 2000

  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, today I congratulate the vision, and 
commitment of the officers, administrative staff and employees of the 
Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation in Springfield, Missouri as 
they attain the highest status available in OSHA's Voluntary Protection 
Program.
  The company located in Missouri's Seventh Congressional District 
employs 370 people in the remanufacturing of diesel engines for 
trucking, agriculture and heavy equipment industries. With this award 
from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the company 
joins a select group of only 15 other firms in the state, four in 
Springfield, with the designation of Star Sites. Nationally there are 
only 550 sites which have attained this level of commitment to worker 
safety.
  The certification was granted after an intensive self study of safety 
policies, procedures and practices by employees at all levels followed 
by a rigorous comprehensive review visit by OSHA inspectors who found 
the workplaces to be fully in compliance with all regulations.
  According to OSHA this designation means that the health and safety 
practices and procedures developed by the company are models within 
their industry, and that the company is achieving the highest levels of 
health and safety compliance.
  I would also point out that this outstanding achievement is the 
result of a cooperative effort between public and private entities 
rather than a unilateral regulatory effort on the part of a lone 
federal agency. To quote OSHA ``This concept recognizes that compliance 
enforcement alone can never fully achieve the objectives of the 
Occupational Safety and Health Act. Good safety management programs 
that go beyond OSHA standards can protect workers more effectively than 
simple compliance.''
  Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation, apart from this award, is a 
success story on its own. In 1983 employees of the Remanufacturing 
Division of International Harvester purchased the operation from the 
parent company and established it as an employee owned company. The 
firm has since established a number of its own subsidiaries and has 
been named as one of the ``The 100 Best Companies to Work for in 
America''.
  I express my appreciation, and that of all my colleagues, to 
President Jack Stack, Plant Manager Marty Callison and Safety Director 
Kathy Miller for their leadership in bringing this national recognition 
to Springfield, Missouri and the Seventh Congressional District.

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