Original Date: 10/10/2005
Revision Date: / /

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems has developed a well-balanced and effective Environmental Health and Safety Program at its Andover Integrated Air Defense Center facility. An effective management team and methods that engender strong employee interest and participation have resulted in a superior safety track record. The Integrated Air Defense Center and its team earned recognition in the Massachusetts Safety Council’s “Grand Trophy” award and received honorable mention in the EPA’s Waste-Wise “Green Purchasing” award.

Raytheon’s Andover Integrated Air Defense Center (IADC) implemented a well-balanced Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) program that involves all the facility’s employees. The Safety Committee’s management framework and other elements ensure a closed-loop reporting and analysis feedback system to support its well-balanced EH&S program that includes on-site audits and inspections throughout the plant, communications and training, employee participation, and management metrics.

An EH&S Steering Committee led by senior management meets monthly with all plant stakeholders. Senior management sets annual goals for injury reduction and waste reduction. The EH&S staff provides a weekly report, with more detailed analysis of metrics to senior management at the monthly meeting. EH&S audits are tours of the plant floor with employee discussions designed to determine plant problems that normal reporting might not reference. Training and communications are very proactive and involve the entire workforce. Employee-made safety videos, injury flags flown if an employee is injured, accident root-cause analysis and corrections display, short and concise “tool box” training meetings, television notices, desk-drops, and bulk e-mails all promote employee interest. High visibility publicity and awards such as the EH&S Stars Award, the Ergonomics Fair, and community projects have increased employee involvement. Management action to promote strong employee interest and resulting employee involvement is considered the primary reason for this program’s success. Monthly reporting and metrics used by management include lost time and OSHA- recordable injuries, injury type and root cause, employee award and recognition, leadership walkabout results, accountability (presented on EH&S performance screens), and hazardous waste and recycling initiatives.

The Andover EH&S program with its strong emphasis on employee involvement and awareness has produced superb results. OSHA-recordable cases were down from 4.36% (152 incidents) in 1998 to 0.82% (28 incidents) in 2004; OSHA lost workday cases were down from 1.29% in 1998 to 0.14% in 2004 compared to the national industry average of 5.1%. Injury reductions alone have resulted in an estimated savings of more than $1.3 million annually. Recycling increases from 103 tons in 1998 to 1,307 tons in 2004 and waste disposal reductions of 1,234 tons in 1998 to 589 tons in 2004 have enabled the Andover facility to realize cost savings of more than $75,000 annually in 2004.

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