“Parsons Corp. has implemented a safety and health management system that reflects the quality standards set forth in OSHA’s VPP,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Edwin G. Foulke Jr. “As the newest member of the VPP Corporate Pilot, we applaud Parsons for achieving exemplary safety and health practices at all of its worksites and look forward to continuing our successful relationship to protect employees well into the future.”
The VPP onsite evaluation team noted that Parsons implements a strong safety and health philosophy throughout the organization. The company created a vice president of safety position with a staff of more than 10 safety professionals, as well as administrative support staff, to address safety issues. Additionally, Parsons realigned its organizational structure so that safety representatives from all levels reported directly to the vice president of safety, rather than to other management representatives whose priorities did not include safety.
Parsons is the seventh active participant to become part of the VPP Corporate Pilot, joining Washington Division of URS Corp., Georgia-Pacific, General Electric Co., U.S. Postal Service, Dow Chemical Co. and Fluor Corp. (Editor’s note: All of these companies, with the exception of the U.S. Postal Service, have been named America’s Safest Companies by EHS Today, formerly Occupational Hazards magazine.)
“Our focus is on providing a safe and healthy workplace and ensure that everyone who comes in contact with our operations returns home safely each night,” said Chuck Harrington, Parsons CEO. “We are honored that OSHA has accepted Parsons as one of the first companies into their Corporate Pilot Program.”
With 11,500 employees worldwide, Parsons Corp. is one of the world's largest engineering and construction firms. Parsons employs more than 3,500 contractors, which allows the company to influence the safety and health of an even larger number of employees. Currently, the Pasadena, Calif.-based company has seven active OSHA VPP sites.