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Our commitment to workplace safety was first formalized as a corporate policy in 1967. Today, IBM’s safety record continues to be among the best in industry, as documented, for example, in the rates of illness and injury as measured by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The sale of IBM’s PC business to Lenovo continues IBM's transition from a company with a large manufacturing workforce to a company with a larger number of employees in services positions. Because of the changing nature of IBM's business, IBM has determined that the rate for all industries as a comparative norm for 2005 and beyond is appropriate.
A number of IBM sites in the United States have received OSHA’s highest recognition as Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star sites. They include IBM’s sites in Rochester, Minn.; San Jose, Calif.; Yorktown Heights, N.Y.; and Tucson, Arizona. Sites are re-evaluated every three to five years for continual improvement.
The chart below presents IBM U.S. rates, along with the rates for general industry. (u.s.work-related injury/illness rate comparisons)
These are the rates for total work-related injury/illness cases reported under the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Act. In addition to lost-time cases, they include cases that required medical treatment or restricted the employee’s work activity. Some numbers have been updated from prior years.
IBM has adopted the National Fire Protection Association's "Life Safety Code 101" or equivalent standards. Life safety review teams have been trained in each of the geographies where IBM has facilities. These teams review newly occupied buildings, both owned and leased, to ensure that life safety requirements are met. In 2005—in addition to ongoing evaluations at established research, development and manufacturing locations health and safety reviews were conducted in more than 130 locations globally. As a result of these reviews, numerous safety and health enhancements have been implemented.
When an illness or injury occurs, the objective is threefold: help restore the employee’s health as soon as possible, prevent further occurrence, and help support the employee during his or her time off from work. In many countries, IBM employees injured in the workplace are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.
In June of 2005, IBM was awarded a Platinum "Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles" award by the National Business Group on Health. This Platinum award, for established programs with measurable outcomes, is meant to recognize the urgent need to improve worker's health, productivity and quality of life.
IBM’s focus on workplace safety extends to contractors working on IBM premises and includes providing information regarding working safely, reviewing potentially high-risk work activities and, where concerns are identified, requiring that they be addressed by contractor management.
IBM’s safety record continues to be among the best in industry. The following table details the performance results of IBM's safety programs in a sampling of countries. IBM consistently demonstrates low workday case rates (a measurement of injury/illness severity and business impact).
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