Xilinx Receives OHSAS 18001 Certification For Conformance To Highest Level Of Health And Safety Management Procedures
San Jose, CA - Xilinx, Inc. recently announced it has been certified by SGS to have met OHSAS 18001, an international specification for occupational health and safety procedures and systems. The certification encompasses the company's major facilities in San Jose, Calif.; Dublin, Ireland; and Singapore, and underscores Xilinx's commitment to the highest levels of social responsibility company wide. The certification adds to an already strong commitment to employee safety, an effort that has resulted in a 70% drop in injury rate over the past three years.
Created through a concerted effort from a number of the world's leading national standards bodies, certification bodies, and specialist consultancies, OHSAS 18001 is intended to help organizations control occupational health and safety risks. It was developed in response to widespread demand for a recognized standard against which to be certified and assessed.
"Employees health and safety is the highest priority for Xilinx on a global basis and we want to ensure that we take every step possible to make that a way of life within the company. The certification process of OHSAS 18001 was an excellent experience for us to go through and benchmark our systems again the world's best. We are proud of the extreme thoroughness of this process and intend to maintain our compliance through rigorous enforcement of health and safety practices," said Vincent Tong, senior vice president, worldwide quality and new product introduction. "We are proud of the fact that between 2004 and 2007 we saw a 70% reduction in employee injury rate. We expect that the systems in place as a result of the OHSAS 18001 certification process will improve that number further."
The OHSAS 18001 certification process at Xilinx took more than 18 months and required detailed analysis of potential risk areas within the company, including the operation of the physical plant, test operations, failure analysis, reliability engineering, engineering labs, warehouses, finished goods, and information technology. Particular attention was paid to areas such as computer ergonomics, manual handling, electrical safety, chemical safety, and fire prevention.
The certification process also required compliance to a number of specific criteria, including:
- A published Environmental, Health & Safety Policy
- A schedule of objectives for continual improvement
- Emergency response programs to deal with emergencies that might arise at each location
- Training programs for employees
- Documented safety programs and operational controls to reduce the risk of injury to employees
- Internal audit programs
SOURCE: Xilinx, Inc.