Georgia-Pacific’s Lebanon corrugated facility in Tennessee has been recognized for workplace safety by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA).
The site recently received the Volunteer Safety Through Accountability and Recognition (STAR) Award, the state’s highest honor for workplace safety and health.
This marks the fourth time the Lebanon facility has earned the recognition. The site first received STAR certification in 2010.
The Volunteer STAR program is modeled after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). Participation confirms that a company’s safety program helps reduce workplace accidents and injuries. According to TOSHA, there are currently 33 Volunteer STAR sites in Tennessee.
Georgia-Pacific says the recognition reflects its Path to Zero Safety Strategy, which focuses on leadership engagement, learning from operational incidents and addressing critical workplace hazards.
The strategy combines Principle Based Management (PBM), the company’s management philosophy, with Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) concepts. These approaches emphasize continuous improvement and encourage employees to identify risks and contribute to safety solutions on the production floor.
The company also focuses on reducing high-risk hazards that historically lead to severe injuries. These include interactions between mobile equipment and pedestrians, falls, chemical exposure, thermal releases, fires, explosions and the unexpected release of stored energy during equipment operation or maintenance.
Georgia-Pacific says employee participation plays a key role in maintaining a safe manufacturing environment. The company encourages teams to identify hazards and implement practical improvements to prevent incidents.
The safety program is also aligned with the Koch Safety Vision, which aims to build the capability of all employees to recognize and address hazards so that no one is seriously injured or killed at work.
Georgia-Pacific manufactures tissue, pulp, paper, packaging and building products. The company operates more than 150 facilities and is a subsidiary of Koch Industries.
Source: Georgia-Pacific
