7/25/2019 1too_many

1/2

FROMTHE DESK OF

42 ORBIT [Vol .26 No.2 2006]

Our General Manager for services, Jim

Junker, probably summed it up best: In

the industries we serve, you either dem-

onstrate that you can perform the work

safely, or you become a potential liability issue for our

customers. In short, you dont get invited back. Its

that simple.

Our customers understand that just one Environment

Health and Safety (EHS) event is one too many. Whensomething goes awry in a plant, the public and the

media generally dont distinguish whether it was the

plants own employees or contractorsthe plant takes

the brunt of the criticism. It only takes a second to erode

years of credibility and good will for our customers and

ourselves.

Thats why at GE, EHS is more than just a fundamental

responsibility to our employees and shareholders

its a smart business practice that adds value to our

customers by protecting their reputations as well as ourown. Our goal is to continue to improve availability, job

efficiency, and the time it takes to get your equipment

back into service.

To ensure that GE Energy is delivering against your EHS

expectations, we take a proactive approach. Our service

team works with each customers EHS team through

pre-qualification programs, job risk assessments,

and on-going audits and inspections to ensure that

our team, and our subcontractors, follow a sites EHS

program and meet customer goals and expectations.

Our teams are devoted to finding ways to better meet

customer needs. Looking for synergies and ways to

eliminate redundancy for processes, procedures,

and training can reduce costs of compliance while

maintaining a high level of performance and quality.

Streamlining our internal EHS processes is another

mechanism that simplifies doing business with GE

Energy. We are developing consistent EHS policies

and training requirements and implementing a single

safety risk assessment tool. Our services businesses are

focused on delivering simple, safe, and efficient services

for you.

Another aspect of our approach involves proactive

EHS meetings with our customers. These meetings

are a platform to reinforce our EHS commitment and

to gain insight around our customers EHS needs and

expectations. In many instances, we have teamed with

customers to have best management practice sharing

sessions. Using technology like digital training, comput-

erized audit tracking, and action item closure reporting

to drive EHS ownership throughout our operating

teams has resulted in proven EHS performance that is

significantly better than industry norms.

Our Business Continuity and Pandemic Planning efforts

are a recent example of proactively delivering customer

value. One of the top priorities at GE Energy is maintain-

ing the continuity of our operations while protecting our

employees and customers around the world to ensure

that we can continue to meet our customers critical

needs in the event of a crisis. We recently performed a

business wide review and enhancement of our Business

Continuity Plan and crisis management preparedness.

The goal was to ensure that our business is adequately

prepared to respond to crisis such as a pandemic

outbreak of the avian influenza. We tested our current

plan and updated it to address the unique concerns and

challenges that would be associated with a global crisis.

Jeanne Fallon-CarineEHS Leader, Optimization and Control

GE Energy

jeanne.falloncarine@ge.com

When one event is one too many

7/25/2019 1too_many

2/2

FROMTHE DESK OF

[Vol .26 No.2 2006] ORBIT 43

The plan covers critical areas such as:

Critical business and IT systems identified, potential

failure modes assessed, contingency plans estab-

lished

Global travelingconsiders border closures, break-

down of public transportation and quarantines

Global communication plans and networks, cover-

ing local and distributed workforce

Succession and delegation of authority including

backup of key functional and business leadership

In-depth evaluation of mission critical suppliers and

their preparedness status

Work-from-home capability and remote access to

key systems and data

Significant and extended absences (20-50%); illness

prevention and response

Pandemic preparedness

Thats the differenceworking together with our custom-

ers to add value by making safety and environmental

compliance integral to everything we do for you.