{"200551":{"#nid":"200551","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Professional Education\u0027s OSHA Program Awards Certificates to 18 Robins Air Force Base Employees","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Professional Education has awarded occupational safety and health certificates to 18 employees at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Ga., extending Georgia Tech\u2019s relationship with the U.S. Air Force.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Robins employees completed a series of courses to earn the professional certificates, which were awarded in late February.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Professional Education partnered with Georgia Tech Research Institute, the university\u2019s applied research arm, to offer the training at Robins. For more than 30 years, Georgia Tech\u2019s occupational safety and health program has helped keep workers safe, growing to offer 43 short courses, eight professional certificates and customized training.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are proud to offer our depth of experience and knowledge of OSHA regulations in this partnership with Robins Air Force Base. By learning onsite, the employees have received certificates from a major engineering school recognized nationally and internationally,\u201d said Daniel J. Ortiz, M.P.H., C.S.P., manager of GTRI\u2019s Occupational Safety and Health Program Office.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe training program saved the base $237,000 in travel and other costs and resulted in new safety programs implemented across the facility, according to David Decker with the 78th Air Base Wing Safety Office at Robins. The 78th Air Base Wing, OSHA and the American Federation of Government Employees Local 987 were essential to Georgia Tech Professional Education\u2019s ability to provide the training.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is a critical partnership,\u201d said Brig. Gen. Cedric George, commander of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex. \u201cI know it wasn\u0027t easy. Georgia Tech doesn\u0027t do easy.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2011, Robins reached out to GTRI professionals, who are Georgia Tech Professional Education instructors, for assistance with occupational safety and health. Safety is a priority at the installation, which has more than 20,000 civilian and military personnel in a variety of careers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Professional Education instructors worked with senior leadership from the 78th Air Base wing and from the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex (WR-ALC), which provides depot level maintenance for USAF aircraft and systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeginning with two courses in occupational safety and health, Georgia Tech Professional Education and GTRI formed a relationship with Robins around the need to develop and implement a safety management system. An additional nine courses, including the OSHA Guide to Industrial Hygiene and Machinery and Machine Guarding Standards, were taught on base, helping employees earn the certificates.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe courses included classroom lectures and hands-on training. The instructors incorporated challenges Robins employees faced into the class material.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe were able to use examples based on our experience at Robins,\u201d said James B. Howry, senior research associate at GTRI\u2019s Electronic Systems Laboratory. \u201cWe integrated our subject matter expertise as we understood their challenges.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe savings to the taxpayer was \u201ctremendous,\u201d said Roger Hayes, chief of WR-ALC Safety, who leads a team of30 safety professionals overseeing over 16,000 workers. He estimates he was able to spend about $4,000 on one course for 20 employees, instead of paying $1,500 per employee to attend a course away from the base.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe relationship with Robins Air Force Base is a great example of how Georgia Tech Professional Education can meet an organization\u2019s specific needs and provide affordable training by bringing courses to worksites,\u201d said Myrtle I. Turner, Ph.D., M.P.H., C.E.T., director of Georgia Tech\u2019s OSHA Training Institute Education Center, which is one of four original centers across the U.S.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring the February ceremony at Robins, 17 employees were awarded an Industrial Safety and Health Certificate, and one individual received a Construction Safety and Health Certificate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRobins Air Force Base respected and identified with the professional credentials that come with a certificate from Georgia Tech,\u201d Howry added.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe program also offered the opportunity to further strengthen safety education, while continuing to improve work processes and assist employees.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s been awesome,\u0022 said Lt. Col. Nate Tart, of the 78th Air Base Wing. \u0022With such a diverse group of people in the course, it helped make it a better experience. Some of us have a flight safety background, and it was good to hear the industrial safety perspective.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHaving the opportunity to earn a professional certificate from a prestigious university shows an employer\u2019s dedication and commitment to safety and the workforce, said Robert Tidwell, 402nd Commodities Maintenance Group aircraft sheet metal mechanic and an American Federation of Government Employees Local 987 safety representative.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen I\u2019m out in the workforce, I can offer insight and help resolve safety concerns or put out safety issues that will potentially keep people from getting hurt,\u201d he said. \u201cOur ultimate goal is safety for our workforce.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp align=\u0022center\u0022\u003E###\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Professional Education partnered with Georgia Tech Research Institute, the university\u2019s applied research arm, to offer the training at Robins. For more than 30 years, Georgia Tech\u2019s occupational safety and health program has helped keep workers safe, growing to offer 43 short courses, eight professional certificates and customized training.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27373","created_gmt":"2013-03-19 09:55:23","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:51","author":"Nikki Troxclair","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-03-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-03-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1258","name":"Professional Education"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"42911","name":"Education"},{"id":"139","name":"Business"},{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2633","name":"Air Force"},{"id":"38531","name":"Georgia Tech Professional Education"},{"id":"416","name":"GTRI"},{"id":"525","name":"military"},{"id":"61971","name":"Occupational Safety and Health"},{"id":"7554","name":"OSHA"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENikki Troxclair, APR\u003Cbr \/\u003E912-966-7913\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["ntroxclair@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}