ATLANTA, Georgia (March 22, 2001) - The Institute of Paper Science and Technology has improved its safety record every year since 1993. The Institute is required to track all work related injuries and illnesses, which are key indicators of our safety performance. From this information we calculate the OSHA Injury and Illness Incidence Rate per 100 full time employees.

President Ferris said, "When I first came to IPST, we were reporting an Incidence Rate of about 4.0 and I considered that far above an acceptable level. By comparison, industrial research and testing organizations were averaging about 3.2 on the same scale, while all universities were averaging 3.9. This data said we were average for an academic environment but not as good as the equivalent industrial performance in a similar work environment. To benchmark our performance with some detail, we invited safety professionals from Westvaco to come to IPST and evaluate us. They did this and their report was helpful in motivating us to improve our safety performance."

In the intervening five years, all Institute employees joined in the effort to improve safety performance and we have made dramatic progress. Each year the OSHA Incidence Rate has decreased and for the year just completed, we have been able to report a 1.20 Incidence Rate. The other two benchmark groups have improved their performance as well, but not nearly as much as the Institute has. While we reduced the rate from 4.0 in 1995 to 1.2 in 2000, the average of all universities decreased from 3.9 in 1995 to 3.2 in 1999. Research and testing groups reduced their rate from 3.2 in 1995 to 2.6 in 1999.

Such a continuous and significant improvement in safety cannot be accomplished without the full support of all employees. The IPST Faculty, Staff, and Students deserve much credit for this outstanding achievement. Dorothy Farina NRCC-CHO, Regulatory Activities Coordinator, said, "I'm very pleased with the success of our safety program. With strong support from our senior administrators; we've dramatically increased our safety awareness here at IPST. It's significant that we've lowered our incidence rate every year." Dr. Gary Baum, VP of Research and Academic Affairs said, "Having Dorothy Farina as full time safety coordinator has made this improvement possible. Dorothy's commitment to safety development and training and her personal presence have been key catalysts for our success."