For Immediate Release
Contact: Ashley Hartman
Ashley.Hartman@ettp.doe.gov
(865) 574-7231
OAK RIDGE, Tennessee, May 29, 2017 – URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) was among 11 international winners of the annual Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) Innovation Awards at the Verdantix Summit in Houston where more than 200 delegates gathered to share best practices on how to improve EHS outcomes with innovative technologies.
The international awards recognize corporations for their successful EHS projects as well as strategic suppliers of software, equipment and services.
UCOR, an AECOM and CH2M joint venture, was named the Public Sector category winner. The award highlighted UCOR’s use of sensors, drones, telematics, wearables and Medgate occupational health and safety software in environmental remediation of the East Tennessee Technology Park, former home of the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, and other sites on the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation.
“The fact that the 2017 award winners are headquartered in France, Israel, Italy, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States shows the value of sharing best practices on an international basis,” Verdantix CEO David Metcalfe said. “This year we identified an increase in the innovative use of mobile apps, drones and analytics which shows how the EHS technology ecosystem is expanding.”
UCOR President and Project Manager Ken Rueter said the award underscores UCOR’s commitment to a strong safety culture and to identifying and incorporating innovative technologies that improve performance and reduce risks.
“Health and safety are foundations of our business approach, and we are honored to receive an award that recognizes the innovations used to ensure our employees remain healthy and injury-free,” said
Rueter. “This award belongs to our workforce, who drives the implementation of advanced technologies across our site. Our employees constantly evaluate how we do our work and look for ways to do the job better and with less risk to themselves and their co-workers.”
The EHS Innovation Awards are administered by the independent research firm Verdantix. Organizations seeking an award are required to complete a questionnaire detailing the key parameters of the project, the business results achieved and strategic suppliers (if any) involved. Finalists were selected and category winners were voted on by an independent judging panel.
