Delta Receives OSHA Voluntary Protection Programs Star Site for Cincinnati Reservations Call Center

Designation brings total Delta sites to receive U.S. Agency's highest recognition for workplace safety to 16

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May 16, 2014, 10:00 ET

CINCINNATI, May 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration today recognized Delta Air Lines' (NYSE: DAL) customer engagement call center in Cincinnati as its newest Voluntary Protection Programs Star site. Delta — the first major airline participant in the VPP program — now operates 16 locations across the United States with the Star site designation.

To meet OSHA VPP requirements, the customer engagement center successfully completed a multipoint safety and health analysis as well as an intensive on-site inspection by OSHA staff, which included proactive measures to prevent fatalities, injuries and illnesses through a system focused on management commitment and employee involvement, hazard prevention and control, worksite analysis and safety and health training.

Additionally, Delta's Cincinnati team recently implemented a thorough ergonomics program that includes evaluations of every employee in the customer engagement center on an annual basis. Daily stretching and sit/stand workstations are encouraged to increase circulation and reduce static loading on muscles and tendons.

"Safety is Delta's top priority and this includes both the safety of our customers and our employees," said Allison Ausband, Delta's vice president – Reservation Sales and Customer Care. "We are very proud of our Cincinnati customer engagement center team for embodying our commitment to safety day in and day out, which has allowed them to receive this important recognition."

The airline began participating in the VPP program in 2001 when its 2.7 million-square-feet Atlanta Technical Operations facility became the first aircraft maintenance base in the industry to earn Star site status. Other locations with Star status include additional facilities in Atlanta; Augusta, Ga.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Columbus, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Melbourne, Fla.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Dayton, Ohio; Denver; St. Louis and Savannah, Ga. Additionally, Delta's wholly owned subsidiary DAL Global Services maintains Star status at Columbus, Ohio; Colorado Springs, Colo. and Jacksonville, Fla.

OSHA's VPP is an initiative designed to recognize workplaces with outstanding safety systems and performance. Less than one percent of the 10 million work sites in the United States share this distinction. In VPP management, employees and OSHA establish cooperative relationships at workplaces that have implemented a comprehensive safety and health management system and have achieved an exemplary record of occupational safety and health among their employees.

Delta Air Lines serves nearly 165 million customers each year. This year, Delta was named the 2014 Airline of the Year by Air Transport World magazine and was named to FORTUNE magazine's top 50 Most Admired Companies in addition to being named the most admired airline for the third time in four years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 322 destinations in 59 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a newly formed joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta, Facebook.com/delta and Delta's blog takingoff.delta.com.