EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Nov. 7, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Operating sites of Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Integrated Systems sector have been recognized for meeting stringent international industry standards for environmental management and employee health and safety.
Sites in El Segundo, Palmdale and Rancho Bernardo, Calif., and Moss Point, Miss., received International Standards Organization (ISO) 14001 certification for environmental management.
In addition, the Rancho Bernardo and Moss Point locations received the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001 certification for managing health and safety in the workplace.
These "seals of approval" were issued by Advanced Waste Management Systems, an accredited third-party registrar, after rigorous certification audits conducted over multiple days at each site in Oct. 2006.
The certification audits assessed Northrop Grumman's integration of business management practices with operational practices, corrective action programs and management review. They also assessed employees' awareness of company policies on environmental management and health and safety.
"Northrop Grumman takes seriously its responsibility to be a good environmental citizen and provide a safe, productive workplace for its employees," said Gary W. Ervin, sector vice president of Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems' Western Region business unit. "In addition, we're proud that our employees realize that their personal actions can make a difference."
ISO, the world's largest developer of standards, is a network of international standards institutes from more than 140 countries working in partnership with international organizations, governments, industry and business and consumer representatives. The standards include the ISO 9000 for quality and ISO 14000 for environmental management, as well as some 14,000 international standards for business, government and society.
OHSAS 18000 is an international specification for occupational health and safety management. Certification under the specification's 18001 section recognizes the commitment of the organization's top management to workplace health and safety.
The company's El Segundo facility serves as the headquarters of Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems and the sector's Western Region business unit. Major programs include the F-35 Lightning II (as a principal teammate to Lockheed Martin), the F/A-18 Super Hornet (as principal subcontractor to Boeing), and an advanced radar system for the U.S. Air Force. The site is also a major advanced development center for the company.
The Palmdale facility, one of the sector's manufacturing centers, assembles the center fuselage section of the F-35 for Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor, and is the final assembly site of the company's RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance system. In addition, the site serves as the airframe maintenance depot for the B-2 stealth bomber, which was also assembled there.
The company's Unmanned Systems Development Center in Rancho Bernardo is home to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs such as Global Hawk, MQ-8B Fire Scout, X-47 Unmanned Combat Air System, MQ-5B Hunter and aerial targets.
The Moss Point facility is an assembly site for portions of the Fire Scout, Global Hawk and Hunter UAVs.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense company headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. Northrop Grumman provides technologically advanced, innovative products, services and solutions in systems integration, defense electronics, information technology, advanced aircraft, shipbuilding and space technology. With more than 120,000 employees and operations in all 50 states and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.