SAVANNAH, GA – The General Dynamics Aviation Services center in West Palm Beach, FL, recently received the FAA 2008 AMT Diamond Certificate of Excellence award. It is the seventh consecutive year the facility has been honored with the distinction.
In addition, a record 44 General Dynamics Aviation Services-West Palm Beach employees earned the FAA's Diamond Award for individuals. The facility had 42 Diamond Award winners in 2007. The AMT program was established in 1992 to recognize FAA-certified aviation mechanics and their employers for participating in supplemental aviation maintenance training and other continuing-education courses.
The Diamond Certificate is the highest of the FAA's five award levels. Each level is based on the hours of qualifying aircraft maintenance training each member of the aviation maintenance workforce receives during the year. Examples of approved training include FAA and industry training seminars and on-the-job technical training or college-level courses in mathematics, science or management.
Individual Diamond Award requirements include completion of a college-level three-credit course in an applicable field and one of the following: a 10-day aviation maintenance course, 58 hours of maintenance training, or 15 hours of teaching maintenance training.
"The technicians at General Dynamics Aviation Services-West Palm Beach continue to prove they are committed to training and to providing the best possible service," says Mark Burns, president, General Dynamics Aviation Services. "The time they have invested in courses and training ultimately results in satisfied customers. We are grateful to the FAA for recognizing them and their efforts."
The FAA also recognized Phil Panzarella, a service team manager at General Dynamics Aviation Services-West Palm Beach, for his role in spearheading the efforts of the local safety committee, which have greatly increased employee involvement in maintaining a hazard- and accident-free environment. These efforts have led to the site going at least 550 days without a recordable injury.
"This recognition reflects the commitment that both management and employees have in maintaining a safe work environment," says Burns.
