VPP recertification coming this fall

  • Published
  • By Mark Wyatt
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  This fall, the Hanscom safety community will again have an opportunity to demonstrate to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that employee safety and health remains a guiding principle here.

Scheduled for Nov. 26 through 30, OSHA will visit Hanscom to inspect the base for recertification as a Voluntary Protection Program Star Site. Hanscom originally received its VPP Star Site certification by OSHA in August 2009 and star site participants are reevaluated every three to five years.

According to OSHA's website, a star site is designed for worksites with comprehensive, successful safety and health management systems. Locations in the star site program have achieved injury and illness rates at or below the national average. Sites are also self-sufficient in their ability to control workplace hazards.

"VPP shows that our safety culture stands above and beyond most places in industry," said Galen Williams, 66th Air Base Group Safety Office director. "It's OSHA's recognition for an outstanding safety program and culture."

VPP was created by OSHA in 1982 and formally introduced to the Hanscom community in May 2006. The focus of VPP is to create successful health and safety programs by promoting active and meaningful communication between leadership, bargaining units and employee involvement in most safety processes.

Employee involvement can be as simple as attending safety meetings, putting on a safety training class, providing safety briefings or identifying hazards in the workplace.

"Getting employees involved and taking personal responsibility for their own safety is the key," said Williams. "The goal is for employees to return home the same way they came to work, and to ensure the safety processes and equipment that we have in place are safe."

VPP is built on four elements: management leadership and employee involvement, worksite analysis, hazard protection and control, and safety and health training.

In keeping with the four elements, the safety office recently traveled with a group of Hanscom leaders and employees to another star site, the General Electric aviation plant in Lynn, Mass., to see what programs they utilize to involve employees. General Electric was a mentor to Hanscom during the first VPP journey.

"Base leadership has seen a substantial turnover since our being awarded the star site in 2009," Williams said. "Our goal was to familiarize a new generation of Hanscom leaders on VPP and why it's important to the workforce. We went to a General Electric Safety, Health and Wellness Fair that was an 'employee run' program that focused on hazard protection and control and safety and health training."

Education is a fundamental principle in a workforce that is as transient as a military installation can be, according to Williams.

"Part of that education process is going on the HanscomNet and completing the VPP 101 course. It lays out all the principles and guidelines of VPP," he said.

The majority of VPP supporting activities are already in place in each organization, with benefits including reduced lost work days and injuries, a safety culture that promotes a better employee quality of life, pride and recognition as a an industry and Air Force leader in employee safety and health.

For more OSHA VPP information and safety tips, visit www.hanscom.af.mil/vppinaction/.