Hanscom honored as star among stars

  • Published
  • By Peter Blackburn
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Hanscom has been recognized with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Voluntary Protection Program Star Among Stars award due to sustained low mishap rates and overall excellence in base safety practices.

Director of Safety Galen Williams stated that the award was not about individual effort, but rather a culmination of the actions of the base as a whole.

"The base won this award," said Mr. Williams, who does his best to be a facilitator and communicator for safety at Hanscom. "Our mission has increased throughout the base and we've still been able to keep our mishap numbers low."

Receiving the award is a big step toward Hanscom being recertified as a VPP Star Site in 2012 by OSHA, according to Mr. Williams. Hanscom was the first active duty installation to receive VPP Star Site certification by OSHA in 2009.

"VPP shows that our safety culture stands above and beyond most places in the industry," he said. "It's OSHA's recognition for an outstanding safety program and culture."

The Voluntary Protection Program was created by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 1982. It emphasizes worker safety and health, and the identification and elimination of hazards by involving employees and managers in the process.

The focus of VPP is to create successful health and safety programs by promoting active and meaningful employee involvement. Continued goals include hazard awareness, reduction of injuries, including workplace injuries and illnesses, lost work days and waste, as well as enhancing efficiency and streamlining workplace processes.

Hanscom, union leadership members and the 66th Air Base Group Safety Office were recently honored at the Region 1 VPP Conference on Cape Cod, Mass., where they accepted the OSHA VPP award.

For more OSHA VPP information and safety tips, go to the CenterNet home page and click on the safety links at the bottom, left side of the page or visit www.hanscom.af.mil/vppinaction.