First Air Force VPP mock audit underway at Hanscom Published March 26, 2008 By 1st Lt. Geoff Buteau 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs HANSCOM AFB, Mass. -- The Air Force's first Voluntary Protection Program mock audit, taking place at Hanscom, began March 24 with a formal welcome to the evaluators at the Hanscom Conference Center. The team gave an overview of the week's mock-audit activities and detailed to base leadership and VPP team members in attendance how the mock audit relates to applying for an OSHA [Occupational Health and Safety Administration] VPP on-site review. The mock audit ends March 28 and officially closes with an out-brief April 11. "We are going through the elements of a site review, just as OSHA would," said Lt. Col. Wade Weisman, from the Secretary of the Air Force's office of Installations, Environment and Logistics, and also part of the mock audit team. The mock audit Colonel Weisman and his team are conducting is designed to measure the robustness of Hanscom's VPP efforts, and therefore the overall safety of Hanscom as a work site. This is all in preparation for when OSHA conducts their on-site review; that date has not yet been determined. Colonel Weisman said March 26, midway through his team's visit, that he and his team were pleased to see how broadly the VPP reaches throughout all the different organizations here. "The VPP team leads aren't just in one office," he said, "but are spread out and integrated through the organization, and that's exciting to us." Joining Colonel Weisman on the inspection board are Chuck Pyron, Air Force Materiel Command Safety office; and Dave Caswell, Denny Ritko and Doug Meyers, Defense Department VPP Center of Excellence. Mr. Pyron has worked with OSHA on the Air Force Major Command level and Mr. Caswell has experience working with OSHA in the New England region. During the mock audit, they evaluate the "Three P's," which Colonel Weisman said are "paper, people and places." Paper: The team inspects all safety documents and policies; many are contained in the Hanscom Safety Office or on the Intranet. People: The mock audit team interviews personnel representing all wings and senior leadership. They focus on perceptions and effectiveness of the installation safety and health performance. Places: They visit various work sites to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and determine if the safety practices outlined in guidance and discussed by personnel are put in practice in the workplace. Though Colonel Weisman admits the site visits are what make people most nervous, the goal of this process is to match what is written and what people are saying to what is actually happening. He also said it's not necessarily about being perfect. If there is a problem, the inspection team will evaluate the organization's ability to address it. If there is a system in place to fix those problems when they arise, said the colonel, "that's just as important as having it perfect." The significance of this training is to become an OSHA Star-certified site, said Rolen Johns, 66th Air Base Wing Safety Office director. "Safety is good here at Hanscom, but VPP program enhances it." Star-certifications and good safety scores aside, Mr. Johns said it comes down to people being safe while they're working at Hanscom.