Hazard Report tools help personnel identify, report safety concerns

  • Published
  • By Rhonda Siciliano
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HANSCOM AFB, Mass. --  Last fall, the 66th Air Base Wing Safety Office launched a new tool for base personnel to easily report a safety hazard. Since that time the Hazard Report button found on the ESC Centernet has received 82 reports through the online system.

"It's great to see that people are utilizing the Hazard Report button," said Michael Trudeau, 66th Air Base Wing Safety Office. "We wanted to ensure people had an easy way to report safety hazards and get problems corrected. The online tool gives everyone that ability plus it allows the user to monitor actions being taken to correct the hazard if an immediate fix is not possible."

"While the online tool is a great way to raise safety concerns to the ABW Safety Office, an even faster way to correct some concerns can involve utilizing the chain of command to report a hazard in their own work area or building first," Mr. Trudeau said. "Often safety hazards can be easily resolved by working with your supervisor or facility manager to make them aware of a problem. We've seen some great examples across the base of how people were able to address a safety problem or concern with their supervisor or facility manager and together they worked to get the problem corrected. That's what our Voluntary Protection Program is all about," Mr. Trudeau said.


In addition to the online tool, people also have several other options for reporting safety hazards. One newly established option is calling the (781) 377-SAFE or (781) 377-7233 Safety Concern line. Like the online tool, the Safety Concern line is a direct line to the Safety Office. Callers can leave a message and get the same results as the online tool. The other option is the AF Form 457, USAF Hazard Report, which is the Air Force's method of formally reporting a hazard. These forms and the instructions on how to fill them out are posted on every safety bulletin board across the base.

Empowering base personnel to report and correct hazards is something that Mr. Trudeau said he hopes every person on base takes seriously and is one of the key concepts of the Voluntary Protection Program, which Hanscom is implementing.

The Hazard Report Button on the Centernet has been a successful way for people to easily identify hazards across the base. "It works well, it's simple and convenient for people to use," Mr. Trudeau said.

Pushing the button does more than just notify the Safety Office. When people report a hazard online, it generates a report to the Safety Office and to the facility manager in charge of the building or location where the hazard has been spotted. "Having instant communication between the Safety Office and a facility manager is invaluable." said Mr. Trudeau. "Linking the two really makes a difference when it comes to getting hazards resolved." he said.

The Safety Office researches the concern and then prioritizes the reports based on the severity of the hazard. The facility manager takes corrective actions or creates a work order and tracks it until the hazard is eliminated. "Hazards that impact the immediate safety of personnel are considered an emergency and fixed quickly," he said.

Under VPP, which was created by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 1982 and formally introduced to the Hanscom community in May 2006, worker safety and health, and the identification and elimination of hazards by involving employees and managers in the process are top priorities.

For more information contact the 66th Air Base Wing Safety Office at (781) 377-5136 or your Wing's VPP team leader.

66 ABW: Italia Minchello (781) 377-6560; 350th ELSW: 1Lt. Scott Ostrow, (781) 266-0529; 551st ELSW: MSgt. Shawn Perrine, (781) 377-1012; 554th ELSW: Galen Williams, (781) 377-4226; 653rd ELSW: Bill Bassett, (781) 377-0299.