ASC completes Voluntary Protection Program audit

  • Published
  • By Daryl Mayer
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  The Aeronautical Systems Center has completed the Voluntary Protection Program audit process putting the unit in position to be the third Wright-Patterson organization recommended for Star status, the pinnacle of VPP recognition.

"I'm very appreciative of the hard work the VPP team has put into this program," said Lt. Gen. Jack Hudson, ASC commander. "We have some 20,000 people that conduct business on the base here every day. We are growing more people who are engaged and enthusiastic about safety across the base and we will soon have 20,000 safety officers coming to work every day. That is what we are aiming for."

The 88th Air Base Wing Command Staff was the first active-duty organization to achieve Star status in December 2008. Since that time, the 88th Medical Group has completed the audit process and is awaiting a formal response to their application for Star status.

During the audit process, representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration team with safety professionals to do work center site surveys, review safety records and interview 10 percent of work center employees. Due to the workload involved in the audit, the base has partnered with local OSHA officials to evaluate Wright-Patterson in manageable chunks.

This ASC audit, which was conducted from June 16 to 18, covered approximately 70 personnel in the command staff units including the Commander's Action Group, History Office and the Equal Employment Office.

In his outbrief to General Hudson, Dale Henderson, the audit team lead from the regional OSHA office in Cincinnati, sounded pleased with the results.

"People here understand this is not only good for work, but good for home too. Generally when you've reached that point you have crested the hill," Mr. Henderson said.

"This really is a story about continuous improvement, one of the key tenets in VPP," said Ryan Sites, ASC VPP Coordinator. "We're not looking to get Star status and be done; we're looking to change the culture."

Part of that culture change includes going from a participatory system rather than the traditional compliance based safety programs. The participation doesn't stop with any career field or status. Government employees, contractors, active duty - everyone needs to be involved.

Illustrating that point is the strong partnership between management and union. Anthony Snider has been detailed to work in the 88 ABW VPP office as the face of Local 1138 of the American Federation of Government Employees.

"We're here not only to ensure employees are represented, but to also let leadership know that the union is backing them in this effort," Mr. Snider said. "This is a very important step."

For now, the audit report including Mr. Henderson's recommendation for Star status will be sent for approval to the OSHA office in Chicago and then onto Washington for final approval. The results are expected sometime this summer.