AF Research Lab personnel begin VPP journey Published April 6, 2009 By Daryl Mayer 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) -- Building on an already strong culture of safety, Air Force Research Laboratory personnel began the process recently to incorporate the Voluntary Protection Program into all levels of the organization. Since its inception by Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials in the early 1980s, VPP has recognized "best in class" worksite representatives for their attention to the health and safety of their workforce. VPP is credited throughout industry for dramatic reductions in workplace accidents and the associated costs in terms of both dollars and human tragedy. During a briefing in the AFRL Headquarters March 30, Lt. Col. Wade Weisman, from the office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics, explained the VPP gap analysis process to the AFRL leaders. He found a strong advocate in Maj. Gen. Curtis Bedke, AFRL commander, who had experience with VPP in a prior command at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. "I've seen it work and I believe in it," General Bedke said. "This program has a 25-year record of success in industry, so it is proven. This is nothing but good." The gap analysis process, Colonel Weisman explained, identifies areas needing improvement to meet VPP standards. In many cases, the improvements may be as small as tweaking standard reporting under the Air Force Safety Program to meet VPP standards. Once sufficient gap-closure progress is made, units can apply for an OSHA evaluation for Star status, the highest level of recognition in VPP. "This isn't an inspection where you correct items and 30 days later you're done," Colonel Weisman said. "This is about changing a culture, and that takes time." In December 2008, the 88th Air Base Wing here became the first active-duty Air Force unit to receive the Star award. General Bedke was quick to put a human perspective on the program. "We're not doing this to get awards or save money or to see our stats go down," he said. "We're doing this so that every night all our people go home with their body parts intact. We are doing this because we care about our people and we don't want them to get hurt or killed." As part of the analysis, representatives from the DOD Center of Excellence visited the headquarters element, the 711th Human Performance Wing and four technology directorates that comprise the AFRL units on Wright-Patterson. The team members observed work centers and conducted interviews with employees. In addition, Colonel Weisman personally interviewed senior leaders from each unit. The work center visits are less about finding "safety discrepancies" and more about gauging the general attitude of the work force. The team is more interested in seeing how people take the initiative to identify and correct potential mishaps or unsafe conditions, Colonel Weisman said. "This is not a compliance inspection," the colonel said. "We want to see the response if we do find something. Is it immediately resolved?" Such an evaluation gets right to the core of the management and employee involvement, one of the four key elements of VPP. "Every single person has a role to play in VPP," General Bedke said. "There has to be involvement up and down the chain of command and at all levels of the organization. I desire and expect full cooperation. "I think it is important to recognize that we aren't starting VPP to fix something that is broken," he said. "AFRL already has a great safety culture. Nonetheless, recognizing that we can always get better and that VPP has such a strong record of success -- why wouldn't we do it? Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page