71 FTW, CSC take first steps in Vance VPP journey

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Agneta Murnan
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  The 71st Flying Training Wing partnered with its primary contractor, CSC Applied Technologies L.L.C., last week to take the first official steps in implementing the Air Force's Voluntary Protection Program -- a commander's program which involves the voluntary performance of personnel across the base in ground safety excellence.

A five-person Air Force VPP team from the Department of Defense VPP Center for Excellence led by Vance Lineberger, Deputy for Safety from the office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary (Energy, Environment, Safety & Occupational Health), spent the week at the base conducting the "assessment phase," the first of the VPP's six phases in the program's implementation. This phase involved briefings with Wing and squadron leadership, worksite assessments, senior leader and employee interviews, and two Wing-wide commander's calls held Wednesday, July 29 in the Base Auditorium here.

The VPP complements the existing Wingman culture and Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century processes, and builds on the current Air Force Occupational Safety and Health program to preserve combat power by decreasing injuries and illnesses, lost days and worker's compensation.

"The United States Air Force needs to mature the Wingman concept in ground safety," said Mr. Lineberger. "By identifying and eliminating workplace hazards and inefficiencies, we can drive down preventable mishaps and recover lost mission capability."

While the team conducted 31 work place safety assessments and 28 formal interviews, Mr. Lineberger highlighted that "this was only snapshot assessment... not a compliance evaluation." The focus, according to Mr. Lineberger, was "improvement on the margin."

At the conclusion of the assessment, findings were uploaded into a secure Web-based tracking system, and analysis was presented to Wing leadership on the 'gap' between the base's current performance and 'Star' performance.

"The established goal for Vance AFB is Star Status, which is official recognition that we have a "world-class' occupational safety and health culture according to OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] standards," said VPP Installation Coordinator, Maj. Ben Merritt, also Assistant Chief of Wing Safety at Vance. "As a base-line, we already have 36 percent of the VPP elements rated as 'world-class', 46 percent in progress and 18 percent new requirements. We are off to a good start. The AF team specifically highlighted our personnel's attitude, initiative, communication, leadership, contractor oversight and the overall cleanliness of our facilities."

Major Merritt will lead the base's VPP Implementation Team to develop an action plan and timelines to bring the Wing's safety and health performance up to VPP standards. The execution of that plan could take between 18 months and two years.

CSC was also assessed by Mr. Lineberger's team during the visit, but will be treated as a separate organization in terms of achieving Star status.

"Last week the base embraced a new paradigm in safety," said Col. Chris Nowland, 71st Flying Training Wing commander. "When we strive for excellence in minimizing preventable work-force mishaps, we are maximizing excellence in our mission performance. VPP will help us achieve excellence across all aspects of Vance operations in the long term."

On its way to Star status, Vance Air Force Base will undergo the planning phase, the execution phase, a mid-course assessment, a major command mock audit, an audit conducted by OSHA for VPP status certification, and a three year sustainment phase should the base receive star status.