VPP reemphasizes safety practices at Vance

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Katherine Roling
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Vance Lineberger, Deputy for Safety from the office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary (Energy, Environment, Safety & Occupational Health), visited Vance July 13 to brief commanders about the Voluntary Protection Program. The program is a performance-based safety process and builds on the programs the base already has in place.

"The VPP, at its heart, is a recognition program designed to recognize high performance and safety management programs," said Mr. Lineberger. "It's voluntary because companies volunteer to work above and beyond just compliance."

At an Air Force base, safety is not just an issue on the flight-line - offices present unique hazards to personnel.

"Slips, trips and falls are the biggest cause of lost time in the Air Force," said Mr. Lineberger.

Simple things, he said, like securing loose wires, avoiding tall ladders, fixing rolled-up carpets, wiping up wet spots and closing file drawers can lower injuries in the workplace.

When Mr. Lineberger checked the Air Force Safety Automated System in 2008, he found that every day for the last 10 years, more than 160 employees missed work due to an occupational injury or illness in the Air Force.

"I had over 2,200 active duty injuries - over 30,000 lost duty days - but that is only what was reported in the system. I don't have a lot of confidence that low-level injuries are reported," he said.

The Air Force has a good compliance-based safety and health program, and it has a mature wingman and weapons safety culture, said Mr. Lineberger.

"However, the Air Force needs to mature the wingman concept in ground safety," he said. "We want to focus on trying to drive that culture that is very mature on the weapons and flight line side across the installation."

Mr. Lineberger's next visit to Vance AFB is scheduled for July 27 to July 31. That week, he will bring four contractors from the Department of Defense who specialize in safety, occupational health and the VPP.

They will assess the safety culture of areas like aircraft maintenance, civil engineering and fire services.

According to Mr. Lineberger, the panel is not visiting to look specifically for compliance issues, but instead will look at overall safety and health and allow the supervisors to pick and choose what needs fixing right away.

"They'll be there to assess the safety and health culture of the organization by observing workers doing their jobs in the workshop and talking about the processes they use," said Mr. Lineberger.

"Ultimately, the VPP is about improving Vance and making our operations better. This will allow our people to feel empowered so they are more efficient at work and accountable for their actions," said Col. Chris Nowland, 71st Flying Training Wing commander.

Mr. Lineberger has visited many on-site locations to study their safety programs. He provided various safety examples from previous visits.

"At one location, the supervisor had a very good program," said Mr. Lineberger. "His shop was pristine and I wouldn't be afraid to drop something on the floor and pick it up and still use it.

"But we were sitting there, and all of a sudden this gentleman walked in with a six-foot step ladder and set it up to change a light bulb. He walked up and stood at the top of the ladder, which is a big 'no-no' because at that point you're unstable," he said. "So I looked at him and invited him off the ladder. Then I looked at the supervisor and asked 'What about him?' The supervisor's response was, 'Oh, that's (Civil Engineering), he's not mine.'

"The thought process 'I don't own him, I don't supervise him' is the wrong attitude. Mission capability is lost somewhere if he gets injured," said Mr. Lineberger.

The ultimate goal with the VPP is STAR status, which is the highest level of recognition in the program. According to Mr. Lineberger, the 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth, Minn. and the 88th Air Base Wing in Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio have already achieved STAR status.

To achieve STAR status, an initial inspection will be completed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Hazards found will be documented for correction by the respective units. An inspection team will revisit the organization in three years. OSHA looks for continuous
improvements; after the first validation, the organization will get another visit every three to five years said Mr. Lineberger.

Vance AFB is not expected to accomplish the blending of the VPP into existing programs on its own. A nearby mentor will be assigned to the base, and the mentor has to be a STAR site.

"We're very fortunate that our contract partners, CSC and its subcontractors, are all on-board with us and are going to start moving simultaneously with us to accomplish the mission of the VPP. But, it will take time," said Colonel Nowland.