The Leader - Autumn 2016 by VPPPA

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 4, AUTUMN 2016

LEADER THE

VOL 3. ISSUE 4 AUTUMN 2016

cover

CONTENTS

Turn your Smart Phone from a Toy to a Tool

Welcome to 21st century safety where mobile devices (smart phones and tablets) can be used for more than texting, navigating and catching Pokémon. Safety procedures, guidance documents, checklists, JSAs and more can be available for employees anytime, anywhere on any mobile device. In 2020, over 50 percent of the workforce will be Generation X and Generation Y; they have lived with mobile devices in their hands since childhood.

features

What’s New— Emerging Ergonomics Technology Despite past efforts, many organizations struggle to fully control “the ergonomics problems.” Ergonomics assessment tools are essential for understanding and controlling risk. However, practitioners often complain that the tools available to them are cumbersome, inaccurate, time consuming and do very little to guide risk mitigation. Ergonomics job analysis tools and the systems for their use need improvements.

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Workers Need to be Seen

www.vpppa.org

features continued

VPPPA National Board of Directors Chairperson Mike Guillory, SGE, The Brock Group

Exploring Innovative Technologies in PPE Applications

Vice Chairperson Rob Henson, LyondellBasell Treasurer Chris Adolfson, Idaho National Laboratory Secretary Terry Schulte, NuStar Energy, LP

Although personal protective equipment (PPE) is considered the least desirable method (as per OSHA’s hierarchy of controls) and therefore usually the least effective, is it possible to enhance the effectiveness of PPE through the use of technology? We recently posed this question to our senior management and challenged our team members to procure a solution to several of our problems where traditional PPE has been minimally effective.

Director from a Site With a Collective Bargaining Agent Don Johnson, Phillips 66 Director from a Site Without a Collective Bargaining Agent Richard McConnell, Austin Industrial at LyondellBasell Director from a DOE-VPP Site Stacy Thursby, AECOM Director from a VPP Contractor/ Construction Site Jamie Robey, CSP, SGE, The Brock Group

Designing Environments to Prevent Arc Flash At some point in our lives we have all heard, or perhaps stated, variations of the common phrase: “don’t worry about things you can’t control.” With respect to workplace electrical safety, there has been little change over the past 10 years in non-fatal injuries due to electricity. The issue isn’t a lack of awareness, intent or budget, it is a lack of effective action— focusing on protection before taking steps on prevention.

sections GLOBAL SAFETY AND HEALTH WATCH

INFOGRAPHIC CORNER

NATIONAL CONFERENCE WRAP-UP

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

MEMBER INFO CORNER

STATE-PLAN MONITOR

VPPPA REGION ROUND-UPS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Look for these topics highlighted in the top right corner of each section. G overnment Membership

Director-at-Large Jack Griffith, CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company Director-at-Large Dan Lazorcak, CSP, Honeywell International Director-at-Large J.A. Rodriguez, Jr., CSP, SGE , Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC Director-at-Large Kristyn Grow, CSP, CHMM, SGE Cintas Corporation Director-at-Large Kimberly Watson, Southwire Director-at-Large Carey West, The Mundy Companies Editor Sarah Neely, VPPPA, Inc. Associate Editor Jamie Mitchell, VPPPA, Inc. Editorial Mission The Leader (ISSN 1081-261X) is published quarterly for VPPPA members. The Leader delivers articles from members for members, safety and health best practices, developments in the field of occupational safety and health, association activities, educational and networking opportunities and the latest VPP approvals. Subscriptions are available for members as part of their membership benefits and at a 50 percent discount beyond the complimentary allotment. The nonmember subscription rate is $25 a year. Ideas and opinions expressed within The Leader represent the independent views of the authors.

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VPPPA, Inc., the premier global safety and health organization, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization that promotes advances in worker safety and health excellence through best practices and cooperative efforts among workers, employers, the government and communities.

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global safety and health watch

Pesticide Regulation: A Balancing Act BY JAMIE MITCHELL, COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR, VPPPA, INC.

ontroversy surrounds the practice of pesticide use in farming, making pesticide poisoning a global public health issue. While these chemicals do provide a variety of benefits, such as increasing crop production, preserving produce, repelling insects and controlling invasive plants, anyone can suffer from over-exposure to pesticides. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), “Approximately 1.1 billion pounds of pesticide active ingredient are used annually in the U.S., and over 17,000 pesticide products are being marketed in the U.S.” Also, an estimated three million acute pesticide poisonings happen worldwide each year. In developing nations, where pesticide control laws and training programs are often less rigorous, these poisonings are more frequent and serious. Whether you personally agree with the use of pesticides in farming or not, it is still important to be informed regarding the safety and health risks, as well as the legislation created to regulate these chemicals, and the effect these relationships have on the global agriculture industry, general public and the environment. In the U.S., pesticides are regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and must be registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Before the EPA will register a pesticide under FIFRA, the applicant must show that the use of this pesticide “will not generally cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment.” FIFRA defines the term “unreasonable adverse effects on the environment’’ to mean: “(1) any unreasonable risk to man or the environment, taking into account the economic, social and environmental costs and benefits of the use of any pesticide, or (2) a human dietary risk from residues that result from a use of a pesticide in or on any food inconsistent with

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the standard under section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.’’ While this standard applies to the U.S., it is not the case worldwide. Currently, pesticides that are not approved or registered for use in the U.S. can still be manufactured in the U.S. and exported to other countries. FIFRA Section 17(a) requires that the exporters of these unregistered pesticides obtain a statement from the foreign purchaser indicating their understanding that the pesticide is not registered for use the United States. The EPA also sends a copy of this statement to the Designated National Authority (part of the United Nations program on Prior Informed Consent) of the receiving country, so those in charge of the general health and environment of that nation are aware of the export taking place. These steps are crucial so leaders are informed of any pesticides that are banned or severely restricted in the U.S. being used in their country. However, exporters are only required to print multilingual labels for shipping containers—not for the product packages—therefore pesticide applicators in foreign countries may not be receiving the proper warning information.

The regulation of pesticides varies between countries. For example, a pesticide that may be tolerated in small doses on farms in the U.S. can be overused in nations with less strict pesticide legislation or less effective enforcement of existing rules. For example, a high level of exposure to organophosphates (a group of chemicals commonly used as insecticides) can lead to death, and chronic low-level exposure can also lead to serious health consequences. While they are effective in keeping out invasive species, organophosphates are extremely toxic to humans. In foreign countries, including India and Sierra Leone, cases of death have been reported after children ate food exposed to organophosphates. In addition to short-term death after direct exposure, chronic low-level exposure can also be risky. In his National Geographic article, Ker Than discusses a 2010 study done by Boyd Barr and colleagues, that took a look at Mexican-American children living in agricultural regions of California. The results discovered that “prenatal and early childhood exposure to organophosphates can increase the risks of neurological disorders such as attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.” According to Jay Feldman, executive director

of the nonprofit advocacy group, Beyond Pesticides, the United States and many other countries do a good job of evaluating the health risks of short-term exposure to pesticides such as organophosphates, but not the potential dangers of chronic exposure… A similar predicament exists for evaluating the environmental risks of chemicals, Feldman noted. While the EPA does conduct what is known as ‘Ecotox’ studies on organophosphate pesticides, the studies tend to focus on short-term exposure risks. ‘We have the same problem that we have on the human side,’ Feldman said, ‘which is that we’re not adequately assessing the risk of chronic, low-level exposure to wildlife and the environment.’” The use of pesticides in agriculture involves a delicate balancing act. While they can be viewed as an efficient way to yield more crops in a labor-saving manner, they also pose serious health concerns to farmers, the environment and the general public. Our water, soil, air and wildlife organisms all run the risk of contamination from pesticides due to leaching, runoff and spray drift. However, a variety of aspects combine to create the possible risks, such as the toxicity of the pesticide, measures taken during application, the dosage applied, the weather conditions after application and more; therefore, it is difficult to discern an exact assessment of pesticides’ effects on both human health and the environment. For workers in particular, the use of appropriate and well-maintained spraying equipment and taking the necessary safety precautions is crucial. In November of 2015, the 1992 Agricultural Worker Protection Standard was revised to reflect a more protective stance for the millions of agricultural workers and their families working on farms, forests, nurseries and in greenhouses in the U.S. According to the EPA, the major changes to the Worker Protection Standard include: • Annual mandatory training to inform farmworkers on the required protections afforded to them. Currently, training is only once every five years. • Expanded training includes instructions to reduce take-home exposure from pesticides on work clothing and other safety topics.

• First-time ever minimum age requirement: Children under 18 are prohibited from handling pesticides. • Expanded mandatory posting of no-entry signs for the most hazardous pesticides. The signs prohibit entry into pesticide-treated fields until residues decline to a safe level. • New no-entry application-exclusion zones up to 100 feet surrounding pesticide application equipment will protect workers and others from exposure to pesticide overspray. • Requirement to provide more than one way for farmworkers and their representatives to gain access to pesticide application information and safety data sheets— centrally-posted, or by requesting records. • Mandatory record-keeping to improve states’ ability to follow up on pesticide violations and enforce compliance. Records of application-specific pesticide information, as well as farmworker training, must be kept for two years. • Anti-retaliation provisions are comparable to Department of Labor’s (DOL). • Changes in personal protective equipment will be consistent with DOL’s standards for ensuring respirators are effective, including fit test, medical evaluation and training. • Specific amounts of water to be used for routine washing, emergency eye flushing and other decontamination, including eye wash systems for handlers at pesticide mixing/loading sites. • Continue the exemption for farm owners and their immediate families with an expanded definition of immediate family. Widespread underreporting is an issue among the agriculture industry, and there is an urgent need for better protection of these workers throughout the world. It can be expected that improving these conditions will lead to fewer exposure incidents among farmworkers and their families, and therefore, a healthier workforce without lost wages, increased medical bills, absences from work or school and chronic illness. The majority of these revisions will become effective on January 2, 2017, and while this is a positive step forward in the United States, many nations are still lacking proper pesticide control programs.

The use of pesticides in agriculture involves a delicate balancing act. While they can be viewed as an efficient way to yield more crops in a labor-saving manner, they also pose serious health concerns to farmers, the environment and the general public.

References • www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC3108117/ • www.epa.gov/pesticide-worker-safety/ agricultural-worker-protection-standard-wps • www.farmworkerjustice.org/content/ pesticide-safety • www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summaryfederal-insecticide-fungicide-androdenticide-act • www.epa.gov/pesticides/internationalactivities-related-pesticides • news.nationalgeographic.com/ news/2013/07/130718-organophosphatespesticides-indian-food-poisoning/ • www.toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/ Organophosphates • https://www.theguardian.com/globaldevelopment/poverty-matters/2013/aug/02/ pesticide-poisoning-hidden-menace-ghana • https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/pesticides/ THE LEADER

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TURN YOUR SMART PHONE FROM A

TOY TOOL TO A

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BY DR. ISABEL PERRY OWNER, 21ST CENTURY SAFETY, CORP.

New technology can put information in the hands of employees anytime, anywhere on any mobile device. Welcome to 21st century safety where mobile devices (smart phones and tablets) can be used for more than texting, navigating and catching PokĂŠmon. Safety procedures, guidance documents, checklists, JSAs and more can be available for employees anytime, anywhere on any mobile device. In 2020, over 50 percent of the workforce will be Generation X and Generation Y; they have lived with mobile devices in their hands since childhood. Even more amazing, proud parents and grandparents are posting photos on Facebook of their Generation Z babies holding a smart phone in the crib.

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Changes on a mobile web app can be made quickly. Unlike a downloadable native app, no third-party approval is needed to push the content to your organization (i.e. Apple/iPhone).

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rganizations can take advantage of new technologies available today and turn their mobile devices from toys to information and training tools by engaging with employees at their locations. No longer is it necessary to be tethered to electricity (desktops and e-learning); break free of that power cord and “think mobile.” This technology is not coming—it is here and you do not need to be a computer programmer to take advantage of it. Before we review specific examples of how mobile web apps are being used for safety, let’s explore why mobile web apps are beneficial: • You have 24/7 control of your content to change and adapt as you move through your own customized back-end dashboard. • Changes on a mobile web app can be made quickly. Unlike a downloadable native app, no third-party approval is needed to push the content to your organization (i.e. Apple/iPhone). • The cost to develop a mobile web app and the time required to build a mobile web app is far less than a native app, which must be downloaded. • Users do not need to download any software; your site is easily accessed through a link (emailed or texted) or QR code on any smartphone. • The mobile web apps created are also available to be viewed on all devices, such as smart phones, tablets and desktops. The reverse is not true. Desktop viewing does not always convert to mobile device formats. • Finally, perhaps one of the greatest advantages is that all of this can be completed without IT support.

So, you may ask, “why can’t I just look at a website on my cell phone?” Unless it has been built for mobile viewing it is not likely to be user friendly. With mobile design, the size of the lettering adjusts to the screen size, pinching and horizontal scrolling is not necessary and all information is included without web content “dropping-off.” You can convert all types of documents (PDFs, Word, Excel spreadsheets, video, etc.) into mobile-friendly formats for viewing on smartphones and tablets. You can build a mobile-friendly and responsive web app in minutes for training and communication or storing safety content that is usually located in notebooks on the bookshelves. Since 60 percent of the American workforce is not behind a computer, employees need information outside of the safety department and they need it in real time. Your mobile web app supports your initiatives and does not replace your current company site. Using the same mobile dashboard, you can send a text message or email campaigns. In addition, mobile touches and reminders keep employees engaged with safety. Plus, providing access to time-critical information is a guaranteed, fast and an easy way to improve your workplace safety program and build your safety culture. The following are real examples of successful case studies with an overview, problem and solution format. All of these used a mobile web app with drag and drop features for information storage, two-way communication and engagement with employees.

Problem-Solution: Crisis Management Communication Of the more than 4,500 fatalities in the workplace in 2015, over 400 were homicides. The OSH Act gives workers the right to safe and healthful working conditions. A recent analysis by researchers at Harvard University, further corroborated by a recent FBI study, determined that mass shootings (four or more people killed in one incident) have been on the rise. Enterprises (schools, hospitals, corporations, etc.) are seeking ways to minimize risks in the increasing number of workplace violence and lone-shooter events. Problem: Most organizations are unprepared for a crisis with the “it will not happen here” mentality. Plus, most crisis alert systems only send alerts out to employees, with no communication back from those same individuals in the field who could provide

valuable information to the crisis management team. Employees are scared and feel helpless if something should occur. This uneasiness affects workers’ focus on the job, causing accidents. Solution: The DIY MOBI mobile web app builder provides two-way communication via text or email. The organization can upload their customized documents into their passcode protected mobile web app, such as: emergency action plans, first aid videos (how to treat shock, how to treat a gunshot wound, etc.), employee names per building (employees can access and indicate where they are located in real time, exit maps, emergency phone numbers, instructions on how to respond to various types of emergencies (natural or man-made), etc. With passcode protection, whomever sees an unusual event or activity can communicate it to the emergency designee of their organization. An alert is sent to all employees and they take necessary cover. As the emergency team gathers and notifies public servants, employees can access the company private crisis management portal on their smart phones or tablets. Real-time communication is maintained between employees, regardless of their location and the crisis management team. Employees can text current situations in the field, such as, “I am in room 148 and I heard them go by; they said they are headed to the cafeteria,” or “I saw them enter the building and they are wearing jeans and green sweatshirts,” or “I am in the library and there are two injured people with profuse bleeding” (this provides EMTs with the information to respond to the greatest risks first). Once the crisis is over, the crisis management team can text an “all clear” message and give instructions on where employees are to go for debriefing, counseling services and a family pick-up location. With emergency information at employees’ fingertips and the ability for two-way communication in real time, risks can be reduced and lives may be saved.

of fire-suppression equipment or there was a modification of systems with current manufacturers, the sub-contractors in remote areas were stumped. This caused delayed schedules and work crews standing around on breaks as they waited for instructions. Ka-ching! Solution: The prime contractor in Florida decided to build a mobile web app to load all the installation instructions, job-safety analysis, videos, checklists and punch sheets for each of the manufacturers onto their company passcode protected app. The prime could easily make updates without IT support and keep real-time information on their system. The sub-contractor could access the prime’s mobile app with their smart phone or tablet and view all the information necessary to proceed in a safe manner, as well as ensure that the installation of fire-suppression equipment was done properly.

Problem-Solution: Corporate Safety Conference and Engagement Tool On alternating years Company X would conduct a two- to three-day safety conference

and invite 400 employees (some international) to a conference center in a stunning environment to attract participation. As they entered the conference room, on the table at each seat was an enormous safety manual of conference proceedings, presentations, charts, checklists, corporate safety updates, etc. Each of the notebooks was five- to six-inches thick and weighed 15 pounds. Problem: Enormous amounts of time were spent printing thousands of pages and assembling 400+ notebooks (some erroneously). Employees did not want to carry an additional 15 pounds in their luggage due to lack of space or airline weight restrictions. Many employees conveniently “forgot” them in the hotel rooms and new notebooks had to be shipped to their work locations. Ka-ching! Solution: The Safety Department budgeted and justified the purchase of 400 tablets (< $100 each) for their safety associates at their next safety conference. The vice president of EHS used a mobile web app dashboard to drag and drop all the documents that the worldwide safety staff needed. All 400+ employees could

Problem-Solution: Remote Sub-Contractors Need Installation Instructions to Perform Safely A fire-suppression company in Florida bid contracts throughout the southeastern United States. When the company and the prime contractor won the bid, the manufacturer of the equipment would drop ship the materials to the job sites, over a five-state area. Subcontractors in the local area were hired to install the new equipment. Problem: When the prime contractor in Florida started working with a new supplier THE LEADER

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access the documents 24/7, anywhere on any mobile device with their private passcode. By storing content on a mobile web app, employees were able to easily locate safety information on their smart phones or tablets. The vice president of EHS could text or email a message when a new document was added or modified and employees could send comments back. Surveys, training, reminders, special events, newsletters and encouraging videos from the CEO were all included on the EHS portal. Now, all the information needed by the safety staff was conveniently held in a two pound mobile tablet rather than a 15 pound notebook that was back in the office and not available on the job site. The VP of EHS used the mobile web app as a mobile safety manual to store content, as well as a portal for all types of safety communication with safety associates worldwide. An additional benefit is a more motivated group of individuals who are engaged and excited about safely on a regular basis.

Problem-Solution: Immediate Information on Accidents Forrester research reports that the average response time for text messages over emails is 90 seconds versus 90 minutes. Until recently, text messages could only contain verbiage. However, with new technology on the same mobile web app, it is now possible to send video clips, photographs, quizzes and more via text message. Problem: A construction company wanted to capture near misses and accident information for reporting purposes. However, paper trails took too long and photographs did not capture the conditions surrounding the accident site and immediate environment. Solution: The construction company used the super text feature on the mobile web app platform. They were able to message videos of the site conditions and send forms for others to use company-wide for training purposes. Plus, they encouraged safety committee members to record hazards in their areas that needed to be repaired. This information helped the Facilities Department use their risk assessment matrix to establish priorities. The new texting platform also enabled employees to share best practices and vie for awards for contributing the best ideas. Hopefully, this article has demonstrated the endless possibilities for improvement at your worksite and outlined the positive impact of turning your smart phone or tablet from a toy to a tool. The solutions to some age old safety problems can be solved with new technology. The ideas are endless. Early adopters are usually the ones who gain a competitive advantage over other organizations. Like the computer, mobile is not going away and it is to your benefit to learn about it now. Dr. Isabel Perry served as an EHS executive in a Fortune 500 company. She later established TheSafetyDoctor.com, Inc. where she provides keynote speaking, workshops and consulting services. In 2014 she launched 21st Century Safety, Corp. that develops mobile training and communication solutions that can reach employees anytime, anywhere on any mobile device to lower safety risks and costs associated with accidents. Dr. Perry can be reached at info@21StCenturySafety.com or 321-287-7771.

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infographic corner

OSHA estimates that for

every $1 an employer spends on PPE, he or she receives a $4 return on that investment through reduced injury

costs and improved employee productivity.

Wearing gloves has been proven to reduce the risk of hand injury by

60% There are

110,000

recorded lost-time hand injuries each year.

Occupational illness and injuries cost businesses

$170 billion each year.

Traumatic brain injuries

cause 22% of all work-related

injury fatalities.

Hand injuries are the second

leading cause of work-related injury.

103,920 knee injuries were reported in 2013, resulting in an average of 16 days away from work. THE LEADER

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WHAT’S NEW—

EMERGING

TECHN O

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BY DAVID ALEXANDER PE, CPE AND MOHAMMAD JEELANI, CPE AUBURN ENGINEERS, INC.

ERGONOMICS

N OLOGY

Most health and safety managers say that ergonomics-related injuries and illnesses are their number one issue. In virtually every industry, we are repeatedly told that musculoskeletal disorders, generally caused by cumulative exposures and overexertion, are both the most common and the most costly types of injuries for their organization.

espite past efforts, many organizations struggle to fully control â&#x20AC;&#x153;the ergonomics problems.â&#x20AC;? Ergonomics assessment tools are essential for understanding and controlling risk. However, practitioners often complain that the tools available to them are cumbersome, inaccurate, time consuming and do very little to guide risk mitigation. Improvements in ergonomics job analysis tools and the systems for their use need improvements. Technology is readily available to improve ergonomics assessment tools that have been around for decades. The most commonly

used tools were developed in the late 1980s and 1990s. While many of these tools were helpful for their time, advancements in research and technology have opened the door for the development and use of enhanced tools.

What Technology Offers 1. New Technology Advancements in technology have made our everyday lives easier and more productive. Unfortunately, most of the conventional ergonomics assessment tools were developed

before the widespread use of the internet, and before every home and office was equipped with computers, tablets and smart phones. While many of the commonly used ergonomics job assessment tools have been adapted to computer-based platforms, mainly in the form of excel spreadsheets, there are huge opportunities offered by modern technology. Ergonomics job assessment tools (i.e. Tools) must automatically calculate results. These Tools should perform calculations for us, eliminating the need to perform tedious math functions and THE LEADER

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FIGURE 1: Are You Stuck In Time?

refer to lengthy lookup tables, allowing us to focus more on quality data collection and high value risk mitigation. Tools must support mobile and cloud applications, allowing us to perform assessments and access data anywhere we have a data connection. Tools need to utilize database storage so assessments and outputs are easily accessible and sharable, facilitating seamless collaboration between colleagues around the world. Tools must include both analysis/ evaluation and solution development and must be equipped with project tracking, allowing us to easily follow up on the implementation of solutions. Finally, modern technology provides the opportunity for us to quickly and easily repurpose data such as developing physical demands profiles, creating work rotation patterns, assisting with return to work for injured workers and supporting post-offer, preemployment job screening.

2. New Research and Development Ergonomics assessment tools require the use of accurate, up-to-date research. Biomechanics and kinesiology research has advanced significantly over the last 30 years, especially regarding our understanding of muscular fatigue. Ergonomics assessment tools should incorporate this research.

3. New Processes Perhaps as important as research and development, over the last 30 years practitioners have developed acumen on how to make tools both easier to use and more powerful. Tools must be comprehensive and systematic, allowing us to perform assessments on any task affecting any body part using the same assessment processes. Tools with integrated job screening allow us to prioritize tasks, sorting out which tasks actually need attention from those that do not. This screening process allows us to spend time where it is most neededâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;on in-depth evaluation and solution development. Tools must feature task-to-job analysis, which allows us to take complex and variable work assignments and analyze them as smaller tasks within larger jobs, and also to look at the collection of tasks as a whole. Tools should also aid in the development of solutions by letting us know which risk factors (force, posture or frequency) to reduce and how much to reduce them in order to achieve breakthrough risk levels. Tools must also be intuitively designed requiring minimal training. This is achieved by fully using technology, R&D and effective

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Third generation Tools are integrated screening, analysis and evaluation tools, using congruent algorithms with equivalent risk, in a shared database, with quantitative and stoplight risk displays.

What Technology Offers New Technology: • • • •

Automatically calculated results Mobile and cloud applications Database storage The ability to repurpose data

New Research and Development • Accurate, up-to-date research

New Processes • • • • • •

Comprehensive and systematic tools Job screening Task-to-job analysis Problem solving process Minimal training Less time analyzing, more time eliminating problems

processes to develop comprehensive tools that are easier to use. Our ergonomics assessment tools and processes must be refined so practitioners are spending less time analyzing and more time eliminating problems.

A Walk Through Time In order to understand where we need to go with our Tools and technology, we need to understand where we have been. Most of the commonly used ergonomics assessment tools were developed in the late 1980s and 1990s. The bookends of this time period are (1) OSHA investigations, including a major $4.3 million citation in the meat packing industry resulting in a keen industry awareness of ergonomics, and (2) the Disapproval Of Department Of Labor Ergonomics Rule (Senate—March 6, 2001) resulting in a diminished interest in ergonomics. While some of the best tools predate this period, notably the Liberty Mutual psychophysical tables for material handling, the NIOSH Lifting Equations, others like the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) and the Strain index came of age in this period. We often refer to these tools as the Second Generation of Ergonomics, as they replaced the primitive and highly technical assessment techniques with applied tools designed for industrial use. Prior to the development of these tools, ergonomics assessments took place in the form of in-depth biomechanical analysis applying first principals, combining

our knowledge of the human body with the fundamentals of mechanics. We often refer to these early assessment techniques as the First Generation of Ergonomics. First Generation Ergonomics required highly technical, specialized education in those sciences, and collaboration with counterparts with additional research expertise. These analyses were neither simple to perform, nor to understand, but they created a platform on which to build the field of applied ergonomics. Second Generation Ergonomics tools opened up ergonomics to a much wider audience including practitioners in allied fields such as safety, industrial hygiene and engineering. These tools were much easier and quicker to use than the assessment techniques previously available. The downside to these tools was that they each performed a niche analysis and thus, multiple tools had to be used to perform comprehensive analyses, users had to be trained on multiple tools, assessments were time consuming and calculations were manually made using complex formulas and lookup tables. Few actually aided with the creation of solutions since they were focused on risk assessment, not correction. These tools are almost 30 years old and do not take advantage of current technology, research and development or process experience and knowledge. As we continue to optimize our tools, taking advantage of emerging technology and research, we are entering the Third Generation THE LEADER

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As new tools continue to be developed, we encourage the innovators in the field to fully take advantage of current technology, research and development as well as process experience and knowledge in order to provide users with the highest value and utility when using these tools.

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of Ergonomics. Third Generation Tools are integrated screening, analysis and evaluation tools, using congruent algorithms with equivalent risk, in a shared database, with quantitative and stoplight risk displays. Well-designed Third Generation Tools not only allow us to quickly understand the risk associated with the job in a comprehensive and systematic manner, but also point us to solutions and allow us to use the job analysis data for business purposes.

Moving Forward Since the Department Of Labor Ergonomics Rule was disapproved in 2001, only a few open literature tools have been developed. While biomechanics research continues to expand our understanding of the human body, very few tools have incorporated these findings into their calculations. Despite technological advancements such as mobile and cloud applications, very few tools are taking advantage of this technology. While there is a shortage of new tools that take advantage of current research and technology, several tools are being developed, including some commercial tools by private companies. We will discuss three examples of emerging tools. ACGIH has published â&#x20AC;&#x153;Upper Limb Localized Fatigue TLVsâ&#x20AC;? which allows practitioners to determine limits for force and duration combinations for work involving upper limb muscular activity. These thresholds are a major

advancement in the field of ergonomics, as they are becoming a standardized model for understanding fatigue. The limitation to this model is that it is not readily available as an applied tool and still requires (for practitioners) complex manipulating, including determining maximum voluntary contractions and duty cycle percentages. Potvin Biomechanics has developed a software application called HandPak, which is used to quantify acceptable forces and torques for occupational tasks placing demands on the forearm, wrist and hand. This software application utilizes current research, and provides automatic calculations based on simple inputs provided by the user. Auburn Engineers offers a cloud-based software application called eTools SHOP, which is a comprehensive ergonomics system providing users with the ability to scan, screen and evaluate tasks as well as to develop and implement solutions. The eTools SHOP system utilizes the latest research findings to provide accurate risk assessments that properly consider force, frequency and posture interactions. This system also guides users through the development of solutions by providing breakthrough levels and mitigation options for risk reduction. The system features a sophisticated database where assessments and evaluations can be stored and shared with the option to repurpose data for the development of physical demands profiles, job rotation schedules and return to work protocols. New in the 2016 release of the system is the option to perform assessments at either the task or job level and automatically combine exposures for multiple tasks to form a comprehensive job evaluation.

Call for Action Despite advancements in the field of ergonomics, ergonomics-related injuries and illnesses remain the number one problem in most industries. Practitioners have been struggling for decades using tools that were previously successful, but have not kept up with contemporary research and technology trends. As new tools continue to be developed, we encourage the innovators in the field to fully take advantage of current technology, research and development as well as process experience and knowledge in order to provide users with the highest value and utility when using these tools. Concurrently, we challenge practitioners to demand more from their tools and to seek out better tools to replace their obsolete and archaic toolsets.

Think about the last time you traveled. How often did you come across a highway construction project? For most of us, maneuvering through orange construction barrels and slowing down in construction zones are daily occurrences. We are so accustomed to road construction projects that we often don’t notice the workers who are working in these zones. Construction workers may only be five to 10 feet away from cars travelling through the construction zone at 50 to 60 mph. How do we protect roadside construction workers? We need to slow our speed down, be aware of how close workers are to the road and increase workers’ visibility to motorists and to each other. Let’s look at the visibility options available to workers in low-visibility environments.

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BY STACEY SIMMONS PRODUCT MANAGER FOR INDUSTRIAL HEAD AND FACE PROTECTION PRODUCTS, BULLARD

wareness from state and federal agencies across the United States to protect workers in low-visibility environments is a growing concern. Today, there are many solutions available to workers to help protect them against the hazards of not being seen. Highvisibility personal protective equipment (PPE) can help protect workers from the dangers they face while working in low-visibility environments. Although road construction crews are the most obvious, we cannot limit our discussion only to these workers who face high-visibility challenges while on the job. Utility workers, emergency personnel including police and firefighters, tree service technicians, school crossing guards and airport crews all face the hazards of not being seen. Think about the work that loggers are doing in sort yards and landings and the dangers facing airport workers during the early morning hours or late at night. High-visibility hazards affect hundreds of thousands of workers daily. In 1999, the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) developed an American National Standard for High Visibility Apparel (ANSI/ISEA 107-1999) that offered a guide to using high-visibility and reflective apparel. This was the first standard that focused on protecting workers in low-visibility jobs. The standard was modified in 2004 (ANSI/ISEA 107-2004) to include headwear. Today, the ANSI/ISEA 107-2015 Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel and Accessories consolidates the ANSI/ ISEA 107-2010 standard for High Visibility Safety Apparel (HVSA) and the ANSI/ISEA 207-2011 American National Standard for High-Visibility Public Safety Vests into a single comprehensive standard. By combining the two standards, ANSI/ISEA added to its current Performance Class 1, 2 and 3 requirements by including three new garment types: • Type O (off-road) or Performance Class 1: Non-roadway use where workers are not exposed to high traffic or temporary control zones. • Type R (roadway) or Performance Class 2 or 3: Workers are exposed to traffic from public access highway rights-of-way or roadway temporary control zones. • Type P (public safety) or Performance Class 2 or 3: Emergency and incident responders

and law enforcement personnel who are exposed to struck-by hazards in roadway or off-road work environments. Below are examples of occupational activities for each of the classifications: • Type O/Performance 1: Parking attendants, shopping cart retrievers, warehouse workers with equipment traffic, sidewalk maintenance workers or delivery vehicle drivers. • Type R/Performance 2 or 3: Railway workers, forestry workers, school crossing guards, airport crews, law enforcement personnel directing traffic and accident site investigators. • Type P/Performance 2 or 3: Roadway construction personnel, utility workers, survey crews, emergency response personnel and flagging crews. The apparel worn by workers in accordance with the standard must provide 360-degree visibility during the day and night. For instance, a safety vest that provides reflectivity only on the back and torso does not meet the standard. Or, fluorescent garments that make a worker highly visible during the day but nearly invisible at dusk does not meet the standard. Head protection is not specifically covered by the ANSI/ISEA standard, although wearing high-visibility hard hats reflects safe thinking. Hard hats are required on almost every worksite and there are millions of hard hats in use in North America. States such as Missouri and New York have made it mandatory that roadway workers wear head protection with reflective striping. The sanitation workers in Lexington, Kentucky, wear high-visibility hard hats while on the job. Hard hats that are manufactured in high-visibility colors are a smart choice for workers and the perfect complement to high-visibility apparel. With several high-visibility options available, a hard hat can help workers be seen and be safe. High-visibility shell colors for hard hats include orange, yellow and green. It’s important for workers to keep in mind their work environment when choosing a color. For instance, roadway workers need to stand out from the orange barrels and signs in their work environment so yellow or green might be better shell color choices. However, a high-visibility green color would not be the best choice in a densely wooded area;

orange would be a better choice. Keep in mind that high-visibility hard hats need to be checked frequently to be sure the color hasn’t faded. Prolonged ultraviolet rays can cause the color of the hard hat to fade and compromise workers’ safety. In addition, remember not to store your hat in a rear window of a vehicle because it can become degraded by the sun’s rays. Striping is another way to add highvisibility to a hard hat and increase worker safety. By using striping that is reflective and/ or fluorescent in color, hard hats can provide enhanced worker visibility both day and night. The same highly reflective striping that is applied to clothing to meet the ANSI/ISEA 107-2015 standard can also be applied to hard hats. When reflective striping is ordered from the hard hat manufacturer, wearers’ can be assured that the striping has been tested so it doesn’t harm the hat. To achieve improved retro-reflectance striping, manufacturers use a high candlepower (CPL) number. A wide range of stripes are available from reflective/fluorescent orange and yellow stripes with a CPL of 175 to reflective silver stripes with a CPL of 500. Striping can be added all the way around the brim of the hard hat to achieve 360-degree reflectivity and on the top of the hat to help workers be seen while bending or from other workers stationed above them. Many hard hat manufacturers customize head protection by applying striping as well as custom logos. The ANSI/ISEA standard is in place to ensure workers in low-visibility environments are provided with PPE that keeps them safe on the job. Wearing high-visibility gear including reflective vests, jackets, trousers and hard hats greatly benefit workers in environments where low-visibility is a safety concern. Choosing high-visibility products to keep workers safe is the smart choice. Stacey Simmons is the product manager for industrial head and face protection products at Bullard (www.bullard.com), a leading manufacturer of personal protective equipment and systems worldwide. Her product responsibilities include head and face protection and body temperature management.

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EXPLORING

INNOVATIVE TECHN O Although personal protective equipment (PPE) is considered the least desirable method (as per OSHAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hierarchy of controls) and therefore usually the least effective, is it possible to enhance the effectiveness of PPE through the use of technology? We recently posed this question to our senior management and challenged our team members to procure a solution to several of our problems where traditional PPE has been minimally effective. Odebrecht is a heavy civil, roadway contractor who is routinely tasked with performing night operations. The percentage of our night operations is regularly increasing to freeway and travel lane restrictions placed on us by our clients. 22

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ith a crumbling, outdated infrastructure, our country continues to invest in highways and bridges. According to the United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, in 2010 there were 87,606 crashes in work zones and 576 fatalities that occurred within work zonesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; equaling one work zone fatality every 15 hours. This makes work zones one of the most dangerous environments in construction today. As the senior EHS manager of the transportation sector for my company, and the growing amount of highway and bridges work that we are building, I felt obligated to explore new technology and alternative means and methods to keep our workers safe. Additionally, I wanted to review our nighttime PPE to determine if newer technology was available to enhance the safety of our work crews. Traditionally, we assign head lamps to our workers to supply extra lighting to perform their tasks safely and efficiently. The problem with the old head lamps was that at times they did not provide enough lighting to do their assigned tasks in a safe manner. For instance, while working on top of a beam or cap there was not enough lighting for a carpenter to perform the task at hand due to insufficient

foot-candles being generated. Then, I reviewed the ANSI Class 3 vest and pants our workers were using while working in close proximity to live traffic. Next, I turned my attention to other control measures that could be enhanced within our work zones to provide a safer work environment. With the construction limit work zone near misses and accidents increasing due to excessive speeding and distracted driving, I needed to find a solution that would keep our workers safe by alerting a distracted driver when they had crossed into an active work zone. As previously mentioned, our outdated headlamps needed to be replaced so I began searching for safer options and found a cutting edge solution which was the Halo Light. The Halo Light is a patented 360-degree personal active safety system (PASS) that attaches to any hard hat and produces a ring of light around the wearer enabling him or her to continuously see and be seen in all directions. Fully illuminating the task area out to their visual periphery, the Halo Light also provides visibility at all times, and in all directions over 0.25 mile away. This new technology allowed for our workers to increase their visibility not only to the trucks and vehicles in our work zone, but more

BY DWAYNE JEFFERY, CSHO, CHST SENIOR EH&S MANAGER, TRANSPORTATION SECTOR, ODEBRECHT

N OLOGIES importantly to the third party vehicles passing by our work zone at a high rate of speed. Our road workers were using ANSI Class 3 vests and work pants while working in close proximity to traffic, but I wondered if this was enough. Is there another way to make them stand out from the average construction worker? I had received numerous complaints from workers that they were not adequately visible to motorists, and the workers were not visible to the equipment operators and truck drivers inside the work zones. After researching ANSI-approved Class 3 uniforms I found Alpha WorkWear technology. I reached out to them and discovered that their product was using three different technologies combined into one garment, offering the latest safety solutions. It also offered three levels of protection: fluorescence, reflectivity and phosphorescence. These products are powered by natural or artificial UV light and require no external power supply. Therefore, there are no heavy batteries that need recharging, they are low maintenance, no special cleaning is required, they provide a strong afterglow and they last up to eight hours. This enhanced technology enables the crews to be highly visible to the traveling public by drawing attention to the workers.

IN PPE APPLICATIONS

The genesis of the idea for the work zone intrusion alarms was generated from multiple work zone intrusions by third party vehicles presenting a significant hazard to our workers. While researching existing technologies to increase motorists’ awareness as they travel through work zones, I found that the New Jersey Department of Transportation had implemented the use of work zone intrusion alarms on their projects throughout the state. After looking through the various vendors of work zone intrusion alarms I purchased the Sono Blaster from Transpo. The Sono Blaster is an impact-activated safety device that warns our roadway workers and errant vehicle drivers simultaneously. We mounted the devices on work zone barricades, cones, drums and other barriers. Upon impact of an errant vehicle, the Sono Blaster’s horn sounds at 125 dB to signal workers that their protective zone has been violated, giving our workers critical reaction time to move out of harm’s way. The three objectives of the design of the intrusion alarm include, alerting the driver that they have crossed into an active work zone, providing an effective warning for workers that a vehicle has breached the work zone and to offer an extra enhanced feeling of protection and safety to our workers. I collaborated with our traffic control crews and

The problem with the old head lamps was that at times they did not provide enough lighting to do their assigned tasks in a safe manner.

supervisors to explain how to install the Sono Blasters on drums, cones and barricades and also to place them in key areas. A variety of benefits have stemmed from these innovative practices and cutting edge technologies, including: an increase in worker morale, increased visibility in adverse working conditions and additionally provided increased safety and awareness to the traveling public. Although PPE is at the bottom of the hierarchy of controls we should continue to utilize these tools and benefit from thinking outside the box. THE LEADER

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BY ANDREW COCHRAN PRESIDENT OF I-GARD CORPORATION

DESIGNING ENVIRONMENTS

TO PREVENT

DON’T RELY ON JUST PPE, FOCUS ON PREVENTION BEFORE PROTECTION At some point in our lives we have all heard, or perhaps stated, variations of the common phrase: “don’t worry about things you can’t control.” With respect to workplace electrical safety, there has been little change over the past 10 years in non-fatal injuries due to electricity and the issue isn’t a lack of awareness, intent or budget, it is a lack of effective action—focusing on protection before taking steps on prevention.

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hen considering the arc flash hazard there are two questions we need to ask:

FIGURE 1

1. What is the likelihood an arc flash will happen? The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that there were nearly 6,000 fatal electrical injuries to workers in the U.S. between 1992 and 2013. The National Safety Council reported in its 2014 edition of Injury Facts that there were 961 fatal injuries from 2008 to 2010 due to exposure to electric current. A study of electrical injuries over a 20 year period at a Texas burn center found that 40 percent of burns were electrical arc injuries.

2. How severe will the impact be? The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries “Burn Injuries Facts” reported that worker’s compensation costs for 30 serious arc flash or blast burn injuries that took place between September of 2000 and December of 2005 were in excess of $1.3 million. In 2014, OSHA estimated a value of $62,500 per non-fatal injury for workers performing electric distribution work (direct costs only). The American Society of Safety Engineers estimates that indirect costs may be as much as 20 times higher than direct costs. Recent changes to NFPA 70E and CSA Z462 aligning these safety standards with the hierarchy of risk control in ANSI Z10 (occupational safety) support the approach of directly answering and addressing the aforementioned two questions.

FIGURE 2

NFPA 70E Annex 0 General Design Requirements 0.2.2 This design option decision should facilitate the ability to eliminate hazards or reduce risk by doing the following: 1. Reducing the likelihood of exposure. 2. Reducing the magnitude or severity of exposure. The conventional approach to workplace electrical safety has been to conduct an arc flash study after the installation is complete, calculate the incident energy levels, post warning signs and labels, provide training on safe work practices and then purchase appropriately rated PPE. Posting warnings, conducting awareness training, purchasing and issuing PPE does not in any way reduce the likelihood of

an arc flash event nor does it reduce the magnitude of the arc flash. For those professing that PPE does reduce the severity of exposure, let’s pause and consider what it means to wear ARC rated clothing— there is a 50 percent probability of receiving second degree burns. We can’t accept this as safe. Electric arcing may produce temperatures as high as 35,000 degrees and in addition to causing severe burns there is the real possibility of hearing loss, eye injuries as well as lung damage and blast injuries from the pressure wave. THE LEADER

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An arc is developed in milliseconds and leads to the discharge of enormous amounts of energy.

The positive news is that we can control both the likelihood of exposure as well as the magnitude of exposure with technology that is proven, readily available and already being used by enlightened companies leading the way in improving workplace electrical safety.

Control the Likelihood of Exposure The first and obvious step is to de-energize the electric circuit before conducting any work whenever practical. If this isn’t practical or safe, then consider options that reduce the likelihood of an arc flash event occurring. Again referring to NFPA70E, Annex 0 clause 0.2.4 3 states, “A great majority of electrical faults are of the phase-to-ground type. High-resistance grounding will insert an impedance in the ground return path and below (at 5 kV nominal or below), leaving insufficient fault energy and thereby helping reduce the arc flash hazard level.”

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FIGURE 3

This is consistent with statements in the Industrial Power System Grounding Design Handbook which states that 95 percent of all electrical faults are phase-to-ground faults and IEEE141-1993 Recommended Practice for Electric Power Distribution for Industrial Plants 7.2.2 which states, “there is no arc flash hazard (on HRG systems) as there is with solidly grounded systems, since the current is limited to approximately 5 amps.” In FM Global Standard 5-18 Protection of Electrical Equipment Single Phase and Other Related Faults it states, “Sustained arcing faults in low voltage apparatus are often initiated by a single-phase fault to ground which results in extensive damage to switchgear and motor control centers.” If we already understand that the vast majority of arcing faults start as single-phaseto-ground faults, whether the specifics are 95 percent or the great majority, and that by employing high resistance grounding, a technology that has been around for 50 years and used in all manner of industries including petro-chemical, food processing, automotive, paper manufacturing, data centers, etc. we can reduce the exposure to the hazard significantly, and pose the question of “why is this not the standard practice for grounding industrial facilities?” HRG as a technology is recommended by IEEE, it is recognized by NFPA 70E, it is promoted by FM Global and yet it is still not the default option when making the grounding decision for industrial facilities. Of course high-resistance grounding does not protect against phase-to-phase faults, nor does it lower the incident energy calculation

and therefore additional control steps must be taken to ensure an electrically safe workplace.

Reduce the Magnitude of Exposure Again referring to NFPA70E, Annex 0 clause 0.2.4 2 states, “Arc flash relay. An arc flash relay typically uses light sensors to detect the light produced by an arc flash event. Once a certain level of light is detected the relay will issue a trip signal to an upstream overcurrent device.” An arc is developed in milliseconds and leads to the discharge of enormous amounts of energy. The energy discharged in the arc is directly proportional to the square of the short circuit current and the time the arc takes to develop (i.e. energy = I2t). The damage resulting from the arc depends on the arcing current and time, and of these two factors time is the most easily controlled and managed. Rules of thumb for different arc burning times are: • 35ms or less—no significant damage to persons or switchgear which can often be returned to use after checking for insulation resistance. • 100ms—small damage to switchgear that requires cleaning and possibly some minor repair. Personnel could be at risk of injuries. • 500ms—catastrophic damage to equipment and personnel are likely to suffer serious injuries. The goal of arc mitigation technology is to protect personnel and property and to effectively accomplish this we must first detect the arc and then cut the flow of current to the arc in as short a time as possible. As noted above the target is to achieve a total reaction time of 100ms or less from detection of the arc to isolation of the circuit.

FIGURE 4

Arcs produce light at intensity levels that excess 20,000 lux. This can be pinpointed through special arc detection optical sensors connected to a relay system that has a typical operating time under one millisecond and is the fastest arc flash detection technology currently available. The operating time is independent of the fault current magnitude since any current detector elements are used only to supervise the optical system. With optical arc protection technology installed the relay operating time is essentially negligible compared to the circuit breaker operating time, and the cost is fairly low since current transformers are only needed on the main breakers. If we combine the circuit breaker operating time and the optical arc detection time, we are well below the goal of 100ms regardless of the age and speed of the circuit breaker and have mitigated the damage to a lower and safer level. Simply changing from standard coordination and instantaneous settings on the relay (suggested by some consultants as sufficient) to a protection system which uses optical arc detection, results in a substantial reduction of incident energy levels. NFPA70E, Annex 0 clause 0.2.4 1 states, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Energy-reducing active arc flash mitigation system. This system can reduce the arcing duration by creating a low impedance current path, located within a controlled compartment, to cause the arcing fault to transfer to the new current path, while the upstream breaker clears the circuit. The system works without compromising existing selective coordination in the electrical distribution system.â&#x20AC;? Arc quenching has been used in Europe for more than 30 years but due to concerns over the mechanical stresses caused by initiating a three-phase bolted fault, it is a technology yet to be fully embraced in North America.

FIGURE 5

The solution may be as simple as modifying the approach to add an impedance into the circuit so that as the arc is detected by an optical detection relay, a signal is sent to initiate the arc quenching device, which closes onto a resistor placed between the quencher and each phase of the bus bar. The high levels of fault current are dampened and controlled by a resistor on each phase eliminating the concern over mechanical stresses. The addition to arc quenching technology, controlled through an impedance, could result in lowering the incident energy levels in the event of an arc flash to very low and even safer levels. A safer workplace can easily be achieved if we simply change our approach by conducting risk assessment during the design

phase of a project. Then, we move forward and conduct the arc flash study, define the risk and quantify the hazard. Next, we employ elimination technology (high-resistance grounding), then technology to lower the hazard level (arc flash detection relay or active arc mitigation system), redo the study, requantify the risk and the hazard (which will be much lower), post the warning labels and then finally purchase the PPE. A workplace where the likelihood of an arc flash is 95 percent lower and the impact of an arc flash can be minimized to very low levels is possible todayâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;we just need to take control and use technology already available. Prevention before protection is always the safer approach.

FIGURE 6

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THANK YOU FOR

ATTENDING!

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member spotlight

Mike Maddox BY JAMIE MITCHELL, COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR, VPPPA, INC.

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ike Maddox undoubtedly has an impressive resume and a long list of accomplishments throughout his career. Spanning numerous years and involving a variety of companies—including Valero, The Mundy Companies, NuStar Energy, LP and more—he has developed relationships with many organizations. While most know Mike as a “coach” or mentor when it comes to safety, few know he was also a college football coach in the 1970s. If you ask his colleagues about “Mr. VPP” himself, they will tell you his legacy has touched thousands of lives. His mission is not only to improve the safety of every company he comes in contact with, but to help everyone he meets achieve their personal and professional goals as both a mentor, and more importantly, as

a friend. “The meaning of VPP isn’t about the procedures or conditions—it’s about the culture and people are what drive culture. Mike knows all of the rules and procedures, but at the end of the day he knows what drives VPP it its people,” said Terry Schulte, VPPPA National Board Secretary. Fostering relationships and maintaining contact with everyone he helps is one of the key things Mike is known for doing; he helps others realize their potential, and supports them in achieving their goals. The American workplace is safer today because of Mike Maddox—the number of lives he has saved from work accidents as well as the lives he has touched personally, truly cannot be measured. Thank you for your service Mike, and congratulations on your retirement!

I have known Mike for 25+ years and he has been a great friend, mentor and leader. I have learned a lot from Mike and hope to continue to learn from him during his retirement. When we talk about VPP/ VPPPA we always refer to Mike as “Mr. VPP.” There will never be another one like him and his contributions will be remembered! Mike has been very fortunate to have CEO’s that have allowed him to pursue his passion—VPP/VPPPA—and he did it with all his soul. Mike, enjoy your retirement, you have earned it and the time is right! — MIKE GUILLORY, The Brock Group, National Board of Directors, Vice Chairman

Mike Maddox has no doubt been the driving force behind the success of VPPPA during his tenure. His pit bull tenacity and passion for safety, and the success of the organization, has been manifested in his undying and relentless pursuit of achieving a world class program. Personally Mike has challenged and encouraged me to use my experience and associations with industry and labor to help further the mission of VPPPA and help educate those we associate with to strive for a safe workplace, Thanks Mike!!! — DON JOHNSON, Phillips 66, National Board of Directors, Director from a Site with a Collective Bargaining Agent

One of Mike’s favorite stories to tell is about how timid I used to be about asking people to correct hazards when I first started in VPP vs. how I handle it now. I used to follow him around so I learned from the best! Mike, you have been a great mentor and I am forever grateful for all that you’ve taught me. I’m looking forward to you and Sharon being closer—guacamole time!!! — YOUR DAUGHTER, PAM BARNES—Valero, Region VI Vice Chairperson

Mike and I have worked together for 28 years and for over 20 years of that time, we were involved with VPP and VPPPA, starting in Region VI. Mike is a great mentor and a great teacher, not only as it relates to the VPP programs or the association, but also in life as a whole. I have learned so much from Mike, it’s hard to describe his impact on me. He also had a great deal of influence in my career and a great deal of what I am today is because of Mike and his influence on my life. Anyone who has ever met Mike Maddox is a better person because of it. He is a great husband, father and friend. I wish Mike and his family all the happiness in the world as they prepare to enjoy the fruits of their labor. — BILL HARKINS, Ohmstede Industrial Services, National Board of Directors, Directorat-Large

On behalf of the Region II Board, and our member sites, we would like to thank you for your contribution to the VPPPA and promoting safe workplaces throughout this great nation. As a leader, you have articulated our message and have had a profound impact on getting our voices heard in Washington, D.C. As a mentor, you have developed an incredible team, built on a strong foundation that will secure our future going forward. We will miss the sparkle in your eyes when you are about to face a foe. As a gladiator you are among the most feared. As a friend, we are all extremely grateful that we have had this time together. I wish you the best. We hope that you attack retirement the way you do everything else, with everything you have. — BRENDA WIEDERKEHR, Access Health Systems, Region II Chairperson

Mike, Region IV VPPPA would like to thank you for the ongoing support of our conferences. You attended for many years and we always looked forward to the great feedback and leadership you provided to us. You are very passionate about VPP and we loved that passion at our conference. We will miss you and want to thank you for all you have done for us, your national commitment and for what you have done for VPP and VPPPA. We wish you all the success and happiness in your retirement. —REGION IV VPPPA Chapter

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member info corner

Renew Your VPPPA Membership

t’s that time of year—your membership with VPPPA is up for renewal. An email containing your invoice will be sent out in November, as well as a hard copy in December. You can easily renew your dues by clicking on the “renew” tab located on the left side of VPPPA’s home page at www.vpppa.org. If you have forgotten your password, simply click on the option that allows you to reset your password and follow the directions. Once logged in, you will be able to seamlessly renew your membership with VPPPA. We would like to thank our members for their support over the past year. Member participation and dedication to the safety and health industry facilitated our association’s many accomplishments.

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We urge you to recommit your support to the association and to the safety and health industry by renewing your membership. Continue to reap the rewards of participation, renew your membership now! If you have any questions regarding your membership or dues, contact membership@ vpppa.org or call (703) 761-1146.

Illustrated Journey Contest If you have pride in your company and its VPP journey, VPPPA’s Illustrated Journey Contest is for you! Depict your journey through VPP by using original pictures and artwork. In portraying your journey, please represent the following: • Show others how your company got involved with VPP.

• On a more personal level, where did you begin and how did you get to where you are now? • What does VPP, and your involvement with VPPPA, mean to you and your company? No words are necessary, simply use your own artwork and photos. The most creative entry will receive a two page spread in the summer issue of The Leader; the left side will include your artwork and the right side will include an explanation (500 words) of the pictures, company background information and contact information. This is a great chance for members to share their experiences and promote themselves and their company’s achievements! The rules and requirements to enter this contest are as follows: • Must be a member of VPPPA • You must have the rights to the photos used • If using original artwork, it can be computer generated or a drawing • VPPPA is not responsible for any lost/ damaged artwork or photos • VPPPA has all rights and ownership to the submissions • VPPPA reserves the right to make any minor edits • Images must be in high resolution (300 dpi or higher) • No nudity, graphic language or content, firearms or alcohol, may be shown in any artwork Submit your entry, including your name and member ID number, by April 7, 2017 by email to membership@vpppa.org, or by dropbox. You can also mail your entry to VPPPA’s National Office at VPPPA Inc., Attn: Membership, 7600-E Leesburg Pike, Suite 100, Falls Church, VA 22043.

state-plan monitor

COMPILED BY KATLYN PAGLIUCA, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR, VPPPA, INC.

Federal OSHA States State-Plan States Public Sector Only

California On September 9, 2016, E&J Gallo Livingston held their fifth Cal/Star recertification ceremony. This location is the largest and only winery that has achieved and maintained Star status. The winery was first recognized as Cal/Star in 2002 and has been a great partner with Cal/ OSHA in promoting safety culture. The site has Process Safety Management (PSM) coverage and recently provided a one-day training to Cal/ OSHA PSM compliance officers and other state and local dignitaries responsible for the Risk Management Program. The Cal/VPP onsite evaluation team included Ruben Garza, team leader; Barry Blodgett and David Matsumoto, VPP consultants; Iraj Pourmehraban, Cal/VPP manager; Mike Butler, special team member (STM) from Valero Wilmington Refinery and Ethan Chang, Cal/VPP student assistant. The E&J Gallo management staff is planning to present at the 2017 VPPPA Region IX conference in San Francisco. Iraj Pourmehraban and Eugene Glendenning, Cal/OSHA consultation acting program manager, attended the ceremony and congratulated all employees for maintaining Cal/VPP Star status and their partnership with Cal/OSHA. The Cal/VPP site, Control Components Inc. (CCI), in Rancho Santa Margarita hosted a Cal/VPP workshop on September 15. James Herbert, Vice President, and C.M. Merrimon, CEO, welcomed attendees and expressed the values and benefits of Cal/VPP culture at their operations. Mike Weddle, EH&S Senior Manager, moderated the session extremely well. Attendees were from Cal/VPP Star sites and new applicant sites. Wendi Walker, Cal/VPP MST, coordinated the sign-up and made the workshop paperless.

E&J Gallo employees enjoying Cal/Star barbeque ceremony on September 9, 2016.

Cal/VPP Workshop hosted by Control Components Inc. in Rancho Santa Maria on September 15, 2016.

Tennessee On July 26, 2016, TOSHA Administrator, Steve Hawkins, presented the employees of Bayer HealthCare in Cleveland with their Volunteer Star Award as part of the siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fourth certification effort. In addition, a successful onsite evaluation was recently conducted at Firestone Industrial Products in Dyersburg.

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state-plan monitor

Oregon Oregon is pleased to announce our newest VPP Star site, Duro-Last Roofing, Inc. in Grants Pass. Duro-Last submitted their application in January 2016, had their application approved in April and underwent their pre-approval review in July. They were awarded VPP Star status on September 9, 2016. Duro-Last Roofing joins NuStar Energy in Portland as Oregon’s two new VPP Star sites in 2016. Recent re-approvals in Oregon include: Coca-Cola’s Portland syrup plant, Oldcastle Precast in Wilsonville, Roseburg’s Engineered Wood products facility in Riddle and Timber Products Spectrum facility in White City. Oregon continues to rely on SGE services to augment VPP audit teams, having used nine SGEs over the last 12 months and plans to continue to use them in the next year.

Minnesota The MNOSHA Workplace Safety Consultation division has been working to increase the number of VPP participants in the state of Minnesota. Minnesota

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currently has 37 Star sites and one Merit site participating in the VPP MNSTAR program. Of the 37 Star sites, 35 are general industry locations and two are resident contractors at our MNSTAR certified refinery. We continue to receive inquiries about VPP and have visited with multiple employers interested in the MNSTAR program. The small team approach has allowed MNOSHA to remain consistent between sites and helped develop relationships with the participating employers. We continue to look for new applications and employers with the desire to achieve this status. In FFY 2016 we saw one employer achieve full MNSTAR status: • Sysco Asian Foods, St. Paul, MN Since the last edition of The Leader, we have successfully completed recertification visits at: • HB Fuller Company, Fridley, MN • NuStar Energy Roseville Terminal, Roseville, MN • NuStar Energy Sauk Centre Terminal, Sauk Centre, MN

• NuStar Energy Moorhead Terminal, Moorhead, MN • Aveda Midwest Distribution Center, Blaine, MN In FFY 2016 we successfully completed 13 recertification visits with our current MNSTAR employers and added one new site. We continue to have a dedicated staff to process any new applications that are received. If you would like further information about the MNSTAR Program, please visit www.doli. state.mn.us/WSC/Mnstar.asp or contact Ryan Nosan, VPP MNSTAR, Coordinator, at ryan.nosan@state.mn.us.

Nevada Nevada OSHA has approved Cintas Corporation, Location 623 (based out of Reno) into the program as of February 26, 2016.

Michigan There are currently 28 sites in the Michigan Voluntary Protection Program (MVPP), with 26 Star and two MVPP/C (construction) sites.

contacting each state >> Promotion An informational MVPP workshop was hosted by Marathon Petroleum, Detroit. Representatives from several companies attended to learn about the MVPP, as well as the application and approval process. MVPP specialist, Doug Kimmel, met with representatives from JAC Products, Shelby Township, to discuss and field questions about the MVPP. Applications currently pending for the MVPP include: • Barton-Malow—FRIB project, East Lansing • Marathon Pipe Line LLC, Woodhaven • Eaton Corporation, Grand Rapids • Walbridge—Dearborn Campus Transformation, Detroit • Cintas, Westland • Cintas First Aid & Safety, Kentwood An MVPP Star award celebration was held at Marathon TT&R in Muskegon. The event was attended by MIOSHA Consultation, Education and Training Director Nella Davis-Ray as well as Doug Kimmel.

Onsite Reviews Reevaluation onsite reviews have been performed at: • Potlatch Land & Lumber (Gwinn) • Michigan Packaging Co. (Mason)

New MVPP Sites • Marathon TT&R, Muskegon, was approved as an MVPP Star site on July 11, 2016.

Recertifications Sites that have been recertified for participation in the MVPP include: • OxyChem, Ludington • Herman Miller Midwest Distribution, Holland • DTE River Rouge Power Plant, River Rouge

Contact Us “Like” us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/c/MIOSHA_MI. For further details on the MVPP, please contact Doug Kimmel, MVPP specialist, at 231-546-2366, or visit the MIOSHA website at www.michigan.gov/miosha.

Alaska Bill Nickerson VPP Coordinator Phone: (907) 269-4948 www.labor.state.ak.us/lss/ oshhome.htm Arizona Jessie Atencio Assistant Director Phone: (520) 220-4222 www.ica.state.az.us/ ADOSH/ADOSH_main.aspx California Iraj Pourmehraban Cal/VPP & PSM Manager Phone: (510) 622-1080 www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/cal_ vpp/cal_vpp_index.html Hawaii Clayton Chun Manager Phone: (808) 586-9110 labor.hawaii.gov/hiosh Indiana Michael Gaskill Manager Phone: (260) 373-2860 www.in.gov/dol/ Iowa Shashi Patel VPP Coordinator Phone: (515) 281-6369 www.iowaworkforce.org/ labor/iosh Kentucky Brian Black VPP Program Administrator Phone: (502) 564-3320 labor.ky.gov/dows/ oshp/doet/partnership/ Pages/VPP---VoluntaryProtection-Partnership.aspx Maryland Cynthia L. Wheeler VPP Coordinator Phone: (410) 527-4473 www.dllr.state.md.us/labor/ mosh/vpp.shtml

Michigan Doug Kimmel MVPP Specialist Phone: (231) 546-2366 Sherry Scott MVPP Manager Phone: (517) 322-5817 www.michigan.gov/mvpp Minnesota Ryan Nosan MNSTAR VPP Coordinator Phone: (651) 284-5120 www.doli.state.mn.us/ mnStar.html Nevada Jess Lankford VPP Coordinator Phone: (702) 486-9046 www.dirweb.state.nv.us New Mexico Melissa Barker VPP Coordinator Phone: (505) 222-9595 www.nmenv.state. nm.us/Ohsb_Website/ ComplianceAssistance/VPP. htm North Carolina LaMont Smith Recognition Program Manager Phone: (919) 807-2909 www.nclabor.com/osha/osh. htm Oregon Mark E. Hurliman, CSHM VPP/SHARP Program Manager Phone: (541) 776-6016 www.cbs.state.or.us/osha/ subjects/vpp.htm Puerto Rico Ilza Roman Director Phone: (787) 754-2171 www.dtrh.gobierno.pr

South Carolina Sharon Dumit VPP Coordinator Phone: (803) 896-7788 www.scosha.llronline.com Tennessee David Blessman VPP Manager Phone: (615) 253-6890 www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd/ vppStar.html Utah Holly Lawrence VPP Manager Phone: (801) 530-6494 www.laborcommission. utah.gov/divisions/UOSH/ VPPprogram.html Vermont Daniel Whipple VPP Coordinator Phone: (802) 828-5084 www.labor.vermont.gov/ vosha Virginia Milford Stern VPP Coordinator Phone: (540) 562-3580 www.doli.virginia.gov/vosh_ coop/vosh_vpp.html Washington John Geppert VPP Manager Phone: (360) 902-5496 www.lni.wa.gov/safety/ topics/atoz/vpp/default.asp Wyoming Karin Schubert Consultation Supervisor Phone: (307) 777-7710 www.wyomingworkforce. org/employers-andbusinesses/osha/Pages/ safety-and-healthcompliance.aspx

For additional information and up-to-date contacts, please visit www.vpppa.org/chapters/contacts.cfm

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region round-ups

COMPILED BY JAMIE MITCHELL, COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR, VPPPA, INC.

Flexcon Company, Inc. in Spencer, MA, celebrating the company’s 60th birthday.

Region I Greetings from the New England VPP Stars!

Quarterly Regional Business Meeting VPPPA Region I held its quarterly regional business meeting at the national VPPPA conference in Kissimmee, Florida. During the meeting, a special recognition was held for retiring National Chairman, Mike Maddox and Steve Gauthier presented gifts from the region. Jack Popp presented an award of appreciation plaque to Mike to thank him for his outstanding VPPPA leadership and tremendous support of Region I and VPP in New England. Best wishes on your welldeserved retirement! Following the acceptance of the previous regional meeting minutes, prepared by Secretary Debra Bowie, and the approval of Karen Girardin’s Treasurer’s report, the Region I Board of Directors in attendance gave updates on the activities and future plans of their respective committees. Communications Chair, Alice Tatro, updated the group on Region I Communications— please check www.vppregion1.com for all 2017 regional conference announcements. Nominations Chair, Jack Popp, reported that all incumbents were re-elected without contest. The 2017 elections will be held at the Region I conference in Killington, Vermont. Glen Garfield, Chair of the Membership Committee, discussed gaining and retaining members, as well as dues payment. Mentoring Chair, Darwin Irish, discussed the mentoring process, current mentor and mentee pairings as well as the mentoring openings available. Steve Gauthier reported on several labor management activities and presented an awards committee update.

Region I Conference News

Region I Chairperson, Steve Gauthier, and former Chairperson, Jack Popp, presenting a Region I recognition plaque and gifts to Mike Maddox.

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Work continues in preparation for the 2017 Region I VPPPA “Best of the Northeast” Conference & Exposition, which will be held at Killington Grand Resort in Killington, Vermont from May 15–17, 2017. The opening keynote speaker will be Josh Davis and the closing speaker will be Randy Royall. The winner of the regional meeting raffle for a complimentary Region I conference registration was Raytheon. On behalf of Region I, we hope to see you at our next quarterly regional meeting to be hosted by

Danny McCree (left) of Johns Manville receiving his award for SGE of the year.

Pratt & Whitney in Maine on November 9, 2016. Please see our website for more details. Contributed by Jack Popp, Region I Director-at-Large

Region II The 2017 Region II SGE class will be held April 11–13, 2017 at VPP Star site, Covanta Essex, in Newark, NJ. The SGE application deadline for this class is January 15, 2017. Please share this information with your coworkers who may be interested in becoming Special Government Employees. For more information, please visit: www.osha.gov/dcsp/ vpp/sge/sge_training.html. Contributed by Brenda Wiederkehr, Region II Chairperson

Region IV Region IV VPPPA would like to congratulate Danny McCree of Johns Manville in Ridgeland, MS, for being selected as the 2015 Special Government Employee (SGE) of the year. We would also like to recognize our other outstanding SGE’s who were nominated: Danny Province, GE Appliances, Decatur, AL; Dan Hempsall, Johns Manville, Jacksonville, FL; Duston Escott, Nucor Vulcrat, Fort Payne, AL; Donna Pullman, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Stennis Space Center, MS. Region IV VPPPA would also like to recognize the Naval Air Station of Jacksonville, FL, which was selected as the 2015 Region IV Mentor of the Year. Region IV hosted SGE training class and an OSHA 10-Hour training at the 2016 Safety and Health Excellence Conference in Lexington, Kentucky. These classes were very successful and will be offered again at the 2017 Region IV VPPPA Safety and Health Excellence Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Region VI Board of Directors. Front row: Bubba Johnson, Pam Barnes, Sandra Garner, Rae Badeaux, Haney Robertson and Kirk Crandall. Back row: Dan “A–Z” Aleksandrowicz, Jonathan Dyer, Johnny Collazo and Danny Barrett.

New Star Sites

HEB Bakery, Houston, TX, VPP celebration.

Region IV is proud to welcome Lori Thomas of General Electric to the Board of Directors as a Director-at-Large. We are also pleased to announce the election of Christopher Colburn to the position of Treasurer. Retiring from the Board of Directors are Earl Hilson and Floyd Billings. We thank both Earl and Floyd for their many years of service to the Board of Directors and Region IV. Region IV is currently seeking workshop and the logo submissions for the 2017 Region IV VPPPA Safety and Health Excellence Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Please visit the Region IV website at www.regionivvpp.org for more information. Contributed by Christopher Colburn, Region IV Director-at-Large

Region V Plans are underway for the 2017 Region V VPPPA conference that will take place May 16– 19, 2017 at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The conference will include a VPP Site tour, VPP application workshop and new this year, a Region V golf outing. There are two open board positions including, Director-at-Large and Hourly Representative from a Non-Union Site. Please contact Bill Linneweh at 630-874-9727 if you are interested in being considered. Contributed by Steve Washburn, Region V Director-at-Large

Region VI Upcoming Trainings • November 15–17, 2016; SGE Training being held at Baton Rouge Area Office, Baton Rouge, LA • March 14–6, 2017; SGE training being held at Chevron Phillips Chemical, The Woodlands, TX • April 29–1, 2017; SGE training being held at Little Rock Marriott, Little Rock, AR • July 12–14, 2016; SGE training being held at Valero, San Antonio, TX • September 12–14, 2017; SGE training being held at NASA—Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX For more information and deadline dates go to www.osha.gov/dcsp/vpp/sge/sge_training.html Region VI recently held an SGE class prior to the Region VI Safety & Health Conference that was held in Ft. Worth, TX in May 2016. There were 33 new SGE’s sworn in— congratulations to everyone and we are looking forward to seeing you out on the audit teams. We would also like to extend our congratulations to Jamie Robey with The Brock Group, who was awarded the National SGE of the Year. Region VI board members Haney Robertson and Kirk Crandall recently led an outreach event at the 2nd Annual DiVal Safety Summit in Pasadena, Texas. In addition, Region VI board member Danny Barrett has recently started to mentor Cintas Uniforms in Conroe, Texas; Kirk Crandall also continues to mentor Tenaska Frontier in Shiro, Texas.

• Chevron Phillips Chemical Company Sweeny Complex, Sweeny, TX • Total Safety Corpus Christi District Office, Corpus Christi, TX • Canrig Drilling Technology, LTD, Magnolia, TX • Insultations, Inc. at Phillips 66 Refinery, Belle Chasse, LA • Cargill Corn Milling North America, McAllen, TX • Evergreen—Marathon Texas City Refinery, Texas City, TX • Husqvarna Forestry Products N.A., Nashville, AR • OCI Beaumont, LLC, Nederland, TX • Raytheon EO Innovations, Richardson, TX • Total Safety Texas City Service Center, Texas City, TX

Recertifications • Phillips 66 Pipeline LLC Coke Handling Terminal, Westlake, LA • Cargill Turkey Production, Temple, TX • Frito Lay San Antonio, San Antonio, TX • Halliburton—Duncan, Duncan, OK • Huber Engineered Woods, Broken Bow, OK • Instrument and Valve Services-Emerson, Gonzales, LA • NRG Texas, LLC—W A Parish Power Plant, Thompsons, TX • Phillips 66 Dowtown Bartlesville, Bartlesville, OK • Roco Rescue, Baton Rouge, LA • SI Group, Texas Operations, Freeport, TX • Thermo Fisher Scientific, Austin, TX • 97th Maintenance Altus Air Force Base, Altus, OK THE LEADER

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region round-ups

• Cargill Turkey Production Gentry Hatchery, Gentry, AR • Entergy Ops Denham Springs Service Center, Denham Springs, LA • Entergy Sterlington Plant, Sterlington, LA • Firestone Polymers—Lake Charles Facility, Sulphur, LA • GP SW LA Lumber Ops, Dequincy, LA • Husqvarna Outdoor Products, Nashville, AR • Terra Nitrogen Verdigris Plant, Claremore, OK • USPS Mission Post Office, Mission, TX Contributed by Kirk Crandall, Region VI Director-at-Large

Region VII We would like to thank Mike Maddox for his unwavering support of VPP and Region VII. We wish him and Sharon the best in the years to come. An SSQ workshop will take place on December 8, 2016 in Lenexa, KS. We also have six new SGEs in the region, nine mentor/mentee match ups and have been approached by three other companies about the possibility of having mentors visit their sites. Iowa Contract Fabricators in Riceville, IA celebrated their Star status award with a flag raising on July 12, 2016. The following two spots on the Board of Directors have been filled: Brent Nelson, Director-At-Large #5 from Monsanto and Jerry Wachtel, Labor Rep. from a Site Without a Collective Bargaining Agent from NuStar Energy. We are actively pursuing new sponsors, vendors and new workshops for the Region VII conference in Kansas City, May 8–10, 2017. Contributed by Bill Turner, Region VII Chairperson

Region VIII The state of VPPPA in Region VIII remains strong. Together we have increased our annual conference attendance and revenue. Our social media followers have increased by about 65 percent while our regional conference attendance increased by about 61 percent. In addition, our regional conference sponsorships have increased by about 80

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percent. Most importantly, we continue sound relationships with our federal and state plan states as we continue to coordinate events with WY Workforce Services and the North Dakota Safety Council. Furthermore, our “What’s Great in R8” outreach/ benchmarking events continue to be a huge success and our region now has two members on National VPPPA Committees. Region VIII will be conducting SGE training October 18–20, 2016 at Hill AFB in Layton, Utah. The next “What’s Great in Region 8” outreach benchmarking events will be hazard recognition at PCAPP in Pueblo, CO, and electrical qualified training at Sturgeon Electric in Henderson, CO. We launched and continue to modify a userfriendly website: www.RegionVIIIVPPPA.org where you can stay current on all regional updates. We would like to welcome and congratulate our three newest VPP sites: Monsanto in West Fargo, North Dakota; TIC based in Denver, Colorado and JohnsManville in Belgrade, Montana. Keni Thomas and Chad Williams will be our 2017 April conference keynote speakers which will be held at the DoubleTree in Colorado Springs, CO. The region’s first “Spirit of Region VIII” Scholarship will be awarded at the conference. Finally, open board positions for 2017 include Chairperson, Treasurer, Directorat-Large #2 and Union Representative. Contributed by Mark Moya, Region VIII Chairperson

Region X The 22nd Annual Region X Northwest Safety & Health Summit took place May 18–19, at The Grove Hotel & Boise Centre in Boise, Idaho. Our workshop tracks included a variety of topics such as: VPP basics, strengthening Star, management/leadership, technical, wellness and preparedness. The workshop sessions offered participants many educational opportunities to learn about VPP from entry to the advanced level. The keynote speaker, Gene Balsmeier, conveyed a message that resonated with attendees and provided participants with important concepts to consider, both at work and in their personal lives. The membership

approved bylaws that now better align with National VPPPA standards. The following people/locations were recognized for their accomplishments this year: • Regional Chairperson Award: Liz Norton; • Innovation Award: Idaho Treatment Group • Mentor of the Year Award: Max VanValey • Special Government Employee: Amelia Maule • The Safety and Health Award: CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company; Cinda Guenther and Jan Seely of Mission Support Alliance The Region X Board of Directors thanks our sponsors: ConocoPhillips, AK; CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company, Richland, WA; CH2M-WG, Idaho Falls, Idaho; Clearwater Paper, Lewiston, Idaho; Mission Support Alliance, Richland, WA; AECOM, Meridian, Idaho; UniSea, AK; Washington River Protection Solutions, Richland, WA; Monsanto, Idaho; Oregon SHARP, Oregon and a special thanks to AIM, Glove Guard and the Idaho Potato Commission. The Board of Directors and the conference planning team are working to prepare for the 23rd Annual Region X Northwest Safety & Health Summit that will be held at the Davenport Grand Hotel in Spokane, WA. A SGE class will be offered to VPP member sites on May 16–18, 2017. Derek Engard is the new Region X federal OSHA VPP manager. He replaced Jacob Ewer who accepted a new position as the OSHA Bellevue area office manager. Derek has a bachelor’s degree in aviation operations and served five years in the United States Air Force. He decided to make a career change and went back to school completing a master’s degree in industrial hygiene. Derek was a compliance officer for OSHA at the Denver area office for five years. He then moved to the OSHA National Office working in the Office of Chemical Process Safety and Enforcement Initiatives. His work in D.C. focused on corporate settlement agreements and temporary workers. Derek has also worked as an environmental health and safety representative for a semiconductor company based in Santa Rosa, CA. Contributed by Jack Griffith, Region X Chairperson

VPPPA Contacts

calendar of events

December Mid-December Membership renewals

January January Membership benefits mailing

April April 4–6, 2017 Region IX VPPPA Safety Summit Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Burlingame, CA

April 25–27, 2017 Region VIII VPPPA Safety Summit DoubleTree by Hilton Colorado Springs, CO

May 10–12, 2017 Region III 20th Annual Conference Kalahari Hotel and Convention Center Poconos, PA

May 15–17, 2017 Region I VPPPA Conference Killington Resort Killington, VT

May 16–18, 2017 Region V VPPPA Conference Grand Geneva Resort & Spa Lake Geneva, WI

May 16–18, 2017 Region X Northwest Safety & Health Summit The Davenport Grand Hotel Spokane, WA

June June 20–22, 2017

May

Region IV Safety & Health Excellence Conference Sheraton Atlanta, GA

May 1–4, 2017

June 23–26, 2017

Region VI Annual Safety & Health Conference Statehouse Convention Center Little Rock, AR

Region II VPPPA Conference Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City, NJ

May 8–10, 2017 Region VII VPPPA Conference The Westin Crown Center Kansas City, MO

To reach the VPPPA National Office, call (703) 761-1146 or visit www. vpppa.org. To reach a particular staff member, please refer to the contact information below. R. Davis Layne rdlayne@vpppa.org Senior Advisor Sara A. Taylor, CMP staylor@vpppa.org Director of Operations Ext. 107 Amanda McVicker, CMP amcvicker@vpppa.org Senior Conference Manager Ext. 112 Sarah Neely sneely@vpppa.org Communications Manager Ext. 121 Jamie Mitchell jmitchell@vpppa.org Communications Coordinator Ext. 117 Tom Webb twebb@vpppa.org Strategic Development & Member Services Manager Ext. 114 Natasha Cole ncole@vpppa.org Member Services Coordinator Ext. 113 Katlyn Pagliuca kpagliuca@vpppa.org Government Affairs & Special Projects Coordinator Ext. 115 Heidi Hill hhill@vpppa.org Event Sales & Advertising Coordinator Ext. 111 Michael Khosrofian mkhosrofian@vpppa.org Accountant Ext. 104 Bryant Walker bwalker@vpppa.org Information & Data Analyst Manager Ext. 110 Courtney Malveaux, Esq cmalveaux@vpppa.org Government Relations Counsel Ext. 105

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7600-E Leesburg Pike, Suite 100 Falls Church, VA 22043-2004 Tel: (703) 761-1146 Fax: (703) 761-1148 www.vpppa.org VPPPA, a nonprofit 501(c)â&#x20AC;&#x2030;(3) charitable organization, promotes advances in worker safety and health excellence through best practices and cooperative efforts among workers, employers, the government and communities.

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