The Leader Winter 2018 - Women in Safety

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1, WINTER 2018

WOMEN IN SAFETY

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LEADER THE

VOL 5. ISSUE 1 WINTER 2018

features

CONTENTS

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Attending the Energy Executive Women’s Program Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to Roberts, LA, to spend a week at the Shell Robert Training and Conference Center (RTCC). This state-of-the-art facility is situated on 35 private acres, surrounded by woods, located in the heart of the Gulf-South region between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA. Every year, thousands of men and women come to the Shell Robert Training Center to prepare themselves for the everincreasing challenges of working in oil and gas operations. My invitation to this facility had a very different purpose. I was one of thirty women business owners invited to the facility to attend the inaugural Energy Executive Women’s Program underwritten

by Shell Oil Company.

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A Woman in Safety

Every woman who chooses safety as their profession has their own story to tell. As a young girl in the Midwest, I grew up hearing my mom and relatives talk about how her father tragically died in a farming equipment accident, and this impacted me for life. My grandmother not only lost her husband, but it cost them the family farm and her way of life as she knew it. The wounds from this single incident ran deep for generations, not only with the family, but in the community.

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Personal Protection Equipment for Women: Hot Stuff™ Safetywear Launches First Collection Hot Stuff™ Safetywear, an upscale brand of Flame-Resistant Clothing (FRC), has launched its first collection of jumpsuits and separates in the United States. The brand is poised to disrupt the male-dominated safetywear space, an industry unreflective of the changing STEM demographic. Founded by Jaime Glas, a Petroleum Engineer out of Austin, TX, Hot Stuff™ offers safe, comfortable, functional and flattering FRC options for women, a rarity in the market. Hot Stuff™ Safetywear uses current fashion trends with hopes to revolutionize the image of personal protective apparel for the next generation of working women.

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A History of Powerful Women in Construction In the construction industry, it’s safe to say that women are underrepresented.

Even when compared to traditionally male-dominated sectors, women have yet to break through in many areas of construction. Just nine percent of United States construction workers are female. I find it disturbing that as an industry we miss out on this huge pool of talent. Let’s look back on some of the powerful women in history that helped to pave the way for the women today who want to be given a chance.

vpppa.org

www.vpppa.org

features continued

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

Working Extra Hard to Get Women Involved

A safety footwear brand from Europe is playing a key role in attracting women to the construction and industrial sectors starting feet first. A commitment to encouraging gender equality amongst the workplace starts with specialist safety equipment being available to the female workforce in women’s sizes. Working alongside diversity champion, building surveyor and former Miss England finalist, Sophie Lydia Smith, European safety footwear label, Amblers Safety, have committed to increasing their PPE offering to women in the workplace. This comes as a key move to ensure that women do not feel out of place and influence diversity in the long term.

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Goal Setting for Safety Professionals

When I first started in safety, I had a lot of questions that my research didn’t answer. I wanted to understand how to apply what I had learned in the workplace, and sometimes that meant asking what might have been perceived as a “dumb” question. I was seeking a safe place to ask questions and understand the safety industry.

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

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VPP Journey: Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico How did our VPP journey start? In November 2013, Marine Corps Installations Command, our higher headquarters, provided guidance that all Marine Corps Installations shall establish a commandwide hazard reduction culture through a robust and comprehensive Safety and Occupational Health Management System that would reduce injuries, illnesses and mishaps. The guidance continued to establish that VPP would be the tool used to reach this lofty goal. As the Installation Safety Manager, my initial reaction was, “Are you kidding me?”

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 Director-at-Large Jack Griffith, CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company Director-at-Large Dan Lazorcak, CSP, Honeywell International Editor Kerri Carpenter, VPPPA, Inc. Associate Editor Jamie Mitchell, VPPPA, Inc.

G overnment

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.

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Membership

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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VPP JOURNEY

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THE LEADER / WINTER 2018

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global safety and health watch

The Gender Pay Gap Around the Globe

BY JAMIE MITCHELL, COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR, VPPPA, INC.

D

epending on which article you read, the statistics vary. Whether the report reads women get paid 80 percent of what men make, 77 percent, 79 percent, 80.5 percent, or another variation—the issue exists. Measuring average earnings using hourly, weekly, annual or other methods of gathering the data again produce slightly different numbers. However, the typical pay gap is around 20 percent, and varies even more between races. According to the American Association of University Women (AAUW), a gender equity advocacy organization, in

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2016, women working full time in the United States were paid 80 percent of what their male counterparts were paid. (For this article, we will use the rounded 80 percent figure.)

But why is there a gender pay gap, and how did it come to be this way? To simplify it significantly, it is a multifaceted matter that combines family care, negotiating skills and employer biases.

On average, the pay gap is narrowing, however slowly. The U.S. Equal Pay Act became law in 1963, when women earned an average of 54 cents for every dollar a man did. As wages for women increase over time, we are getting closer to equal pay for equal work, but it will not be totally equal any time soon. The rate of change between 1960

and 2016 reveals that women are expected to reach pay equity with men in 2059. However, the rate of change has slowed since 2001, and if we follow that rate of change women will not reach pay equity with men until 2119. When referencing the gender pay gap, we most often use the numbers referring to full-time workers. However, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), “if part-time and part-year workers were included, the ratios of women’s to men’s earnings would be even lower, as women are more likely than men to work reduced schedules, often in order to manage unpaid childrearing and other caregiving work.”

Years of inequality prove that the gender pay gap is hard to close. Are all workplaces guilty of vpppa.org

practicing gender biases and/or paying women less? Of course not. Yet, the 20 percent pay gap is a significant enough average that needs to keep decreasing.

Contributing Factors Olivia Mitchell, the director of the pension research council at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, believes that the three main contributors toward the pay gap include: the motherhood penalty, women’s lack of negotiating skills and the bias women face from employers.

Research shows that women often suffer consequences for becoming mothers. In a Fortune article by Madeline Farber, it states that about 39 percent of women report to have taken significant time off work after giving birth. This decision usually results in these women earning an average of seven percent less per child compared to childless women. However, for men, the opposite is true. New fathers typically receive a pay bump after their child is born. According to a study done by the Harvard Kennedy School, fathers were also offered a higher starting salary than childless men. Women are increasingly contributing or becoming the breadwinners in many homes. In the AAUW’s 2017 report about the gender pay gap it notes, “Between 1967 and 2012 the proportion of mothers bringing home at least a quarter of the family’s earnings rose from less than a third (28 percent) to nearly two-thirds (63 percent). Today, 42 percent of mothers with children under the age of 18 are their families’ primary or sole breadwinners. As families increasingly rely on women’s wages to make ends meet, the gender pay gap directly affects men and children as well.”

In addition, research also shows that women are less likely to negotiate their salary than men, and a lack of confidence or guidance can be the reason. Negotiations possibly present a socially awkward or difficult situation, so many people hesitate to advocate for themselves, or avoid it completely. Finally, employer vpppa.org

bias and stereotyping can lead to the pay gap. Unfortunately, this is often not even a conscious decision or intended by employers. A Glassdoor study found that despite the federal law requiring men and women to be paid the same for equal work, researchers found that men still made about 5.4 percent more in base pay than their female counterparts, and 7.4 percent more in overall compensation. Deeprooted gender discrimination throughout the world perpetuates the pay gap, as well as occupational segregation and fewer leadership opportunities for women.

However, women’s progress in education have helped to narrow the pay gap in more recent years, as many women are moving into occupations previously done almost

exclusively by men. Yet, some industries, like construction, still lack significant progress in occupational segregation.

The Pay Gap by Race & Internationally In the aforementioned report by the IWPR, “Black and Hispanic workers of both sexes earn considerably less than White and Asian workers; as a result, the gender earnings ratio based on earnings of men of the same race or ethnicity is higher than the ratio for women of all races considered together, meaning the within-race gaps are narrower.” Between White men and women, the pay gap is narrower than it is between White men and women of color.

For example, the IWPR notes that “Hispanic

THE LEADER / WINTER 2018

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global safety and health watch

Today, 42 percent of mothers with children under the age of 18 are their families’ primary or sole breadwinners.

women will have to wait until 2233 and Black women will wait until 2124 for equal pay.”

Overall, women earn less than men in every country around the globe. In 2015, New Zealand had the smallest pay gap, and women still earned five percent less than men. It is estimated by the World Economic Forum (WEF) that it will take 170 years to close the gender pay gap around the world.

According to Business Insider, “In the U.K., female managers earn £12,000 less than their male counterparts, according to new research published in September.” Using data from the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report, which compares attitudes towards gender equality around the world, Business Insider also pulled together a list of the countries with the largest pay gaps. The report discussed the following: “The WEF surveyed men and women in 135 countries on the extent to which wages for women are equal to those of men in their country, asking them to use a scale of one to seven. Seven indicated a fully equal salary—thus a non-existent pay gap—while one declared that pay was not at all equal, with a woman’s pay totaling significantly less than a man’s in a similar job role. Rwanda ranked first in the world for residents’ opinions towards the gender pay gap, scoring 6.14 out of seven. The U.K. came 41st out of the 135 participating countries, scoring 4.72, while the U.S. scored 4.57, coming in at 66th place.”

Long-Term Results & the Future The AAUW’s 2017 report also reflects on the long-term results of the pay gap on both women and the economy. The report states, “The gender pay gap has lifelong financial effects. For one, it contributes directly to women’s poverty. In 2016, 13 percent of American women ages 18–64 were living below the federal poverty level, compared with 10 percent of men. For ages 65 and older, 11 percent of women and 8 percent of men were living in poverty. Eliminating the gender

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pay gap by increasing women’s levels of pay to those of men could cut the poverty rate for working women in half.” In addition, a regression analysis of federal data by the IWPR discovered that “equal pay would cut poverty among working women and their families by more than half and add $513 billion to the national economy.”

Women make up nearly half of the U.S. labor force, and are also taking on positions and working in fields that have been traditionally male-dominated more than ever before. Building a strong economy can be accomplished by utilizing the talents of everyone willing to do the work. Numerous advocacy groups, employers and passionate individuals are all pushing for equal pay among men and women. While the pay gap will not be closed overnight, and there is still work to do, strides have been made in many workplaces around the world toward equality, diversity and inclusivity.

Resources:

1. www.weforum.org/reports/the-globalgender-gap-report-2017 2. www.businessinsider.com/countries-with-thebiggest-gender-pay-gap-2016-3 3. www.businessinsider.com/countries-with-thebiggest-gender-pay-gaps-2017-10 4. fortune.com/2017/04/03/equal-pay-day2017-wage-gap/ 5. iwpr.org/issue/employment-educationeconomic-change/pay-equitydiscrimination/ 6. iwpr.org/publications/five-ways-to-win-anargument-about-the-gender-wage-gap/ 7. www.aauw.org/aauw_check/pdf_do wnload/show_pdf.php?file=The-Simple-Truth 8. www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truthabout-the-gender-pay-gap/ 9. www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat39.htm 10. www.catalyst.org/knowledge/womenmale-dominated-industries-andoccupations#footnote15_5b1wlum 11. www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-maledominated-industries-and-occupations 12. gap.hks.harvard.edu/getting-job-theremotherhood-penalty 13. www.glassdoor.com/research/studies/ gender-pay-gap/

vpppa.org

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ATTENDING THE

ENERGY EXECUTIVE WOMEN’S PROGRAM

Michele Adams, President of Safety Pros, a 30-year-long VPPPA member company, discusses her experience during the Energy Executive Women’s Program for the Oil, Gas and Energy Industry.

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THE LEADER / WINTER 2018

vpppa.org

R

ecently, I had the opportunity to travel to Roberts, LA, to spend a week at the Shell Robert Training and Conference Center (RTCC). This state-of-the-art facility is situated on 35 private acres, surrounded by woods, located in the heart of the GulfSouth region between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA. Every year, thousands of men and women come to the Shell Robert Training Center to prepare themselves for the everincreasing challenges of working in oil and gas operations. Opened initially to handle training and development for Shell’s domestic operating staff, the Center has long since become an important training resource for the industry on a global scale. It holds labs that are equipped with the same control rooms, electrical panels, instruments, blow out preventers, subsea control system, computer networks and other drilling and production equipment that students must deal with on the job.

My invitation to this facility had a very different purpose. I was one of thirty women business owners invited to attend the inaugural Energy Executive Women’s Program underwritten by Shell Oil Company.

The program was a week-long, immersive executive educational experience focusing on the energy, oil and gas industry to drive development of Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) leaders within the energy industry supply chain. The WBENC Energy Executive Program focused on increasing the competitive advantage, capabilities and strategy development of women as leaders in the industry. This program supports the evolution of diversity and inclusion strategies among major energy, oil and gas companies, and further shows the commitment toward impacting the long-term success of diverse businesses that are critical to the global energy supply chains.

Upon my arrival to the facility, I was presented with my Program Playbook and felt exhausted just thinking about the week ahead.

The Playbook included a grueling schedule that started every morning at 8:00 A.M. and continued late into the evening. In addition to my schedule, my Playbook included impressive bios of the panelists and speakers, which included executives from the program’s sponsoring companies such as Shell, Exxon Mobil, BP and Chevron.

Safety culture is a top priority to these industry leaders and being able to track, measure, report and reward employee safety vpppa.org

behavior is definitely top of mind for all EHS professionals. Their industry knowledge proved to be very thought-provoking as to how I could tailor the safety recognition programs my company, Safety Pros, provides the oil, gas and energy industries.

For over 30 years, Safety Pros, has helped customers achieve their safety goals and create safer, healthier work environments. Our personalized service and dedication to creating and promoting successful safety programs has helped our customers build strong safety cultures within their organizations. Hearing from professionals working in the oil, gas and energy industries and discussing their challenges and their initiatives was valuable information that can help shape the products and services offered by my company.

The success of a safety recognition program is reliant on its implementation.

At Safety Pros, we help organizations implement safety recognition programs focused on improving safety culture and reducing workplace accidents. Our programs focus on safety behavior and create a collaborative, problem-solving approach involving both management and employees in identifying critical sets of safe and unsafe behaviors. This allows for the creation of incentives for the specific behaviors, or sets of behaviors, that prevent accidents from occurring on the job.

The success of a safety recognition program is reliant on its implementation. Occupational health and safety research suggests that safety programs are most effective at increasing safety behaviors long-term and reducing workplace safety incidents if they serve to reinforce an organization’s climate of safety and are designed to proactively recognize and reward desirable safety behaviors. Successful safety recognition programs are built from the following elements:

Pictured above: During the WBENC Executive Training Program, the women were given a tour of the facility.

1. Structure: Having clearly defined safety goals and a plan for reinforcing these goals is pertinent to shaping employee behavior and adopting the safety program from the start.

2. Reinforcement: To reinforce safety behaviors and continued progression toward safety goals, feedback is essential. Feedback lets employees know how well they are progressing toward and achieving their safety THE LEADER / WINTER 2018

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goals, allowing them to adjust their efforts to meet those goals.

3. Recognition and Rewards: Before distributing recognition, prizes and other rewards, be sure these incentives are paired with a consistent set of behavioral contingencies. Employees should know what is expected of them before a reward can be given. For example, individual-level safety compliance might be rewarded with a small prize or a note card, while unit-level safety compliance might be rewarded with a plaque that is displayed in their department.

4. Communication and Promotion: A successful safety recognition program is one that is promoted throughout the organization. Supervisors and human resources personnel should strive to share program goals, highlights and featured incentives with every department of the organization.

5. Program Tracking & Evaluation: All aspects of the safety incentives program should be regularly monitored and evaluated for effectiveness and to ensure program goals are being achieved and to identify possible problem areas that can be improved upon.

Pictured above: An oil rig simulator.

At the Energy Executive Women’s Program I was ecstatic to be among other women who worked in safety and health. There were extensive opportunities to network with peer attendees. Conversations led to many discussions about joining forces and succeeding together for years to come. Being able to share my ideas and learn more about the gas, oil and energy industry’s needs was truly eye opening.

It was an opportunity to learn how different organizations implement safety recognition programs and share with them how my company is able to help.

In addition to the networking with executives at the oil and gas companies, we were taught an intensive curriculum by industry experts and professors from the University of Texas, McCombs School of Business. We had the opportunity to learn topics that directly affect the gas, oil and energy industry. A few of the topics included: • • • • •

Business Strategy Marketing Finance Effective Negotiations Introduction to Energy

One of the most exciting parts of the program was the immersive facility tour with hands-on exercises and real-life simulations

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of oilrig and process operations. All executive topics where based on how they related to the energy industry and used Women’s Business Owner’s actual business experience in exercises where applicable. I feel attending and investing in educating myself on this industry will increase my competitive advantage through strategy and offer me the tools for success as a female business owner involved in safety and health.

At the end of the week I was exhilarated rather than exhausted.

To learn more about the Energy Executive Women’s Program, visit their website: http:// www.wbenc.org/energy-executive-program/.

For over 30 years, Michele Adams has been helping her clients with brand recognition and people recognition initiatives.

Michele is President of Proforma Global Sourcing. Proforma Global Sourcing is one of 720 franchise offices in the United States. With a combined $450M in annual sales, Proforma is ranked number one in distributor print and promotional products sales.

Michele’s Proforma franchise is a member of the Million Dollar Club, a distinction only 60 offices have obtained. She has proudly worked with UPS, Bacardi USA and Ryder Systems, Inc., providing e-commerce solutions for promotional products and document management programs.

In January of 2012, Michele acquired Levy Marketing + Awards (LMA) in Tampa, FL. LMA designs and manufactures custom awards and has been “Innovating the Art of Recognition” since 1960 through the creative design and development of awards. Through this acquisition, Michele was able to expand her ecommerce solutions to include employee recognition programs. LMA works with many companies in North America with custom solutions for employee recognition such as Best Buy, Ricoh USA and New York Life.

To add to her portfolio, in 2014, Michele acquired Safety Pros, which specializes in Safety Incentive Awards. As members of VPPPA for 30 years, this company has established a strong reputation as experts in the safety incentive industry. Working with her IT team, she was able to develop comprehensive online safety incentive programs for clients like Phillips 66 and Mueller to name a few.

Michele is a member of Women’s Business Enterprises National Council (WBENC), Voluntary Protection Programs Participants Association (VPPPA) and serves as a board member for the American Breast Cancer Foundation (ABCF).

vpppa.org

AN INTEGRATED SAFETY & HEALTH MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS SYMPOSIUM

PRESENTED BY VPPPA & TSHC

SYMPOSIUM AGENDA Monday, August 27, 2018— Pre-Symposium Day Obtain Additional CEUs 7:00 am–3:00 pm Registration 8:00 am–5:00 pm Pre-Symposium Workshops

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

August 28 – August 31, 2018 Gaylord Opryland Convention Center Nashville, TN www.vpppa.org/symposium #VPPPA2018 | #TSHC2018

Wednesday, August 29, 2018 7:00 am–4:00 pm Registration 8:00 am–9:00 am Workshops 9:00 am–3:30 pm Exhibit Hall Open 10:30 am–11:30 am Workshops 11:30 am–1:00 pm Lunch

Symposium’s Official 1 Day

1:00 pm–2:00 pm Workshops

7:00 am–5:00 pm Registration

3:00 pm–4:00 pm Workshops

7:00 am–8:30 am Labor & Management Open Forum

Thursday, August 30, 2018

st

7:30 am–8:00 am Member Services Workshop 8:00 am–8:30 am First Timer’s Workshop 8:30 am–9:00 am Mobile App Demonstration 9:15 am–10:00 am Annual Meeting of the Membership

8:00 am–4:00 pm Registration 8:30 am–9:30 am Workshops 9:30 am–1:30 pm

Exhibit Hall Open

11:00 am–12:00 pm Workshops 12:00 pm–1:30 pm Lunch

10:15 am–12:30 pm Opening General Session Part 1

1:30 pm–2:30 pm Workshops

12:30 pm–1:30 pm Lunch

2:30 pm–3:00 pm Afternoon Break

2:00 pm–3:30 pm Opening General Session Part 2

3:00 pm–4:00 pm Workshops

4:00 pm–5:30 pm Regional Networking Meetings

6:00 pm–9:00 pm Casino Night Reception

6:00 pm–8:00 pm Grand Opening of Exhibit Hall & Reception

Friday, August 31, 2018 8:00 am–10:00 am Registration 8:30 am–9:30 am Workshops

For more details on workshops, please visit our website: www.vpppa.org/symposium

9:45 am–10:45 am Workshops 11:00 am–12:30 pm Closing General Session Keynote Speaker: Jim Morris

BY BRENDA WIEDERKEHR VICE PRESIDENT, ACCESS HEALTH SYSTEMS & OWNER OF ACCESS COMPLIANCE

A WOMAN IN SAFETY It would be safe to say when I was growing up in the small Midwestern town of Taylorville, IL, you

would have called me a tomboy. I was more inclined to be out in the fields, riding tractors or dirt bikes and hanging with the boys shooting guns. I’ve been away from Taylorville for many years, but my legacy lives on. I was a bit of a wild child, free spirit in my day. I still have a lot of Taylorville in me and always will. “You can take the girl out of the country but not the country from the girl.”

I

left Taylorville after graduation because I wanted more. It was time to spread my wings. As a young woman, just out of high school, the United States Army was my ticket to a new and exciting world. If the boys could do it, I figured I could do it too, earning money for my education, camping, shooting and making a living, all while experiencing life and serving my country. I enlisted and in six short months, I found myself in Fort Hood, TX. I love my country and consider it a privilege to have served. My final position/duty in the Army was as a training and operations non-commissioned officer (NCO). The time I spent in the service helped develop tools and leadership skills that have served me well,

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not only in the Army, but in life. While my spouse and I continued to serve in the reserves, my first child was born. With the turbulence overseas, it would have been very hard for both of us to serve as soldiers and provide the parental care needed for our new son. I made the decision at that time to finish out my term and focus on a new career.

In August of 1992, while making this transition from active duty to the reserves, I started a new position with Access Health Systems (AHS). AHS was, and is, a full service occupational health clinic. Occupational medicine was a relatively new field of medicine dating back to the early 1960s. Its focus has primarily been with the maintenance of health

in the workplace, including the prevention and treatment of work-related diseases and work-related injuries. The owner, Dr. Warren Silverman, believes strongly that the best way to protect workers and reduce workplace injuries is through prevention. Rather than treating battered bodies, the focus must be on training and the implementation of controls.

Training was a key element and driving force in my military career. As such, this approach for me was crystal clear.

One day, Dr. Silverman suggested that I get more involved in the safety community. I jumped in head first. I began setting up safety education programs, working first with a Federal Health and Safety Council, and then through vpppa.org

vpppa.org

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“You can take the girl out of the country but not the country from the girl.” other local and national safety councils. I shook a lot of hands, listened to a lot of stories and took advantage of every training opportunity that came my way. I got the safety bug and I was hooked. After all, I spent more than 12 years keeping the troops safe while they trained and performed their duties.

After attending a Federal Safety Council Educational Program, Dr. Silverman encouraged me to reach out to the OSHA Area Director to see if we could help revitalize the local chapter.

I didn’t know it at the time, but this was the catalyst that sparked our journey to pursue the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). There had never been an outpatient medical practice in this program. By 2003, our company, Access Health Systems, was celebrating the achievement of Star status. I surrounded myself with great people and I was blessed with an incredible team.

During that time, I also went back to college in the evenings and earned my bachelor’s degree from Siena College.

After completing my degree, I was motivated to grow the safety side of the business.

Dr. Silverman had established a successful occupational health practice in the early 1980s and was an invaluable resource. I valued his judgment and asked for guidance in pursuing my dream of owning my own business, specializing in safety and regulatory compliance.

I took the safety company private in 2006, and Access Compliance, LLC was born.

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Today Access Compliance is a woman and veteran owned company, a full-service risk management company specializing in safety training, regulatory compliance and industrial hygiene. We supply safety professionals to companies that need them, for both short-term and long-term projects. We offer a full range of safety training services. Examples include confined space, fall protection, silica and respiratory protection, to name a few. We offer onsite consultative services, gap analysis and written program development. We are growing, and plan to keep growing as long as there are employees to keep safe.

When I was asked to write about women in safety, I thought about what I should say. My Dad would have thought that going out on an industrial site with a hard hat and steel-toed shoes, hearing and vision protection is working in a man’s world, with testosterone, sweat and danger. But just like riding those dirt bikes, or grunting in the Army, he and my Mom were, and would be, proud of me because I am still out there keeping our men and women safe.

My folks gave me roots and wings and I flew because of that.

Every woman who chooses safety as a profession has their own story to tell. As a young girl in the Midwest I grew up hearing my mom and relatives talk about how her father died tragically in a farming equipment accident, and this impacted me for life. My grandmother not only lost her husband, but it

cost them the family farm and her way of life as she knew it. She had to raise a daughter alone in the 1950s when there were no programs to help single parents. She was a strong woman, and started her life over with my mother, had to get a job outside the home and worked her way up through positions at a nearby hospital, where she retired after 35 years. The wounds from this single incident ran deep for generations, not only with the family, but in the community.

At Access Health Systems I have seen first-hand the carnage left behind from a preventable work-related incident. Seldom are people made whole afterward. Statistics show that there are 12 to 13 people who die every day as a result of a workplace accident. An estimated 50,000 people will die as a result of long-term exposure to workplace hazards. This is simply unacceptable. The good news is that most accidents are preventable, if you have a plan. I believe we can all make a difference.

In my opinion, what makes safety a great field for women is that, in general, women care about details, organization, following the rules and achieving perfection. The safety field provides an excellent method of combining the way we are wired into a great venue for helping others in a much broader manner.

Being a woman in this field is not easy.

Working out in mud-filled trenches in the afternoon and then having to clean up, dress up in a cocktail dress and makeup for an event that same night can be a challenge, however a manageable one. It is not unusual for our days to be filled with family, chauffeuring kids around, finding childcare or eldercare, keeping the house, etc. You have heard about all of that more than a few times, but it’s all true. For me, add writing proposals, helping companies across the country with their compliance issues, staffing jobs and a million other work tasks.

Let’s just say, there is plenty on my plate.

Here is the deal about women in safety.

It is a field women can and should take an active part of, and can be successful in. We belong here. We do a great job. We work well with our male counterparts and add our own unique perspectives to a team tasked with keeping the workplace safe and the workers healthy. If you have a female safety professional on your team, you are fortunate.

If you don’t, you should hire one.

Brenda Wiederkehr, CSC, has been a VPPPA member since 2002 and is currently the Vice President at Access Health Systems, the owner of Access Compliance and the VPPPA Region II Chairperson.

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Brenda Wiederkehr, CSC Owner

Access Compliance, LLC Working with Employers to Advance a “Culture” of Safety and Compliance in the Workplace Proud to be certified in New York State as a Women’s Business Enterprise and the National Women’s Business Enterprise.

NYSWBE #53310 NWBEC #2005121673 Access Compliance is a full service agency devoted to assisting the safety and health programs of all entities involved in commerce to provide a safe and healthy environment for their employees.

For information about our services call: 1-800-732-8004

Veteran Owned Business

info@accesscompliance.net

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BY JAIME GLAS FOUNDER OF HOT STUFF™ SAFETYWEAR

made for working women by Equipment working women Personal Protection

FOR WOMEN Hot Stuff™ Safetywear is an upscale brand of Flame-Resistant Clothing (FRC) made for working women by working women. It is our mission to design safe, comfortable, functional, and stylish FRC that is flattering for all female forms. Contact us today for distribution and/or partnership opportunities.

Like. Follow. Share.

w hotstuffsafetywear.com

Launches First Collection @hotstuffsafetywear @hotstuffsafetywear

Hot Stuff™ Safetywear, an upscale brand of Flame-Resistant Clothing (FRC), has launched its first collection of jumpsuits and separates in the United States. The brand is poised to disrupt the male-dominated safetywear space, an industry unreflective of the changing STEM demographic.

F

ounded by Jaime Glas, a Petroleum Engineer out of Austin, TX, Hot Stuff™ offers safe, comfortable, functional and flattering FRC options for women, a rarity in the market. Hot Stuff™ Safetywear uses current fashion trends with hopes to revolutionize the image of personal protective apparel for the next generation of working women.

“From the instant I suited up in my first pair of flame-resistant coveralls at Chevron in 2010, I knew there had to be a better option,” recalls Glas. “I was immediately determined to design a better coverall option—ones made with women in mind.”

For those in traditionally male-dominated industries where FRC clothing is a mandate, like in the oil and gas industry, for Glas, options for women are limited. Most resort to purchasing men’s apparel—finding themselves left wearing ill-fitting and uncomfortable clothing during their work day.

Glas continues, “The unshapely clothing, beyond being a safety hazard, was awkward.

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It was frustrating to see the limited options I had, and I never felt my best while in the field. Growing up, I always had two diverging interests: fashion and math. While I chose to follow my love of math into engineering, I didn’t understand why I needed to sacrifice my love of clothes, my personal expression, at work.”

Hot Stuff™ offers women, for the first time, an assortment of styles to call their own. While safety and comfort are at the core of each item, the line is feminine, modern and full of personality. Each style in the line is named for a fellow female engineer that has inspired Glas along the way in her career.

“Most importantly,” Glas finishes, “I made this brand to help build the confidence of the women I work with every day and to show younger women there’s absolutely nothing that needs to be sacrificed when entering the STEM fields.”

Currently, Collection 1 can be purchased online at hotstuffsafetywear.com. This gives buyers the option to buy The Free Suit, The Fever Suit and The Flex Suit. Hot Stuff™

Safetywear welcomes distribution and partnership opportunities. Ranging in retail price from $180 to $200, the line is ready to transform the FRC market, elevating expectations for women’s workwear along the way.

Jaime Glas graduated from Louisiana State University in 2012 with bachelor’s degrees in petroleum engineering and international trade and finance and a minor in Chinese culture and commerce. She interned three summers during college with Chevron in Bakersfield, CA, and Houston, TX, then went to work full time as a Production Engineer for Chevron’s Carthage field in East Texas. She held multiple other positions in Chevron’s Mid-Continent Business Unit during her four years with the company. In August 2016, Jaime moved to Austin, TX, to pursue a Reservoir Engineering position with Permian-focused Parsley Energy.

It was then that Jaime began to make strides in her development of Hot Stuff Safetywear and ultimately launch the company.

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BY MATT LUMAN EHS PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER, 360TRAINING.COM

A HISTORY

of

POWERFUL WOMEN in Construction

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In the construction industry, it’s safe to say that women are underrepresented. Even when compared to traditionally male-dominated sectors, women have yet to break through in many areas of construction. Just nine percent of United States construction workers are female. I find it disturbing that as an industry we miss out on this huge pool of talent. Let’s look back on some of the powerful women in history that helped to pave the way for the women today who want to be given a chance.

Emily Roebline (1834–1903)

Frances Perkins (1880–1965)

The first woman field engineer is credited for her role in the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge. She took on the project after her husband, who was leading the project, became bed-ridden from developing caisson disease.

She was the supervisor and took over the planning. Upon completion, she was named as the Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Her work in this highly technical engineering feat helped to foster empowerment for women that they could perform in areas outside of the factories that were common in those days.

Frances Perkins was Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor and the first woman to serve as cabinet secretary. This self-made woman credits her grandmother for her power, and is quoted saying “being a woman has only bothered me in climbing trees.” She never let anything stop her from pushing for benefits for the construction industry. She defended the minimum wage and helped develop the Fair Labor Standards Act. Her work in government illustrated a determination not only to break new ground, but excel at her endeavors.

Mary Kenney O’Sullivan (1864–1943)

Kris Young

years in the Oil and Gas Industry, spanning

Working her way through the ranks of the Associated General Contractors of America, Kris Young served as President of the organization in 2011. In her Iowa chapter, she started as Treasurer in 1992 and worked to become President of the chapter, a title she held for many years. She was also the President and CEO of Miller the Driller in Des Moines, IA. Young is one woman we can say juggles it all. She has a strong connection to her church, engages in hobbies like gardening and scrapbooking, and continues to push for employee rights with her work in many committees such as the Labor Policy Committee and the EEO/DBE Advisory Council. She has over 40 years in the business.

numerous sectors. He’s done everything he

Who is an important woman in your life?

No doubt we all can think of many. Never underestimate their influence and reach. It would be a loss on any business to count them out. So, lift up, trust and empower the women in your life to keep pushing through.

For construction, the jobs are there. Get the training and get to work!

Matt Luman is an EHS Product Marketing Manager at 360Training.com. He is an OSHAauthorized Outreach Trainer for General Industry and Construction. Prior to coming on board with the team, Matt worked for many

This American labor leader worked tirelessly to improve factory conditions through the organization of unions. Starting out in the 1800s as an apprentice dressmaker, she took her distaste for the bad conditions in factories to eventually become the founder of the Women’s Trade Union League. She brought together professional, affluent and working women to improve conditions for women in factories. She was a factory inspector in a government branch from 1914 until she retired in 1934. Her work in unions has helped women in construction to this day find support and representation.

Lillian Gilbreth (1878–1972) Known as the woman of modern management, Lillian Gilbreth had the education, the career and 12 children of her own. Gilbreth applied herself to a scientific approach to workplace efficiency and management. She was a government consultant during the Great Depression and WWII, able to apply creative solutions to complex problems. She invented shelving in refrigerator doors and the foot-pedal garbage can. For construction, her application of science to the workplace streamlined processes and helped increase productivity.

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could in the industry, from washing trucks to developing EHS management systems. As EHS Product Marketing Manager, he is focused on creating lifelong industry learners.

Who is an important woman in your life?...

Never underestimate their influence and reach.

It would be a loss on any business to count them out.

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WORKING EXTRA HARD TO

GET WOMEN INVOLVED A safety footwear brand from Europe is playing a key role in attracting women to the construction and industrial sectors starting feet first. A commitment to encouraging gender equality amongst the workplace starts with specialist safety equipment being available to the female workforce in women’s sizes. Working alongside diversity champion, building surveyor and former Miss England finalist, Sophie Lydia Smith, European safety footwear label, Amblers Safety, have committed to increasing their PPE offering to women in the workplace.

This comes as a key move to ensure that women do not feel out of place and influence diversity in the long term.

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T

he brand is leading the United Kingdom (U.K.) in women’s safety footwear with over 15 different safety footwear styles crafted in a dedicated women’s fit and a noteworthy offering of over 40 unisex workboots giving more choice and innovation. The collection meets Amblers Safety philosophies of “tough, working, comfort,” whilst remaining at an affordable price for the everyday worker.

Amblers Safety is designed and distributed from the U.K. by wholesale group, Footsure Western Ltd. The team behind the brand worked closely with Smith to expand the current safety footwear range with a specific focus on women working in the construction and surveying environments. The introduction of the Amblers Safety FS706 Sophie work shoe and AS601C Lydia work boot has enabled Smith to embrace her ambition of inspiring more women into construction.

With a decade’s experience in the surveying profession, diversity champion Smith recognized that there was and still is a real issue with the lack of women in the profession and has decided to do something about it to drive a change in the industry. Her contribution to this effort has been substantial including a weekly column, giving talks to schools, colleges, universities, as well as workplace professional trade shows and has had a number of national television appearances. Smith continuously challenges the “one-size-fits-all” approach to personal protective equipment in the industry to ensure people are made to feel welcome in the careers they choose.

Smith says, “Chartered surveying is a globally recognized profession and we must ensure that it is open to all, whatever their background or gender. We are a proud industry, but have lagged behind others in terms of making the most diverse workforce. It is amazing how many men and women have approached me about possible career opportunities.

I am very passionate about making the construction industry as accommodating to women as possible as we represent only 11 percent. I believe that by bringing out femalefriendly safety shoes we can take another step further to achieving the objective of closing the gender gap. The shoes not only comply with European safety standards but they are stylish, comfortable and can be worn in the office as well as on site!”

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Amblers Safety back the #notjustforboys social media campaign set by www.gov.uk in 2015 which is about raising awareness of the growing opportunities to women in the U.K. and help encourage more of them into underrepresented professions. By challenging the public’s image of construction, women will gradually become more interested in entering male-dominated sectors.

Photographs released from the label have given the industry a re-brand, with female models proudly wearing the shoes on the job. This is a crucial step to ensure that women, as well as men, are seen as the face of the building, construction and industrial trades.

Hayley Paget, Marketing Executive at Footsure Western Ltd, European distributors of Amblers Safety says, “It’s been a real opportunity for women to step forward and realize their ambitions in construction and industrial sectors. With the Amblers Safety brand I reach out to women who have important roles in engineering, science, construction, agriculture, equine, transport, medicine and stock rooms where safety footwear is an essential part of the daily wardrobe. By providing individuals with the equipment they need to carry out their daily tasks we are encouraging role models for the next generations.”

Ben Gardiner, Buying Director at Footsure Western Ltd says, “By expanding our product offering we are taking Amblers Safety to new markets and appeal to young professionals like Sophie Lydia Smith. We’re very proud that our safety footwear label is recognized as having a diverse brand portfolio with a large range offering. Our ethos is to constantly explore new ways to utilize and deliver the latest

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technology and infuse those concepts with style and functionality.”

About Amblers Safety Amblers Safety is a leading British safety footwear brand that offers all-day comfort with plenty of ruggedness. With over 30 years of safety boot expertise, we know all about protecting you at work in a stylish and dependable way.

Amblers Safety Footwear have stood for quality and value in the retail and industrial distributive trades for over three decades. Established in 1980, the Amblers Safety footwear range has gone from strength to strength. With an ever expanding range of excellent safety footwear solutions—be it rigger boots, safety shoes or something with a little more style to go with the functionality—you would be hard-pressed to find a better range of safety footwear on the market at such an affordable price.

Heritage In the 1980s, the management team of industrial footwear and workwear distributor Footsure, saw a necessity in the U.K. market for a quality comfort safety brand at value prices. Footsure (part of Gardiners’ group) is built on generations of standards for craftsmanship, durability and a reputation of supplying dependable footwear to the trade and in the 1980s formed its own brand of stylish, innovative safety designs named Amblers Steel (later named Amblers Safety) to distribute to the construction, agricultural, contract and service industries. This is now a leading safety footwear brand dedicated to providing hardwearing footwear and consistent comfort to the wearer.

Amblers Safety offer a diverse range of products including safety shoes and trainers, waterproof safety boots, welted boots, specialist foundry footwear, metal free footwear, ESD footwear, a catering and medical range and ladies safety and protective shoes and boots.

Amblers Safety is built on an honest heritage to provide tough working comfort at a fair price.

Amblers Safety footwear is committed to worksite excellence. All industrial footwear is tested to be compliant in the latest EU standards from authorized testing facilities such as SATRA and receives certification in EN ISO20345 (safety footwear), EN ISO20346 (protective footwear) or EN ISO20347 (occupational footwear) standards. The International Organisation for Standardisation provides the standard for safety footwear in Europe. Manufacturing processes are monitored to ensure that footwear is compliant to these standards.

Website: www.amblerssafety.com Twitter: twitter.com/amblers_safety Facebook: www.facebook.com/AmblersSafety Footsure Western Ltd is based on the outskirts of Gloucester in Hardwicke. The company was formed in 1980 following the Health and Safety Work Act of 1974, which provided a framework for ensuring the health and safety of all employees in any work activity. The company is owned and run by the Gardiner family, who set up their first company, Gardiner Bros & Co (Leathers) Ltd, as a traditional tannery in Gloucester in 1860, and is ranked the 28th oldest family firm in the southwest. Footsure Western Ltd distributes and supplies safety footwear and workwear to the industrial trades.

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Alanna Ball, the founder of Women in Safety (a safety website, blog and networking organization based in Australia—that now extends into New Zealand, the U.S. and the U.K.) shares her story of getting involved in the safety industry as well as some tips for setting goals when it comes to our careers.

W

GOAL SETTING FOR SAFETY PROFESSIONALS

BY ALANNA BALL FOUNDER OF WOMEN IN SAFETY

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hen I first started in safety, I had a lot of questions that my research didn’t answer. I wanted to understand how to apply what I had learned in the workplace, and sometimes that meant asking what might have been perceived as a “dumb” question. I was seeking a safe place to ask questions and understand the safety industry.

After working with a recruitment agency to understand the profession and the city I was in (Brisbane, Australia), my recruitment mentor suggested starting a networking group.

I had the passion for change, the voice to hopefully make a difference and the excitement to do it—so I did. I came up with the most imaginative name I could think of, “Women in Safety” and we have stuck by it ever since.

My vision was to meet with a couple of people every month or two over coffee (or cocktails) to chat, ask questions and have a chance to meet new and engaging safety professionals.

Fast forward nearly four years, and we have over 1,000 members across Australia and currently branching into New Zealand, the U.S. and the U.K. We run a number of events around Australia with the mission to celebrate our successes, learn from each other, ask all the

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questions we need in a safe space and grow as a profession. Health and safety can be tough and we often work in difficult industries with entrenched cultures. We want to help change it but often we feel our efforts are wasted— coming together as a community helps us in supporting one another and even might help us make changes and larger impacts on the profession as a whole.

Women in Safety now has seven key values: Diversity, Conversation, Integrity, Collaboration, Resilience, Community and most importantly—Fun. We want people to walk into events (or reach out online) and feel welcome, supported, trusted and able to speak up. We know face to face networking can be daunting so creating an online community is also important to our brand. We don’t want to take over professional organizations and the work they do, we just want to offer a safe space to chat, collaborate and learn.

On any roadtrip we are bound to find road work that sends us on a detour.

Or, we find a little gem along the way and stop longer than we intended, changing the road we take and our final destination.

This parallels our personal and professional lives.

In saying that, all of this was not on my five-year plan, or any plan, to be honest. I had to learn to adjust, re-adjust and then adjust again. For those who know me, they know I love to plan and struggle when curve balls come my way. However, I have had to learn to be accepting of change, a new plan and a new destination. My career has had twists and turns and if it was a map, I am sure it would show some straight lines, squiggly non-directional lines, zig zags or something entirely different.

If you asked whether I had reached the destination I had set out to achieve, I would likely tell you “no, I have not” and that I am still unsure of my overall destination.

You wouldn’t drive a car blind, yet so often, we drive into our career (and personal lives) blindfolded with no idea where we are heading.

On any roadtrip we are bound to find road

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an interest in risk/governance sprinkled with neuroscience/behavioral safety, causing me to ask; where does that leave me? To be honest, it leaves me in a position of too many questions.

What is my next career path, should I study further, turn left or right?

My recent readings have led me more and more into goal setting and I wanted to share just a couple of simple, yet effective, tips that I found helped me. work that sends us on a detour. Or, we find a little gem along the way and stop longer than we intended, changing the road we take and our final destination. This parallels our personal and professional lives.

The fork in the road gives us a moment to pause, re-consider the way forward and check where we want to go. It doesn’t matter whether you are at the start of your career, mid-way through your career or nearing retirement, sometimes we need to take stock of where we are, what we have achieved and what we still want to achieve. The years fly by and suddenly we are 10 years into our career without surfacing for air and trying to reflect on our own direction and if we ended up where we expected.

Recently, I started working with a mentor who is helping me to reflect and to construct career goals. I have a rough idea of where I would like to go but no plan in place to achieve it. After discussions with the group, Women in Safety, and while developing personal and professional goals, I have found that at least having some solid written goals to work toward keeps me focused and motivated to achieve them. Am I perfect at it? No. Do I have the “smart” goal in mind? Not always. I do, however, believe goal setting is a key part of any personal or professional life to help us lead a happy and successful life. Goals help us get from A to B and keep us focussed on what we aim to achieve. As a professional I have changed my path so many times, both by choice, and also not by choice. As a result, I find myself in the midst of my career without taking a lot of time to set my short-, medium- and long-term goals.

As a safety professional, I have spent so much time reading and trying to stay ahead that I forgot to put a plan in place. During my career, I have seen shifts from the industry wanting generalist safety professionals, to niche skills, and back to generalist a number of times. I consider myself a generalist with

I am in a fortunate position to have the Women in Safety community that includes members inspiring me daily with their own journeys. ...Our main career goals involve putting others first.

Write goals that are about the journey, not the destination.

For example, my goals are not “save $1,000 in 2018,” it is more structured around “don’t buy lunch every day” and “put all coins away in a money jar”—and therefore, the journey not the destination.

1

Realistic goals are a must. I have made some lofty, “pie in the sky,” type goals in the past, and then really beat myself up when I didn’t achieve them. I have found that the journey-based goals stop me from setting those huge, unrealistic goals.

2

Find a buddy. A buddy can keep you accountable and on track with your goals. If you have someone to answer to, you are more likely to stick to it.

3

I am in a fortunate position to have the Women in Safety community that includes members inspiring me daily with their own journeys. I love that for most of us in the safety industry, our main career goals involve putting others first, and making sure our colleagues, friends and family members get home safely at the end of each day. It is a selfless job, and for me, is part of the reason I have not put more time into developing my own goals. To conclude, my current focus is to work hard in whatever I do and make sure people are safe no matter the work environment.

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BY MICHAEL HANCOCK MARINE CORPS AIR FACILITY QUANTICO, INSTALLATION SAFETY MANAGER, VPP SITE COORDINATOR

VPP JOURNEY

MARINE CORPS AIR FACILITY QUANTICO H

ow did our VPP journey start? In November 2013, Marine Corps Installations Command, our higher headquarters, provided guidance that all Marine Corps Installations shall establish a command-wide hazard reduction culture through a robust and comprehensive Safety and Occupational Health Management System that would reduce injuries, illnesses and mishaps. The guidance continued to establish that VPP would be the tool used to reach this lofty goal. As the Installation Safety Manager, my initial reaction was, “Are you kidding me?” For several years, our unit had been recognized through the higher headquarters inspection process, as having one of the more solid safety programs with several identified best practices. Now, we were being instructed to change because there is a better way? The thought made me cringe, and I feared the announcement of VPP implementation to the unit would be received with very little support from management, and even less interest from

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the work force. Regardless, our higher-ups made VPP a requirement, so it must have merit. There must be a value added that we didn’t see, so with the Commanding Officer’s backing, it was time to call in the experts, the Department of Defense Safety Management Center of Excellence (DoDSMCX), which is charged with helping organizations like ours navigate the transition from a general safety program to having a world class safety system in pursuit of VPP Star Status.

During their initial visit, the DoDSMCX team identified areas requiring improvement, but they also discovered several areas where we excelled. Through their interaction with the work force, knowledge of VPP requirements and a systems approach known for success, the DoDSMCX team, and the MCAF VPP Site Coordinator, deployed creative strategies and partnerships with both uniformed and civilian employees, and watched momentum build as the work

force recognized, and was able to communicate, their individual roles in creating and maintaining a safe working environment. We realized early on in the VPP process that we didn’t need to change, we simply needed to apply the principles of VPP into our existing safety policies and procedures, and embrace a better way as a good thing when the new process rewards those for safety excellence or makes a process safer, and more efficient.

What we found on our VPP journey was that by identifying and celebrating what we do well, the safety culture strengthened with a natural desire to shore up and improve upon the weaker areas. We found that a greater involvement by a few spurred on a greater involvement by all, and we confirmed that an effective safety program has a direct impact on readiness and mission success. Now, by embracing technology and the deployment of a vpppa.org

safety smartphone app, 100 percent of the unit has a voice and immediate access to the safety program to report hazards, near misses and first aid cases, to submit safety award nominations, receive training and request PPE. During the DoDSMCX final visit, they said we were more than ready so we submitted our application and anxiously awaited the arrival of the Region III VPP Assessment team.

When OSHA Region III arrived in June of 2017, led by Ms. Terry Penn, there was a buzz—a feeling in the air. Not one of anxiety that one would expect when being inspected, but one of excitement, because our time had come to tell our story; to show the premiere authority in safety how we do it; our time to display our culture of safety excellence that had been woven into our unit’s DNA. vpppa.org

Interviews were conducted from the most seasoned veteran to the newest arrival, our programs and facilities inspected, and our processes and procedures reviewed, then, during the out brief, Ms. Penn announced they had identified an unprecedented five best practices, and that MCAF was certainly deserving of the VPP Star.

The flag now proudly flies at the entrance of the MCAF airport so all who drive by are reminded of this incredible journey. During the star worksite ceremony, LtCol Daniel Murphy, MCAF Commanding Officer, said, “Keeping the Star is a vital part of our mission, because receiving the star is not the end, it is the beginning. We will NOT step back from the world class safety culture that has been developed here.”

Michael Hancock is the Installation Safety Manager and VPP Site Coordinator for Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico, located in Quantico Virginia, home of HMX-1 Presidential Helicopter Squadron. The Air Facility is the first Marine Corps unit comprised of predominately uniformed personnel (supported by federal government employees) to receive the VPP Star; the fifth Marine Corps organization, and 59th Department of Defense unit to reach this prestigious status. MCAF Quantico’s team is made up of 86 percent uniformed and 14 percent civilian workforce and experiences a military turnover rate of approximately 30 percent annually.

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MEMBERSHIP CORNER

A quick Q & A with a few of VPPPA’s female leaders . . .

Jennifer Sanchez, Honeywell—Aerospace VPPPA: How did your career start and how did you get to where you are now?

JS: I am a career EHSer! I obtained a BS in Environmental Sciences from the University of Arizona (Bear Down!) and started my career with a hazardous waste disposal company profiling and routing industrial hazardous waste for disposal at a Southern California TSDF. That provided exposure to the EHS profession in the manufacturing industry. After a couple of years, I began working as an EHS Coordinator for a small manufacturing company in the electronics industry. Four years later, I moved to Arizona staying in the EHS profession, but beginning my time in aerospace and defense manufacturing.

During my 20 years in the EHS profession, I have taken roles with increasing responsibilities, and often uncomfortable challenges. I owe a lot to the incredible mentor-friends I have had along the way (most of whom I refuse to let go of, even when I move on) and a strong, broad network of professional “friends.”

VPPPA: What is one of the biggest challenges you face in your position, or have faced in general in your career/in your current role?

JS: Being a woman in manufacturing, I find that I constantly check my approach, my emotions and my next step. While it has been challenging, it’s not been a challenge, more of an opportunity. It’s given me the opportunity to offer ideas in a different light, add a perspective my peers may not have and connect with others using my own more compassionate approach and interpersonal skills that women more naturally possess.

It’s intimidating to be the only woman in a conference room full of men, or even one of very few. I used to think (quietly to myself, of course) that I am just not as smart as some of my peers . . . However, I have come to understand and very much appreciate that I often think differently. It’s not a matter of right or wrong, better or worse, more intelligent or less intelligent . . . It’s a matter of perspective and the variety of gifts we each bring to the table.

Shelly Ettel, AECOMM VPPPA: How did you get involved in VPPPA? SE: My manager thought I had the passion and leadership to be a good team member and I was “voluntold.” It became a life change and a new passion for me regarding personal safety as well as that of my fellow employees, and I am very appreciative that I was given the opportunity.

VPPPA: What legacy would you like to leave either at your company, or with VPPPA? SE: I want to feel as though I made a difference in the safety of others. I want to be known as a mentor who helped others reach their goals and that I was the little voice in their head that told them to think about how “my safety does affect others.”

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Like us on Facebook & Follow us on Twitter: @VPPPA

Maria Ilomin, Safway Group, LLC VPPPA: What do you do at home to implement the safety measures that are so abundant in your professional life?

MI: I have learned that looking out for the little things always result in saving you from bigger issues later, so always take safety home with you.

VPPPA: Who inspires/inspired you? Who have you looked to for guidance over the years?

MI: My family and friends inspire me to work safely—with them and for them. VPPPA is like a family, and every conference is always like a family reunion. We learn so much from each other and from each region.

Karen Girardin, L.L. Bean VPPPA: Tell us a little about your role with L.L. Bean and how you got involved with safety there. Also, how did you get involved with the association?

KG: I’m a Project Manager of Safety with staff in three different L.L. Bean facilities. I originally got involved with safety when I became a Project Leader in the L.L. Bean Manufacturing facility which is a VPP Star Site. When I moved into the Project Leader role from an Industrial Engineering position within Manufacturing I was informed that I would also be overseeing the safety efforts in the facility. As time went on, I began helping other operational areas within L.L. Bean with their journey toward VPP. Over time my position evolved to Project Manager overseeing safety, a position I continue to fulfill.

I sort of stumbled into getting involved with the VPPPA. I first became involved through the Region 1 Scholarship Committee. There was a previous L.L. Bean employee who had been involved with the committee that had left the company. So the management group within L.L. Bean Manufacturing asked if I’d be willing to fill the role and assist the Region I Board. I readily accepted.

At that time, I worked with Jack Popp, who was the Region I Chairperson, on developing scholarship posters and in reviewing scholarship applications. Soon after that the Region 1 Secretary’s role became available and I moved into that role. After a very short time of being the Secretary, perhaps a year or so, I moved into the Treasurer’s role where I have continued until this year when I became Regional Chair. I believe as of this year I’ve been active on the Region I Board of Directors for about 10 years.

VPPPA: What is your favorite part of your job?

KG: The favorite part of my job at L.L. Bean is knowing that what I do makes a difference in keeping people safe. I enjoy connecting and working with others to determine how to make a process safe. It’s almost like trying to figure out a puzzle and trying to find the proper piece that will fit into a particular spot that will address an issue while balancing the needs of the business and keeping people safe.

I also enjoy the fact that my role requires that I spend time educating people about risks that may be involved with the jobs they’re doing.

In some circumstances employees think the risk is really high and in other circumstances employees don’t recognize the risk at all. I like to see how employees react when they finally understand what the risk actually is. It’s a good feeling knowing that at the end of the day I’ve helped educate folks in understanding risk and that I’ve helped employees be safe for another day. I think employees truly appreciate working for a company that cares about their safety.

vpppa.org

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MEMBERSHIP CORNER Renew Your VPPPA Membership It’s that time of the year again—your membership with VPPPA is up for renewal.

An email containing your invoice was sent out in December as well as a hard copy in January. 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. If you have any questions regarding your membership or dues, contact membership@ vpppa.org or call 703-761-1146.

#HowISafety Contest We loved hosting the #HowISafety Contest last year, and are thrilled to announce we will be bringing it back for 2018! One of the greatest things about our members is their passion for safety. This contest is an excellent way for members to share their personal experiences and spread awareness of safety practices. To enter the contest:

• Submit a photo of yourself representing how you are promoting/practicing safety in the workplace or at home. Examples: Wearing your PPE, teaching a safety class, attending training, following safety procedures etc.

• Write a short description or caption explaining the photo • Include the #HowISafety hashtag in your photo description • If you don’t have a Facebook or Twitter account, you may email your photo entry to membership@vpppa.org • The photo will be posted to VPPPA’s Facebook page in the “#HowISafety 2018” photo album • The photo with the most “likes” will win a complimentary Safety+ registration, free airfare and lodging at the Gaylord Opryland from August 27–31.

The rules and requirements to enter this contest are as follows: • Must be a member of VPPPA • VPPPA has all rights to use the pictures submitted • No nudity, graphic language or content, firearms or alcohol may be shown in any artwork or pictures submitted

Submit your entry including your name and member ID number by June 1, 2018 by email to membership@vpppa.org or simply post on the VPPPA Facebook or Twitter pages. Don’t forget to use #HowISafety.

Roster Contest There is no easier way to win a gift card than the VPPPA Roster Contest. To ensure each of our members are receiving the benefits they deserve, we need your site rosters to be updated. Please update the roster that was included in our membership mailing with all of your current employees. After we receive your faxed or emailed updated roster, we will randomly select one prime contact to win a gift card! By helping us update our rosters, you’re also helping yourself and your co-workers receive the benefits they deserve.

Send your updated roster to membership@ vpppa.org by July 2, for a chance to win. If you need another copy of your site’s roster, please contact the Membership Department via the email address above or call (703) 761-1146. If you have already submitted your site’s roster, you are already entered into our random drawing. The winner will be chosen on July 6.

Congratulations to our #VPPPAPumpkin Contest Winner!

For the month of October, we hosted the #VPPPAPumpkin Contest. To participate, members sent in pictures of their Halloween pumpkins. The photo with the most “likes” won.

Jamie Robey from Brock was this year’s winner.

You can see his winning photo below.

This is a “carve-free” jack-o-lantern, thus eliminating hand injuries! Spooky, huh?

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THE LEADER / WINTER 2018

vpppa.org

AN INTEGRATED SAFETY & HEALTH MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS SYMPOSIUM

PRESENTED BY VPPPA & TSHC

2018 KEYNOTE SPEAKER Jim Morris

Originally drafted in 1984, Jim’s dream was to become a major league baseball player, however, his career was cut short by a series of debilitating arm injuries before he got out of the minors in 1988. After this, Jim got married, raised a family and became a high school science teacher and baseball coach in West Texas. Jim’s high school team challenged him to follow his dream of pitching in the major leagues, so he made a bet with them: if they won the District Championship, he would try out for the major leagues.

Transforming from a 35-year-old high school teacher to a flame-throwing major league pitcher in three months, Jim’s rise from obscurity was the feel-good story of 1999. After pitching for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999 and 2000, Jim signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and retired from baseball in 2001. His story is portrayed in the 2002 movie, The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid.

August 28 – August 31, 2018 Gaylord Opryland Convention Center Nashville, TN www.vpppa.org/symposium #VPPPA2018 #TSHC2018

infographic corner

According to the Department of Labor,

57 percent of women participate

The proportion of women with college degrees in the labor force has almost

quadrupled since 1970.

in the labor force.

In the U.S., only

There are

74.6

million women

6.3 percent of women worked in male-dominated occupations in 2016.

in the civilian labor force.

Women own close to

10 million businesses, accounting for

$1.4 trillion in receipts.

Women’s participation in the U.S. labor force has climbed since WWII: from 32.7 percent in 1948 to

56.8 percent in 2016.

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THE LEADER / WINTER 2018

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2016, women earned 81.9 percent of men’s salaries based on median weeklyearnings for full-time workers.

Due to women’s progress in education and workforce participation, the gender pay

gap has narrowed since 1960. vpppa.org

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THE LEADER / WINTER 2018

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state-plan monitor

COMPILED BY KATLYN PAGLIUCA, MEMBERSHIP AND OUTREACH MANAGER, VPPPA, INC.

Federal OSHA States

Cal/Star ceremony of Cintas Stockton, November 8, 2017.

State-Plan States Public Sector Only

California Recently Recognized Cal/Star Site: • Cintas (Concord) New Sites Working on the Action Items: • Sierra Pacific (Oroville) • Nova Group (Napa) • United Airlines Inc. (San Francisco) • Monsanto (San Juan Bautista) • Broad Spectrum (Benicia) Upcoming Onsite Visits at New Sites: • Southwire (Rancho Cucamonga) • SDG&E (Escondido) New Applications: • Sherwin Williams (Moreno Valley) • Pape machinery (French Camp) • Cintas Corporation #630 (Gilroy) • Prudential Overall Supply (Milpitas) • Brand Scaffolding (Wilmington) • Phillips 66 Sacramento Terminal (Sacramento) • Phillips 66 Santa Maria Refinery (Arroyo Grande)

occurred to encourage attendees to help each other on various topics. These meetings are opportunities for VPP sites and sites interested in VPP to network with one another.

The next networking opportunity will be March 12, during the Indiana Safety and Health Conference. A free INSHARP & VPP Workshop will be scheduled for 9 A.M. to 12 P.M. at the Indiana Convention Center. Indiana’s largest safety conference, the Indiana Safety and Health Conference and Expo, will be held March 12 through March 14. The conference is presented by the Central Indiana Chapter ASSE and Indiana Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Indiana Department of Labor. You can find information at www.INSafetyConf.com.

Indiana Indiana presently has 86 sites in the Voluntary Protection Program. Six new site evaluations were conducted in 2017. The goal for Indiana VPP is to have 100 sites by the end of 2019.

Three Regional Best Practices Meetings where conducted in November. At these meetings, sites presented best practices and VPP leaders provided VPP updates. Deputy Commissioner of Indiana OSHA, Tim Maley, presented an Indiana Department of Labor Update, and small group discussions

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Pictured above: Tim Maley, Deputy Commissioner of Indiana OSHA, in Washington, D.C., for the VPP Stakeholder Meeting.

vpppa.org

For more information about INSHARP & VPP Workshop email Beth Gonzalez bgonzalez@dol.in.gov.

In 2018, there will be two Special Government Employee (SGE) classes hosted by two VPP sites. Eli Lilly will host the first class during the 2018 Region V VPPPA Conference in Indianapolis the week of May 21. The second SGE class will be hosted by Vulcraft in St. Joe, IN, July 31 to August 1. The deadline to attend this class is April 15. Indiana currently has a total of 118 SGEs to utilize during VPP evaluation and to mentor sites.

• Cintas Fire Protection – D26 (Troy) • Marathon TT&R, Lansing Terminal & Fleet (Lansing)

Michigan

Sites recently reevaluated and approved for continued participation in the MVPP: • DTE Fermi 2 (Monroe)

There are currently 29 sites in the Michigan Voluntary Protection Program (MVPP), with 25 Star, one Rising Star (Merit), two MVPP/C (construction) and one MVPP/C Rising Star site.

Promotion The MVPP informational workshop, hosted

by Pfizer Global Supply, Kalamazoo, was well attended. All of the attendees were interested in the program and many have requested additional information and guidance.

The fall MVPP mentors meeting, hosted

by Albemarle, South Haven, was attended by representatives from several MVPP/C sites, as well as some from prospective sites. The spring mentors meeting is scheduled for April 16, in conjunction with the Michigan Safety Conference.

A Michigan-specific SGE training is scheduled for November 29. The session will focus on the differences between the VPP and the MVPP, as well as MIOSHA safety and health standards that differ from OSHA’s.

SGEs looking to participate on an MVPP review team in Michigan will need to have attended both the OSHA and MIOSHAspecific training.

A MVPP Star award celebration was held on September 29, at Eaton Aerospace, Grand Rapids.

An MVPP onsite review was conducted at Robert Bosch, LLC, Farmington Hills October 9–13.

Applications currently pending for the MVPP include: • Marathon Pipe Line LLC (Woodhaven) • Cintas First Aid & Safety (Kentwood) • Robert Bosch (Farmington Hills) vpppa.org

Reevaluation Onsite Reviews Reevaluation onsite reviews have been performed at: • Pfizer Global Supply (Kalamazoo) – PSM • Georgia-Pacific, Beaver Creek (Grayling) • Albemarle (South Haven) • Arconic (Whitehall) • Johnson Technology (Muskegon) • Johnson Technology (Norton Shores)

Upcoming Events

The MNOSHA Workplace Safety Consultation Division continues to receive inquires and has begun visiting employers that have indicated they will be submitting an application in FY2018.

FY2018 will see five reapproval visits at existing MNSTAR employers. The small team approach continues to allow MNOSHA Workplace Safety Consultation to remain consistent from site-to-site and help develop relationships with the participating employers.

In addition, Marnie Prochniak is the new VPP/MNSTAR Coordinator for the state.

If you would like further information about the MNSTAR Program, please visit www.doli.state.mn.us/WSC/Mnstar.asp or contact Marnie Prochniak, MNSTAR VPP Coordinator at marnie.prochniak@state.mn.us.

• MVPP Mentors meeting—April 16.

Oregon

“Like” us on Facebook @MichiganOSHA, follow us on Twitter @mi_osha and subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/c/ MIOSHA_MI. For further details on the MVPP, contact Doug Kimmel, MVPP specialist at 231-5462366, or visit the MIOSHA website at www. michigan.gov/miosha.

Oregon’s VPP continues to move along a very positive trajectory. We have scheduled four evaluation audits for early this year, with three more evaluations to schedule later in the year. We have completed three audits in recent months, all of which are currently addressing some 90-day items. We have used 12 SGEs in our last nine audits and plan to use at least nine more SGEs in out next seven audits. We wish to give a shout out to all the SGEs who have helped over the last year, and to give a hearty congratulations to the Region X SGE of the year, Julie Stout from Georgia-Pacific’s Philomath Operations.

We also want to recognize the Oregon VPP companies for their leadership and assistance helping the Oregon SHARP Alliance to provide multiple mentoring and networking opportunities for Oregon employers. The Oregon SHARP Alliance now provides Oregon employers with eight training and networking opportunities each year. The SHARP Alliance model has been so successful that the VPPPA is starting to work with the Alliance to benefit both groups, now Washington companies and consultants are joining and planning to transfer that model as well. The Oregon SHARP Alliance has recent training topics on its website, and future training topics are posted on the SHARP Alliance calendar at www.sharpalliance. org. Since the Oregon VPP companies joined the Oregon SHARP Alliance, the group has made continuous improvements in providing mentoring, networking and training opportunities to interested employers.

Minnesota The Minnesota OSHA (MNOSHA) Workplace Safety Consultation (WSC) unit currently has 37 Star sites and one Merit site participating in the MNSTAR program. Of the 37 Star sites, 35 are general industry locations and two are resident contractors. One new participant successfully achieved Star status in fiscal year (FY) 2017. In addition, five employers had reapproval visits completed.

The following site achieved MNSTAR status in FY2017: • Cintas FAS (Brooklyn Park) was recommended and certified as a full MNSTAR site The following sites were visited and reapproved in FY2017: • International Paper (White Bear Lake) • Trident Seafoods Corporation (White Bear Lake) • Nyco, Inc. (Inver Grove Heights) • Firmenich (New Ulm) • Delta Airlines—Minneapolis Reservations CEC (Minneapolis)

THE LEADER / WINTER 2018

39

state-plan monitor Tennessee Recent Events • On October 10, TOSHA Assistant Administrator, Jim Flanagan, presented the employees of Energy Solutions in Oak Ridge with their Volunteer Star Award as part of the site’s third approval effort. The site received their first approval in 2008.

• On October 19, TOSHA Assistant Administrator, Jim Flanagan, presented the employees of Valero Memphis Refinery with their first Volunteer Star Award as part of the site’s initial effort.

• On October 25, TOSHA Administrator, Steve Hawkins, presented the employees of Chemours in New Johnsonville with their Volunteer Star Award as part of the site’s fifth approval effort.

The site received their first approval in 1997 and was the second Volunteer Star site in Tennessee.

• On November 3, TOSHA VPP Manager, David Blessman, presented the employees of Sherwin Williams in Memphis with their Volunteer Star Award as part of the site’s third approval effort.

The site received their first approval in 2008.

• On November 7, TOSHA VPP Manager, David Blessman, presented the employees of John Deere Power Products in Greeneville with their Volunteer Star Award as part of the site’s fourth approval effort. The site received their first approval in 2003.

• On November 30, TOSHA Administrator, Steve Hawkins, presented the employees of Olin Chlor Alkali Products & Vinyls in Charleston with their Volunteer Star Award as part of the site’s fourth approval effort. The site received their first approval in 2002.

A successful onsite reevaluation was recently conducted at Delta Airline Memphis Technical Operations.

There currently are 36 Volunteer Star sites in Tennessee.

Virginia The following sites have been recommended for reapproval as VPP Star Sites: • Toray Plastics (Front Royal) • Lockheed-Martin (Manassas) Pictured at left, from top to bottom: Energy Solutions in Oak Ridge receiving their Volunteer Star Award. • Chemours, New Johnsonville, employees receiving their Volunteer Star Award. • John Deere Power Products, Greeneville, receiving their Volunteer Star Award. • Olin Chlor Alkali Products & Vinyls, Charleston, receiving their Volunteer Star Award.

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THE LEADER / WINTER 2018

vpppa.org

• CP Films (Martinsville) • Huber Engineered Woods (Crystal Hill) We have received applications from three sites: • Barr Labs (Forest) • United Airlines (Dulles) • Sysco (Harrisonburg) Currently there are 41 active VPP Star sites in Virginia.

Recent Events The 22nd VOSH Conference at Virginia Beach Conference Center, held from October 18–20, was well attended with many VPP sites’ employees assisting in presenting breakouts as well as attending. Richard Mendelson, Region III OSHA Administrator, and Mark Ames, Director of AIHA Government, President of Affairs, provided the attendees with updates and insights. Regina McMichael, The Learning Factory, Inc., provided an inspiring discussion of turning tragedy into action.

On September 13, Goodyear Tire and Rubber of Danville, VA, sponsored a Machine Guarding Best Practice Day. There were approximately 120 attendees from many local industries and local governments. Presentations were provided by Christian Simmers from GE Power in Charlottesville; Mallory Jones led an employee safety team from GE Power in Salem and Brian Forest led an employee team from Huber Engineered Woods, LLC in Crystal Hill (all Virginia Star sites).

VPPPA Region III sponsored an Electrical Safety Best Practice Day on November 8, at The Homestead in Hot Springs, VA, with over 60 attendees from VPP sites, local government, universities and sites interested in VPP. Joe Morrell of Fareva Pharmaceuticals, and Region III VPPPA board member, provided a handson presentation. Otto Rusch of Birchwood Power Station provided an in-depth review of their electrical safe work practices.

contacting each state >> Alaska Christian Hendrickson VPP Manager Christian.hendrickson@ alaska.gov Phone: (907) 269-4946 Arizona Jessie Atencio Assistant Director jessie.atencio@azdosh.gov Phone: (520) 220-4222 California Iraj Pourmehraban Cal/VPP & PSM Manager ipourmehraban@ hq.dir.ca.gov Phone: (510) 622-1080 Hawaii Kristin Takaba OSH Program Specialist— Compliance Assistance kristin.a.takaba@hawaii.gov Phone: (808) 586-9090 Indiana Beth A. Gonzalez VPP Team Leader bgonzalez@dol.in.gov Phone: (317) 607-6118 Iowa Shashi Patel VPP Coordinator patel.shashi@iwd.iowa.gov Phone: (515) 281-6369 Kentucky Brian Black VPP Program Administrator brian.black@ky.gov Phone: (502) 564-3320 Maryland Allen Stump VPP Manager stump.allen@dol.gov Phone: (410) 527-4473

Michigan Sherry Scott MVPP Manager scotts1@michigan.gov Phone: (517) 322-5817

South Carolina Sharon Dumit VPP Coordinator sharon.dumit@llr.sc.gov Phone: (803) 896-7788

Minnesota Tyrone Taylor, MBA Director of Workplace Safety Consultation MN Dept. of Labor & Industry Occupational Safety & Health Division tyrone.taylor@state.mn.us Phone: (651) 284-5203

Tennessee David Blessman VPP Manager david.blessman@tn.gov Phone: (615) 253-6890

Nevada Jimmy Andrews VPP Manager jimmy.andrews@ business.nv.gov Phone: (702) 486-9046 New Mexico Melissa Barker VPP Coordinator melissa.barker@state.nm.us Phone: (505) 222-9595 North Carolina LaMont Smith Recognition Program Manager lamont.smith@labor.nc.gov Phone: (919) 807-2909 Oregon Mark E. Hurliman, CSHM VPP/SHARP Program Coordinator mark.e.hurliman@ oregon.gov Phone: (541) 776-6016 Puerto Rico Ilza Roman Director roman.ilza@dol.gov Phone: (787) 754-2171

Utah Jerry Parkstone VPP Coordinator jparkstone@utah.gov Phone: (801) 530-6901 Vermont Daniel Whipple VPP Coordinator dan.whipple@vermont.gov Phone: (802) 828-5084 Virginia Milford Stern VPP Manager milford.stern@doli.virginia.gov Phone: (540) 562-3580 x 123 Washington John Geppert VPP Manager gepp.235@lni.wa.gov Phone: (360) 902-5496 Wyoming Clayton Gaunt VPP Manager clayrton.gaunt1@wyo.gov Phone: (307) 777-7710

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

Upcoming Events The Region III VPPPA Conference is scheduled to return to The Homestead Resort from March 7–9. Expect to see the full schedule on the Region III website very soon.

Book early to confirm your room.

There are two SGE classes scheduled for 2018. The first one is scheduled for March 5–6, in conjunction with the Region III VPPA Conference at The Homestead in Hot Springs, VA. The second SGE Class is scheduled for July 18–19, and is sponsored vpppa.org

by Newport News Shipyard. Attendees must submit their applications to the US DOL OSHA VPP SGE Coordinator by April 15 for the Newport News class.

Virginia VPP Office Changes During the 2017 Virginia Legislative session, further funding was approved for two additional Regional VPP Coordinators and a completely new

Virginia VPP Challenge Coordinator position.

Roy Mason is the new Tidewater Regional VPP Coordinator, Jeremias Cruz-Corniel is the new Southwest Regional Coordinator and Crystal Main has been promoted to the Virginia Challenge Coordinator position.

We plan on having many additional efforts to attract and promote VPP in Virginia this year with the addition of these personnel.

THE LEADER / WINTER 2018

41

regional round-ups

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

42

THE LEADER / WINTER 2018

Region I www.vppregionI.com On November 1, Pfizer Biotech in Andover, MA, hosted the quarterly meeting for Region I. The company provided lunch and tours for 33 individuals representing 14 different companies.

Dynegy’s Masspower plant in Indian Orchard, MA, will be hosting the next Region I meeting on February 13. Lunch and tours of the facility will be provided. Anyone interested in attending should check the Region I website for more specifics: www.vppregionI.com.

The Region I Board of Directors sponsored the General Industry Roundtable that was held at Eversource in Manchester, NH. The presentation topic was OSHA Safety for Maintenance Workers and Common Hazards found in maintenance shops and garage operations.

Region I also exhibited at the Annual Maine Safety & Health Conference held October 17–19, in Augusta, ME. The purpose of exhibiting was to heighten awareness of the purpose and benefits of the VPP program and of the VPPPA. High Liner Foods in Peabody, MA, has started its VPP journey. FlexCon of Spencer, MA, is their mentor. Congratulations High Liner Foods and good luck.

After a vote by the Region I Board of Directors, Cindy Raspiller of Raytheon in Andover, MA, was appointed to the open Director-at-Large position that was vacated by Mike Avery. She will serve out the remainder

of the two-year term for this Director-at-Large position. Congratulations Cindy!

As a reminder, Region I provides three $1,000 scholarships to help students with college tuition. Students that might be interested in applying for these scholarships can check out the specifics about eligibility, due dates and how to apply on the Region I website. Applications are due by March 1. Decisions will be announced to applicants by April 1.

Region I will hold its Safety & Health Excellence Conference & Expo at Sea Crest Beach Hotel in North Falmouth, MA, Cape Cod, from May 7–9. Anyone interested in exhibiting, providing a workshop, or in sponsoring the event please visit the Region I website to get more information about how to participate. The website also contains other information including contact information for the Board of Directors, meeting minutes from the last regional meeting, upcoming events, scholarship information, etc. If there is anything someone would like to see on the site, please let a board member know.

Contributed by Karen Girardin, Region I Chairperson

Region III www.vppparegion3.org 2017 was a great year for VPPPA Region III. We had an information-filled regional conference with great attendance that was a premier learning experience for all that

vpppa.org

attended. We held three SGE training classes, one application workshop and many best practice workshops throughout the region.

Maryland joined Virginia and codified VPP so now there will be a dedicated budget to the VPP program there.

Looking forward into this year, Region III already has two SGE classes scheduled for March 5–6 as a part of our regional conference to be held at the Omni Homestead Resort from March 7–9 and at the Newport News Shipyard July 18–19. Our annual conference is going to be packed again with a lot of great learning opportunities, we will have great keynote speakers, breakouts, networking opportunities and we will have some fun along the way.

Within Region III we are planning best practice workshops that will occur throughout the year, just keep a watch on our website and also follow us on Facebook at facebook. com/RegionIIIVPPPA for updates on what is happening within the region.

If you or your company are interested in volunteering, sponsoring or just helping out with VPP-related events within the region please check out the website and let us know.

VPP Manager (Leigh Jackson). If you are not sure who your site’s VPPO contact is, which template to use, or have not yet received the email, please feel free to contact Ivory, Dan or myself with any questions you may have.

Our Region IV FY18 schedule is on the OSHA VPP website for those of you looking to go out with us as SGEs and assist with a VPP onsite evaluation. Please contact us if you would like to volunteer to assist with an onsite. As always, thank you for your support of the VPP.

Contributed by Mike LaPradd, Region III Director-at-Large

www.regionvivpp.org The Region VI Safety & Health Excellence Conference will take place from April 30–May 3 in Fort Worth, TX. Online registration rate $550 per person runs January 8–March 30, 2018. After March 30 the registration rate will be $650 per person.

Workshop submissions are currently being accepted. It is through support such as yours that makes this conference one of the most unique in the country. We always have extremely positive feedback associated with your presentations and our conference attendees want more. We have started workshop instructor sign-ups for the 2018 Conference in Fort Worth, Texas April 30–May 3. If you have any questions specific to workshop registration, you may submit them to the Workshop Coordinator (Johnathan Dyer).

Region IV www.regionivvpp.org The Region IV 2018 Safety and Health Excellence Conference will be held from June 19-21, in Biloxi, MS. The call for workshops is now complete, and registration for exhibitors and attendees is now open. Register now to take advantage of the early bird pricing. Please visit the Region IV VPPPA website for more information and to access the registration page.

The following message is from Region IV VPP Manager Leigh Jackson: Greetings Everyone! No doubt many of you have already started working on gathering information for your 2017 VPP Annual Self-Evaluation which is due for submission to us by February 15. The Region IV 2017 selfevaluation templates, 2017 PSM Supplement B questions, and additional documents have been sent out via e-mail to our site contacts.

Please remember that two sets of submissions are due each year: one set is sent to your VPP Officer (VPPO) (Ivory Williams or Dan DeHart) contact and the other set is sent to the vpppa.org

Leigh Jackson, VPP Manager Phone: 678-237-0436 jackson.leigh@dol.gov Ivory Williams, VPPO Phone: 601-965-4606 X-2028 williams.ivory@dol.gov Dan DeHart, VPPO Phone: 904-562-5461 dehart.daniel@dol.gov Contributed by Christopher Colburn, Region IV Treasurer

Region VI

February 6–7 / SGE Training at Baton Rouge Area Office, Baton Rouge, LA April 17–19 / SGE Training at Region VI Safety & Health Excellence Conference, Fort Worth, TX July 10–12 / SGE Training at Kiewit Offshore Services, Ltd., Ingleside, TX THE LEADER / WINTER 2018

43

regional round-ups

September 11–13 / SGE Training at NASA, Houston, TX Contributed by Kirk Crandall, Region VI Director-at-Large

Region VII www.regionviivpp.org We are preparing for the 2018 Midwest Safety & Health Conference and Expo in May, in Omaha, NE. We have just signed Nebraska native, Rulon Gardner, to be the keynote speaker for the 2018 conference.

Rulon Gardner is a retired American GrecoRoman wrestler. He competed at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and won the gold medal in 2000, defeating Aleksandr Karelin in the final.

This was also the first Olympic gold medal won by an American Greco-Roman wrestler in a full international field. Gardner won a bronze medal at the 2004 Games.

Region VII will once again hold a bowling tournament and a live auction during the conference to help fund our scholarship program. Region VII will be giving out a $5,000 scholarship and more information will be available soon.

Region VII will be having a VPP application and an SSQ workshop on the first day of the conference. Please contact bill.turner@ nustarenergy.com for further information.

Contributed by Bill Turner, Region VII Chairperson

Region VIII regionviiivpppa.org 2017 was another successful year and conference, and now we will begin to focus on the 2018 regional conference, which will be held at The Little America Hotel and Resort in Cheyenne, WY. Besides continual content and quality improvement, we are also focusing on an enjoyable conference by including a Buffalo Ranch Visit, Golf Tourney and a Trolley Pub Crawl. Keynotes will be Sam Glenn and Tony Crow. Region VIII VPPPA would like to thank all its members who wholeheartedly support us year-after-year as well as the hardest working OSHA Regional VPP Manager, Brad G. Baptiste, whose partnership and friendship remains unwavering.

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THE LEADER / WINTER 2018

2018 SGE training will be conducted June 5–7 at The Industrial Company in Aurora, CO. The application deadline is April 15.

Region VIII has established Ambassadors for those who would like to contribute to the success of our region by serving on different committees throughout the year. This allows members to contribute as their busy schedules allow and greatly helps the board members. We truly welcome and appreciate the ideas and help.

Contributed by Mark Moya, Region VIII Chairperson

Region IX www.regionixvpppa.org The Region IX VPPPA Board of Directors and the conference planning committee have been very busy over the past nine months working tirelessly to bring you yet another spectacular safety summit. The 2018 Safety Summit is just around the corner, and will be held in San Diego, CA. This year’s summit is a little earlier than in years past, taking place March 13–15. For additional information about the event go to our website, where you will find hotel information, registration information, summit schedules and breakout sessions. There will also be a golf tournament. You don’t want to miss this event featuring over 40 breakout sessions, an application workshop and a re-evaluation workshop, not to mention the sage advice passed on through the executive panel discussion. Come learn from those who have walked the same path to VPP and safety excellence as you.

Region IX would like to announce a new revised Labor Management Committee that will include the Director of the Department of Labor Relations. We urge everyone to get involved and stay informed.

On November 11, the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health presented MI Windows and Doors, of Prescott Valley, AZ, with the VPP Star Designation, and the Region IX VPPPA Board of Directors wishes to congratulate them for all their effort over the past two years, working toward final Star site designation. In addition, McCarthy Building companies has added yet another VPP Star site at their ASU Bio-Science Center

vpppa.org

construction project. Ducommun of Phoenix has recently celebrated its fourth VPP Star site approval, continuing to demonstrate a level of safety that goes above and beyond, and is an example of leadership and workforce working together to continuously improve. We commend you all for your continued push toward safety excellence.

The Region IX VPPPA Board of Directors wants to welcome Hawaii’s new VPP Program Manager, Kristin Takaba, and we want to let everyone know that we are committed to working with her to help spread information and provide support where possible, in an effort to grow the VPP program in Hawaii.

Welcome to the family, Kristin!

Contributed by Mark Norton, Region IX Ambassador

vpppa.org

Region X www.regionxvpppa.org Region X was very busy this past year, planning and executing the Annual Northwest Safety & Health Summit held in Spokane, WA, May 16–18, 2017. There were changes to the Board of Directors which included: Rocky Simmons as Chairperson, Max VanValey as Vice Chairperson and a new Director-atLarge, Cliff Butler. The Region X Board of Directors, with the help of our Agency VPP-POCs, were very active with outreach manning exhibit booths at conferences in Idaho, Oregon and Washington promoting VPP and the up and coming Safety Summit. Two members of the Region X Board of Directors and the Federal OSHA

VPP Manager gave a VPP 101 class at the Washington Governors Industrial Health & Safety Conference in Tacoma, WA. Planning for the 2018 Annual Safety Summit is under way. The event will be held at the Marriott Downtown and the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage, AK, May 1–3. There will be four open Board of Director positions to fill during the annual meeting of the membership: Chairperson, Labor Representative from a site with a Non-Bargaining Unit and two Director-at-Large positions. Only members of Region X in good standing may run for open positions.

Contributed by Jack Griffith, Region X Treasurer and National Board Director-at-Large

THE LEADER / WINTER 2018

45

We are excited to be partnering with the Tennessee Safety & Health Conference this year!

August 28 – August 31, 2018 Gaylord Opryland Convention Center Nashville, TN www.vpppa.org/symposium #VPPPA2018 | #TSHC2018

AN INTEGRATED SAFETY & HEALTH MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS SYMPOSIUM

PRESENTED BY VPPPA & TSHC

Gaylord Opryland Convention Center

The official event hotel is on TripAdvisor’s Top Ten Attractions in Nashville. With indoor and outdoor pools, nine acres of lush, indoor gardens, 18 dining options, an indoor boat ride, and more, including: ■■ Gaylord Springs Golf Links, the award-winning, 18-hole, par-72 course ■■ Walking distance to the Grand Ole Opry ■■ Shopping, including Opry Mills Shopping Center ■■ Less than 10 miles from the Nashville International Airport

Music City has something for everyone!

■■ Discover downtown Nashville with its live music, restaurants and bars ■■ Country Music Hall of Fame ■■ Nashville Zoo at Grassmere ■■ Madame Tussauds of Nashville

VPPPA Contacts

calendar of events

February February 16 Safety+ 2018 Workshop Proposals Due

March March 7–9 21st Annual Region III Conference Omni Homestead Resort Hot Springs, VA

March 13–15 Region IX VPPPA Safety Summit San Diego, CA

April April 30–May 3 Region VI Annual Safety & Health Conference Ft. Worth Convention Center Ft. Worth, TX

May 21–23 Region VII VPPPA Conference Omaha, NE

May 22–24 Region V VPPPA Conference Indianapolis Convention Center Indianapolis, IN

June

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.

Mike Maddox mmaddox@vpppa.org Executive Director Sara A. Taylor, CMP staylor@vpppa.org Director of Operations Brielle Mroczko bmroczko@vpppa.org Conference Coordinator

June 19–21 Region IV Safety & Health Excellence Conference Beau Rivage Casino & Resort Biloxi, MS

August August 28–31 Safety+ Symposium Gaylord Opryland Nashville, TN

Kerri Carpenter kcarpenter@vpppa.org Communications & Outreach Manager Jamie Mitchell jmitchell@vpppa.org Communications Coordinator Heidi Hill hhill@vpppa.org Senior Event Sales & Advertising Coordinator Katlyn Pagliuca kpagliuca@vpppa.org Membership Manager

May

Natasha Cole ncole@vpppa.org Member Services Coordinator

May 1–3

Sierra Johnson sjohnson@vpppa.org Special Projects Coordinator

Region X Northwest Safety and Health Summit Anchorage, AK

May 7–9 Region I VPPPA Conference Falmouth, MA

May 8–10 Region VIII VPPPA Safety Summit Cheyenne, WY

Bryant Walker bwalker@vpppa.org Information & Data Analyst Manager Michael Khosrofian mkhosrofian@vpppa.org Accountant Courtney Malveaux, Esq cmalveaux@vpppa.org Government Relations Counsel

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) (3) charitable organization, promotes advances in worker safety and health excellence through best practices and cooperative efforts among workers, employers, the government and communities.

SCAN QR CODE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT VPPPA, INC.

http://bit.ly/jVQcBo

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