News

Dover Air Force Base signs milestone on safety

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Matthew Hubby
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Safety is a priority at Dover Air Force Base and the main focus of a meeting between Col. Manson Morris, 436th Airlift Wing commander, and Brent Reynolds, American Federation of Government Employees Local 1709 president, as they discussed and signed an agreement letter Sept. 24.

The letter, a union commitment to the Voluntary Protection Program, was a milestone between the base and the AFGE. Prior to this, there was no direct safety partnership between the two entities, and this commitment ushers in a new era of working together to recognize hazards and fix them before mishaps occur.

"The Voluntary Protection Program has tremendous potential to enhance the safety of Dover AFB's work environment," said Colonel Morris. "By generating additional focus on employee self-identification of hazards, we will be better able to eliminate risks before they cause incidents."

The overall goal of VPP is to focus on continuously improving safety and health performance; compliance alone is not sufficient, said Steve Groller, 436th Airlift Wing VPP manager.

"This letter is a commitment to improving our overall safety and health system," said Mr. Groller. "This shows that Colonel Morris and Mr. Reynolds are true 'partners in safety.' It's a sign of management leadership involvement and a promise of employee involvement as well."

For years Mr. Reynolds had been looking for ways to enhance safety on base. "What better way is there than making the workplace safer? A place where the culture encourages employees from the bottom up to fix what is unsafe or hazardous. It becomes a workplace where everyone lives safety."

"VPP is a proven program the wing commander and I agree will keep everyone on the base safer," said Mr. Reynolds. "It's a 'living program' where everyone ensures workplace safety by 'leading by example'."

VPP's relies on employee participation; to be successful unions must work as full partners giving advice and support to commanders and staff on safety concerns. OSHA's highest VPP recognition is "Star" status; many large industrial organizations like NASA have implemented VPP and received star sites. Although being "the best of the best" is a goal, the ultimate goal is producing and sustaining a world class safety and occupational health program.

"As far as the concept and ideology behind VPP is concerned, it's good for the workers," said Barry Brown, AFGE 1709 chief steward. "It seeks their insight to correct problems in working conditions and reduces possible injuries and cost for both the employee and the employer, making Dover AFB a safer and much more profitable place to work."

The AFGE 1709 was chartered Aug. 1, 1961 to serve the federal civilian employees of Appropriated Funds, Non-Appropriated Funds and Defense Commissary Agency jobs. It represents more than 1,200 personnel on base. Its leadership's goal with VPP is to foster a culture where safety and health programs facilitate more bottom-up involvement in mishap prevention.

"I am grateful for the partnership of union leadership in this effort," said Colonel Morris. "The implementation of VPP is an important step in growing the safety culture which we continually strive for -- one in which every employee truly takes ownership of their workplace's safety."

VPP is a team oriented program, with each level working with the next, said Mr. Reynolds.

"In order for VPP to work, everyone has to work together," said Mr. Reynolds. "Not only does leadership have to lead by example, but the employees have to come forward with their ideas and work with management to fix what is broken."

VPP looks to augment current Air Force Instructions and operating instructions, bringing about a culture shift away from a system founded on enforcement of safety rules, to a system that has all levels bringing information to the table in an effort to improve safety and health both on-duty and off, said Mr. Reynolds.

"Initially, I'll admit, I saw VPP as another safety program," said Mr. Groller. "But after a short time, I saw that this is a very aggressive program that prevents mishaps before they happen. VPP does this by investigating the little things that lead up to an accident. Our job is to protect our greatest asset, our people, and VPP allows us to do that."