In our ongoing series of posts highlighting companies that have taken extra steps to satisfy Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) safety requirements in their Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), a cooperative program that recognizes employers and employees who proactively prevent worksite injuries and illnesses, here we look at Tecton Products, LLC.

In 2011, the custom fiberglass pultrusions designer and manufacturer’s Fargo, ND, location achieved VPP recognition through its commitment to continuous improvement in workplace safety and health.

Having already earned North Dakota’s first Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) designation for its safety and health management systems in 2005, Tecton Products formed a project team in 2009 to begin documenting the company’s efforts in pursuit of VPP recognition. Following OSHA’s VPP onsite evaluation in February 2011, Tecton was approved as a VPP Star site in August 2011. Due to its commitment to VPP, Tecton let its SHARP status expire in March 2011.

Through the VPP program, Tecton commits to a proactive approach to safety and health management while maintaining injury and illness rates below the industry average. The company’s historical injury and illness rates have been significantly below the national average for its industry.

Between 2008 and 2010 alone, Tecton’s “Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART)” incident rate was 78 percent below the national average for its industry. The average VPP worksite has a DART case rate of 52 percent below the average for its industry. During the same period, Tecton’s Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR) was 20 percent below the national average for its industry.

In our ongoing series of posts highlighting companies that have taken extra steps to satisfy Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety requirements in their Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), a cooperative program that recognizes employers and employees who proactively prevent worksite fatalities, injuries and illnesses, here we look at Tesoro’s Mandan oil refinery.

Located in Mandan, N.D., the refinery manufactures gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, heavy fuel oils and liquefied petroleum gas, of which most are shipped via pipeline to the eastern part of the state and Minnesota. The facility has a daily capacity of 58,000 barrels, processing mainly low-sulfur domestic crude oil.

By focusing on continuously improving its workplace safety and health, the refinery has experienced a 45 percent reduction in injury and illness rates since 2004. The refinery earned VPP Merit recognition in August 2007, and in January 2011, it was designated a Star site, the highest level of recognition offered by OSHA’s VPP. A VPP Star site maintains employee injury and illness rates below the national average for its industry.

Part of the Mandan site’s safety successes can be attributed to its “Triangle of Prevention System” (TOP) incident investigation program, a worker-driven and company-supported safety and health program. The TOP program is a system-based safety program that uses a three-pronged attack on hazards in the workplace by identifying failures in the system, making recommendations to correct these types of failures and tracking the recommendations to completion.

Among the site’s other notable efforts are its emergency preparedness and response teams, proactive hazard analysis systems and employee training systems.

In our ongoing series of posts highlighting companies that have taken extra steps to satisfy Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety requirements in their Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), a cooperative program that recognizes employers and employees who proactively prevent worksite injuries and illnesses, here we look at Clow Valve, a subsidiary of McWane, Inc.

Since 1926, Clow Valve has been recognized as one of the country’s leading and most experienced manufacturers of ductile iron pipe. The company’s machine shop and metal casting facility in Oskaloosa, Iowa, manufactures fire hydrants and water valves. The metal casting facility produces gray iron, ductile iron and brass castings for valves and hydrants.

Even after decades of safety efforts – including written safety programs, training, machine guards, lockout/tagout programs and more – Clow Valve was experiencing incident rates above the national average for its industry. In 2005, the company overhauled its safety programs to incorporate core VPP elements. In 2007, Iowa OSHA’s VPP team conducted a nine-day VPP onsite audit, and Clow Valve’s metal casting facility achieved VPP Merit status.

Clow Valve’s work with on-site consultation and participation in the Iowa VPP resulted in improved workplace safety, health performance and other benefits. For instance, the metal casting facility reduced its incident rates to below the industry’s national average, and employee turnover rates fell from 89 percent in 2000 to 13 percent in 2010.

Today, commitment to safety and health is part of the company’s culture, with employees engaged and taking ownership of safety. Clow Valve is now an advocate of OSHA cooperative programs, such as VPP, and mentors other facilities seeking to enter the VPP process.

Companies that believe workplace safety planning should be proactive rather than reactive address the safety of their employees before dangerous incidents occur and beyond only what the law mandates. In the first of a series of blog posts highlighting companies that have taken extra steps to satisfy Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) safety requirements in their Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), a cooperative program that recognizes employers and employees who proactively prevent worksite injuries and illnesses, here we look at the General Electric Sayre Railcar Repair shop.

Located in north-central Pennsylvania, this GE full-service railcar service shop’s 100+ workers repair and service all types of railroad cars. GE Rail Services was first recognized as a Star worksite under VPP in 2001. VPP Star status recognizes the efforts of managers and employees who have achieved exemplary safety and health management systems.

At the Sayre service shop, a number of safety improvements were made due to the site’s ergonomics team – made up of 18-20 employee team members – which was involved in determining worksite needs in relation to best ergonomic practices. Supported by management, the team has conducted employee comfort surveys to gauge the quantitative risk associated with job tasks.

In addition to performing repairs and/or modifications, the many activities at the Sayre shop include removing residual commodity and removing paint and interior lining (abrasive blasting).

OSHA believes that by using good work practices, the risk of exposure to air contaminants and other safety/health risks associated with abrasive blasting can be minimized. Such practices include using industrial vacuum systems equipped with High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters or wet methods when removing accumulated dust. Companies looking to participate in the VPP program while facing dust issues related to abrasive blasting should consider a DEMARCO Industrial Vacuum system.