McGuire holds work sites to higher standards Published Aug. 2, 2007 By Senior Airman Danielle Johnson 305th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. -- McGuire is currently undergoing an initial assessment to determine what improvements are needed for the base to qualify for the Occupational Safety and Health Administrations Voluntary Protection Program. The VPP is essentially a recognition program that holds work sites to a higher standard of safety practices. To qualify, a work site must have at least 50 percent fewer work-related illnesses and injuries than the national average for that industry. "The Air Force is a corporate bill - it pays more than $130 million a year in civilian worker's compensation claims," said Vance Lineberger, deputy for safety for the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for environmental safety and occupational health. "That is equivalent to losing 160 workers every day of the year. "I truly want people to go home at night in the same physical condition and mental condition they came to work in, and I want them to take the attitudes they develop on duty home with them," said Mr. Lineberger. "It's more than just what I do on duty because if someone gets injured or ill, it doesn't matter where it happens - I lose the capability." The weeklong assessment will help officials establish a baseline for the base, which will be compared to VPP performance standards to determine what actions need to be taken to get to the performance levels the VPP would recognize. The goal for Air Force officials is to have all Air Force installations recognized as VPP "Star" work sites: the highest level of VPP recognition. "As an Air Force, we are very good at compliance: if you're told this is what you have to do, you do it," said Mr. Lineberger. "I'm asking people now to go beyond what they have to do. "Instead of holding ourselves to a standard of compliance with Air Force directives, we need to step above that by holding ourselves to a higher standard," Mr. Lineberger said. According to Mr. Lineberger, this doesn't necessarily require stricter rules or guidelines - it requires a culture change. A change in the way Airmen look and act in their environments. "We already have very restrictive guidelines on the things you're required to do," he said. "What does change is: if I'm your supervisor telling you to do that, I want you to do that but I want you to be a part of the process. I want you to feel like you have an input. "I want people to have their eyes open when they're doing their assigned tasks to see the periphery of what they're doing." "No one should ever fear for their safety or their health when they come to one of our Air Force work sites," he added. Mr. Lineberger emphasized that this culture change is not something that will happen overnight, or even in a few months. It is a process that will take years, which is why each and every Airman should start now to make this goal a reality. For more information on the VPP, go online to www.osha.gov/dcsp/vpp.