The Department of Energy (DOE) adopted the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) and included radiation protection/nuclear safety and emergency management due to the type and complexity of DOE facilities. The DOE-VPP promotes improvement to safety and health performance through public recognition of outstanding voluntary safety programs. The Office of Health, Safety and Security (HSS) is taking the initiative to pursue OSHA VPP Star status which will facilitate a safety culture that we not only have in our workplace, but in our everyday lives including at home! To initiate the process of obtaining OSHA VPP status, HSS established the VPP Committee which has the following objectives:

1. Foster a strong safety culture in HSS by empowering HSS staff to take charge of their personal safety and health, to advise and assist others, to strive for excellence in all areas of health and safety, and to make safety and health a way of life.



2. Establish a forum for an exchange of information concerning issues pertaining to worker safety and health performance improvement within HSS and the Department.



3. Identify ways to exceed compliance and uphold safety excellence within HSS.



4. Facilitate and foster management, employee and appropriate labor organizations' involvement in workplace safety.



5. Promote a DOE VPP program for all DOE Headquarters employees.



6. Apply for and maintain Occupational Safety and Health Administration Federal VPP "Star Status" for HSS.

The HSS VPP Committee is looking into areas that could present unsafe conditions for employees. A sampling of the activities currently being pursued by the HSS VPP Committee includes:

• Improving life safety by identifying procedures for handling excess furniture that has accumulated in hallways and educating HSS employees of these procedures;



• Providing healthy environments for HSS workers by assisting the FEOSH group in their efforts to identify and understand employees thoughts on what the safety issues are in the workplace (i.e., Safety Break Survey); and



• Evaluating traffic safety awareness on the GTN campus' parking lots.

As part of a promotion and announcement of the HSS VPP Committee, a contest was held to name the HSS VPP "Globe" mascot (a handheld stress reliever). Eighteen entries were received from HSS DOE and contractor staff. The winning name, submitted by Claudia Beach (HS-12), is "Buzz" or "Catch the VPP Buzz".

The HSS VPP Committee now has a webpage that is accessible via this main HSS website. To access the VPP webpage, select "HSS VPP Committee" from the left-hand menu on the main HSS website. Any safety and health suggestions, concerns or ideas can be brought to a HSS VPP Committee member or submitted through the "Questions/Comments/Suggestions" link on this new webpage. The HSS VPP Committee webpage also has links to much other information about the Committee's ongoing activities.

We look forward to everyone in HSS embracing a safety culture. Achieving VPP Star status for HSS can only become a reality with your help and support. Thank you!

HSS Focus On Archives