The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) acknowledged Naval Base Kitsap (NBK) employees for their accomplishments in employee safety and health programs during a flag-raising ceremony June 23.
About 30 base safety and emergency services personnel attended the event, which identified NBK as a “Merit” worksite through the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).
“Optimal safety saves us time and resources,” said Capt. Tom Zwolfer, NBK commanding officer. “I appreciate the staff for making my job easier by ensuring the checks in the ‘safety mishap’ checkbook stay blank.”
NBK’s Port Operations, Fire & Emergency Services, and Security departments reduced their total number of safety mishaps and lost time cases within the last three years, said Mike Hoyt, NBK Safety & Occupational Health supervisor.
The VPP is all about management, commitment, employee participation, and making the workplace a safer place to be, according to Hoyt. It’s a partnership between labor and management, empowering employees to make safer decisions and motivating employees to be involved in all aspects of safety.
Merit status puts the NBK safety program as one of the finest in the nation, Hoyt said. There’s just a little fine tuning that needs to be addressed to achieve standing as a “star” location – the top VPP honor.
Managing safety for an entire installation has distinct challenges.
“The (occupational safety) risks in industrial settings are consistent for the most part. You know what they are, so it’s easier to avoid accidents,” Hoyt said. “In the service industry, you take new risks every day, which makes it harder to prevent mishaps – but we’re doing it. Our (port operations) and fire services have improved over the years.”
Hoyt sees stars in NBK’s future.
“We will be a Merit site for up to three years as we strive to be a Star site.”
Until then, the VPP merit flag will soar in front of the NBK quarterdeck.
“It’s not just a flag,” said Galen Blanton, OSHA deputy administrator for the Seattle region. “It’s a culture. It’s so you can live and work in the same state you came in.”
| Date Taken: | 06.23.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.06.2016 15:21 |
| Story ID: | 203209 |
| Location: | NAVAL BASE KITSAP-BREMERTON, WA, US |
| Hometown: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Hometown: | NAVAL AIR STATION WHIDBEY ISLAND, WA, US |
| Hometown: | NAVAL BASE KITSAP-BREMERTON, WA, US |
| Hometown: | NAVAL STATION EVERETT, WA, US |
| Hometown: | PORT ANGELES, WA, US |
| Hometown: | PORT ORCHARD, WA, US |
| Hometown: | POULSBO, WA, US |
| Hometown: | SEATTLE, WA, US |
| Hometown: | SILVERDALE, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 48 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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