Oct 20 2008
The DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred supply management soybean production location in Litchfield, Ill., recently was recognized as an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Start site. The designation, which is held by fewer than 2,100 worksites across the U.S., recognizes Litchfield's excellence in occupational safety and health.
The Litchfield plant receives OSHA VPP Star status for its safety efforts.
"Our people have made great strides to improve our safety culture and reduce incidents over the past several years," said Ron Hageman, safety coordinator at the Litchfield plant. "Recently, there have been several engineering improvements made at our facility. The improvements not only increased productivity, but more importantly, they reduced employee exposure to risk. "
The VPP program sets performance-based criteria and assesses applicants through a rigorous process of worksite evaluation, examination of safety records, and review of safety programs. Sites that are awarded "Star" status (which is the highest grade that can be achieved in the program) must submit annual self-evaluations and undergo onsite re-evaluations from OSHA every three to five years.
The average VPP worksite has a recordable incident record that is 52 percent better than the industry average, according to the OSHA website. Once a location is granted VPP Star status, they are exempt from regular OSHA programmed inspections.