VPP team assesses safety and health Published Sept. 22, 2008 By Airman 1st Class Candy Miller 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Vance Lineberger, secretary of the Air Force's Office of Installations, Environment and Logistics displayed Sheppard's Voluntary Protection Program gap analysis graph Sept. 19 during a visit to assess Sheppard's safety and health in the work force. The graph shows how Sheppard is doing in occupational health and safety. He said 34 percent of Sheppard's operations were completed to VPP standards and only 14 percent didn't implement VPP. The rest of the 52 percent were programs in progress. "This is the best graph I've ever shown," Mr. Lineberger said comparing Sheppard to about 30 bases he has already visited. He said he saw examples of world class operations in Sheppard's Civil Engineering Alarm room and the Auto Skills Center. Other areas of excellance were Sheppard's health awareness and mishap prevention. Areas of improvement Air Force-wide include hazardous materials storage, workplace safety and electric hazards, he said. VPP is a program that builds on other programs already in place to prevent injuries and illness in the workforce by focusing on management leadership and employee involvement, work analysis, hazard prevention and control, and safety and health training. The VPP team assessed Sheppard's processes by reviewing safety and health documents, formally interviewing 32 military, civilian and union supervisors, and visiting 18 workplaces, Mr. Lineberger said. After the gap analysis, the base needs to come up with a plan of action to reach "Star Status" and pass the Occupational Safety and Health Administration evaluation. These plans have taken as little as 16 months and as long as 60 months to meet VPP standards. The team said the next recommended step is to evaluate the results from the Air Force Culture Assessment Survey Tool, a web-based survey that allows commanders to assess their unit's point of view on safety issues.