August 16, 2002—Hunter Douglas Window Fashions Division, Broomfield, Colorado, has been recognized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for excellence in their safety and health program. The company’s Window Fashions Division was awarded one of the highest levels that OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) has to offer with their recognition as a VPP STAR site.
A STAR site meets all the safety and health program elements of OSHA’s VPP. The program offers companies a unique opportunity to move beyond traditional safety programs by recognizing participants that successfully incorporate comprehensive safety and health programs into their total management systems. Only 850 companies nationwide participate in the VPP, including four sites currently in Colorado.
According to OSHA, the key to this company’s VPP program is their commitment to ergonomics, which includes designing their own production equipment with ergonomic considerations, and to their training and educational programs. Their occupational health program ensures that first-aid kits and automated external defibrillators (AED) are maintained in each building. OSHA says that “top management has instilled a true safety culture that says safety is a value and the way everyone does business.”
Requirements for the VPP include: a high degree of management support and employee involvement; a high-quality worksite analysis program; hazard prevention and control programs; and comprehensive safety and health training for all employees. Each of these elements must be effective, in place, and in operation for at least one year before applying to join the program. A rigorous week-long onsite OSHA evaluation verifies that the company has excelled in their safety and health program.
