November 3, 2003—The Titleist Ball Plant II in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, was recognized in October by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for its continued excellence in protecting its workers’ safety and health. The Titleist plant, a facility of Acushnet Company, was welcomed as the 1000th site to achieve “Star” status in OSHA’s prestigious Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).
OSHA also recently recognized Kraft Foods of Kirksville, Missouri, for achieving 11 years of excellence in worker health and safety, with a ceremony renewing the company’s participation in OSHA’s Star Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). Kraft Foods was approved for OSHA’s Star program in August 1994. In addition to an exemplary safety and health program, OSHA’s review team found that the facility had a lost workday injury and illness rate 58 % below the industry national average. OSHA cited Kraft’s top-level management’s close participation in the company’s safety and health program as a key to its effectiveness.
In addition, ConAgra Foods of Longmont, Colorado, was recently recognized as a Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) site for excellence in their safety and health program. The company has been designated a VPP “Merit” site, meeting all of the program’s safety and health elements, which far exceed minimum OSHA standards. OSHA said that noteworthy aspects of ConAgra Foods’ program are its safety training and computerized preventative maintenance system, and that ConAgra management “fosters good ergonomic practices and supports a buddy system through its VPP committee to mentor employees on hazard identification.”
The Voluntary Protection Program is the Labor Department’s premier initiative to promote and recognize excellence in occupational safety and health. From coast to coast, there are approximately 1,000 work sites participating in VPP. Information about the VPP application and approval process is available from OSHA.
