Message from the Chairperson

This edition of the Leader honors 100 years of safety, and I could not be prouder of how the VPPPA and VPP community have helped safety evolve over the years. Most everyone has seen the infamous 1920s photo above, showing workers having lunch sitting on a single I-Beam 840 feet above New York City, or you’ve heard stories of miners using birds as an early warning to get out of the mine. It’s safe to say, safety has drastically evolved since then, and it is thanks in no small part to the hard work and dedication from leaders in labor, business, and our government.

I cannot help but to think back on some of the pioneers in safety. True leaders like the labor organization that had the simple idea to build San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant outside of San Diego in the late 70s without having any fatalities. Their leadership in reaching out to the construction contractor to see how it could be done and both contacting Cal-OSHA for their assistance was extraordinary. Those leaders created a safety management system which is now called the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). This simple, yet genius, idea to create a system that empowers the worker to take charge of their own safety through the support of the employer, as well as OSHA, has truly helped safety evolve over the past 40+ years.

I read an article not too long ago that stated today’s workers expect a safe workplace as part of their employment. While I will not give up my age, when I entered the workforce that was not the case. I am glad to see we continue to raise the bar in workplace safety, so our children have a safer work environment. I truly believe the VPP community had a hand in this, and I look forward to seeing how we continue to improve our systems, our workplaces, and our mindset to achieve safety excellence for many more years.

As part of these continual improvement efforts, we hope to see you at one our 10 Regional Conferences this year, as well as our national Safety+ Symposium being held in the nation’s capital in August. We were also very excited to have a track at the BCSP virtual Global Learning Summit (GLS) this May. These events inspire collaboration and innovation, which contributes greatly to the continued evolution and improvement of safety.

The VPPPA looks forward to supporting our members, partners, and the entire safety community for the next 100 years!