Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Victoria Galbraith | 191107-N-AD499-1129 BREMERTON, Wash. (Nov. 7, 2019) - Naval Base Kitsap (NBK) safety...... read more read more
Naval Base Kitsap Achieves VPP Star Recognition Award
U.S. Navy Story by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Victoria Foley
BREMERTON, Wash.-- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration acknowledged Naval Base Kitsap employees for their accomplishments in employee safety and health programs, during a flag-raising ceremony November 7, 2019.
About 16 base safety committee members were recognized at the event, which identified NBK as a “Star” worksite through the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program.
“It’s certainly an important occasion as we come here to recognize all of NBK’s employees and their efforts that went into achieving the VPP Star Award,” said Capt. Rich Rhinehart, NBK commanding officer. “This partnership between our leadership, the unions, employees and OSHA have resulted in reductions in frequencies and severity of mishaps. NBK’s people are its greatest resource and this award is a demonstration of our commitment to their safety.”
VPP is designed to recognize organizations implementing effective measures to maintain injury rates below the national average; Becoming a VPP Star Site means NBK has reached the highest level of OSHA VPP participation.
NBK’s Port Operations, Fire and Emergency Services, and Security departments have worked continuously to reduce their total number of safety mishaps, but even though the base passed all of the inspections, OSHA will continue to re-evaluate the base every few years. It’s important to maintain NBK’s star status in the years to come.
Dave Baker, Washington area director for OSHA, spoke about how over his 25 years working with OSHA, he has seen the Navy go through many iterations of the safety programs; and today he would present NBK their VPP Star Recognition Award.
“There is a lot of pride up here presenting NBK the VPP plaque and flag,” said Baker. “It’s great to see how the programs have matured and expanded to cover Navy personnel as well.”
Tony Militello, director of Occupational Safety and Health on the Secretary of the Navy staff, thanked NBK’s safety personnel for all of their hard work and mission readiness.
“There are no two words that resonate more with the former Secretary of the Navy Staff than readiness and deployability,” said Militello, “I can’t thank you enough, on behalf of the secretary and the assistant secretary of the Navy all that you’ve done to get our fleet, Sailors and Marines to be the best fighting force in the nation and in the world.”
Star status puts the NBK safety program as one of the finest in the nation, Rhinehart said. NBK is recognized as one of the only 59 commands out of nearly 2,000 DoD organizations nationwide to earn the VPP Star Recognition Award, and is a testament to the importance Naval Base Kitsap places on safety.
| Date Taken: | 11.07.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 11.08.2019 13:47 |
| Story ID: | 351034 |
| Location: | BREMERTON, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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