76th AMXG VPP program growing, injury-accident rates decreasing

Published May 5, 2011
By Brandice J. O'Brien
Staff Writer

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- They know the "Star" status is a commendable achievement, but it's not one they're currently pursuing. Instead, they're on a different mission.

Before the 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group vies for the Voluntary Protection Program and Occupational Safety and Health Administration honor, officials said they want to make sure the group is the best it can be. They want the number of accidents and injuries significantly reduced. That's not to say they haven't already achieved an impressive feat, they just want to be better.

"The large population that we deal with and the nature of our work is very hands-on so there is a lot more potential for injuries," said Tom Brinkley, 76th AMXG VPP Integrated Design Team employee representative. "Our main goal is to reduce those injuries. Extending that projection time will give us the ability to be ready for Star status."

Delo Anderson, 76th AMXG IDT union representative, agreed.

"Obtaining Star status is not the easiest task in the world. The reason why we set a goal of 2015 is to makes sure when we do put our application in, we are pretty much guaranteed a Star status," Mr. Anderson said. "To be honest, a lot of people measure VPP on your so-called Star status, but what it really comes down to is the safety of the workforce; it's about people going home safe."

Since adopting the program in 2006, officials said the aircraft maintenance group has worked tirelessly to get its personnel excited about VPP and are now seeing the fruits of their labors. Prior to the implementation of VPP, the group's total case incident rate, or TCIR, and the Days Away/Restricted/ Transferred, or DART, rate were in the double digits.

These days, the TCIR rate hovers at 6.4 and the DART is at 3.6.

The fiscal 2011 goal is to reduce each rate by 15 percent.

"The executive steering committee wanted us to reach the industry standard, which would have been like a 50 or 60-percent improvement," said Donna Quijano-Butner, 76th AMXG Integrated Design Team for Management and VPP program manager. "That's pretty significant, so we're trying for 15 percent and if we hit it, we'll go for 20 percent. We want that trend to go down and it is."

If the group reaches the goals, the TCIR will be at 5.6 and the DART at 2.7.

As the culture changes and employees realize VPP is not just another safety program with an expiration date, VPP officials said they are noticing other benefits. Employees have started suggesting measures to protect the workforce when working on aircraft such as putting blocks of foam on sharp edges. They've created a prototype kit and are adjusting it for each of the weapon systems.

Another team is researching the root cause as to why so many personnel suffer from sprains and strains. Once they determine the cause, they will suggest ways to prevent them.

"Our team effort can be summed up as, 'one goal, one vision, one team to improve safety in the workforce,'" said Keith Kingsbury, 76th AMXG management co-chair for Safety and Health training. "As word gets out, it's obvious that everyone is working together to achieve safety in the workplace."

Mr. Brinkley agreed.

"We had to do a lot with the learning curve when we first implemented it, but now it's just like the snowball effect," he said. "We have buy-in from management, the employees and the union. The cohesion is there. Now that we've planted ourselves like a tree, our roots have dug into the ground and we're growing."