Going Universal - VPPPA Region I Chapter

This e-version of The Leader is provided courtesy of VPPPA for members only. For reprint permission, please contact the editor at Communications@vpppa.org.
Department of Labor is proud to honor
these leading companies,” stated Indiana
Commissioner of Labor Lori A. Torres.
The 2010 winning companies are:
+ Overall safety by a large company –
Roche Diagnostics in Indianapolis
+ Overall safety by a medium company –
OFS Brands, Plant #6 in Huntingburg
+ Overall safety by a small company –
Chemical Processing, Essex Group, Inc.,
in Fort Wayne
+ Overall safety by a construction
company – Weigand Construction Co.,
Inc. in Fort Wayne
+ Education, outreach and partnership
for general industry – Pharmaceutical
Research and Development (Lilly)
in Indianapolis
+ Education and outreach in construction
– Superior Construction Co., Inc.,
in Gary
+ Partnerships in construction –
Indianapolis Roofers Safety Group
in Zionsville
Congratulations to all!
marylanD
The Maryland Occupational Safety
and Health (MOSH) VPP currently has
fourteen active VPP Star sites. We have
seen a definite reduction in the level of
interest of new sites in VPP, most likely
as a result of the current economy. We
have only one new site scheduled for a
site approval later this spring and several
existing Star sites scheduled for VPP reapproval.
The MOSH VPP will begin
utilizing SGEs for the first time in the
upcoming site evaluation. We recently
completed VPP re-approval evaluations
for the Northrop Grumman Electronic
Systems Group in Linthicum and the
Covanta Energy Mass Burn Montgomery
facility in Dickerson. A number of existing
Star facilities from Maryland attended the
Region III VPPPA Chapter Conference in
Pittsburgh, April 6-9, 2010.
miChigan
Michigan is proud to recognize Cascade
Engineering – Industrial Solutions,
Container Group (Grand Rapids) as the
newest Michigan VPP (MVPP) Star site.
14 the leAder >> sPring 2010
The Container Group facility has been
active in MVPP as a Rising Star site and
was recently approved as a Star site.
In addition to Cascade Engineering,
the Herman Miller 171st Ave in
Spring Lake has been re-approved as a
Star facility.
The newest addition to MVPP is the DTE
River Rouge Power Plant. The site is a
fossil fuel electric power generation plant
utilizing coal, natural gas and coke oven gas
that is capable of producing 540 megawatts
of electricity per hour. The 155 employees
and approximately 40 contract employees
oversee the operation and maintenance
of the plant’s three units that consist of a
boiler, a turbine and a generator.
Sites currently pending approval include
International Paper in Kalamazoo. A Star
re-approval review has been performed
and the site is currently awaiting approval.
Initial onsite reviews have been performed
at the DTE Washington 10 Station/
MichCon facility in Covert Township and
the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant. Both of
these sites are currently pending approval.
New applications for MVPP have been
received from Flint Hills Resources in
Marysville, Michigan Packaging Company
in Mason, Potlatch Land and Lumber in
Gwinn and DTE in East China. The dates
for the onsite review at DTE East China
have been set. The others are pending
acceptance before the dates for the onsite
review can be scheduled.
minneSoTa
Minnesota currently has 45 Star sites and
seven Merit sites within their Minnesota
Star VPP program (MNSTAR). Of the
45 Star sites, 27 are classified as general
industry sites, 15 are public sector sites
and three are construction sites.
Two MNSTAR pre-approval evaluations
are in progress at two general
industry employers.
One re-approval was completed with two
additional re-approval evaluations in progress.
Applications from six general industry
worksites and one construction worksite
are pending review with onsite evaluations
tentatively scheduled for 2010.
norTh Carolina
North Carolina has had much new VPP
activity since the last issue of The Leader.
Two new building stars have joined the
VPP community: Jacobs Constructors,
Inc., in Durham; and David Weekley
Homes in Cary.
The state also has two new Public Sector
Stars: Water & Sewer Authority of
Cabarrus County in Concord; and City of
Greensboro Field Operations Department
in Greensboro.
And finally, North Carolina is proud
to announce seven Carolina Star reapprovals:
Kinder Morgan Materials
Services, LLC, in Sanford; Georgia-Pacific
Corrugated, LLC, in Asheboro; Valspar,
Inc., in Charlotte; Louisiana-Pacific
Corporation in Roaring River; Mallard
Creek Polymers, Inc., in Charlotte; Coats
North America in Marion; and Alcan
Composites USA in Statesville.
Congratulations to all!
oregon
Since the winter issue of The Leader,
Oregon has received two new VPP
applications that are currently under
review. We have conducted four
evaluations and have re-approved two
sites: Oldcastle Precast, Inc., dba Utility
Vault in Willsonville and iLevel by
Weyerhaeuser in Beaverton. We currently
stand at 24 VPP sites, 19 of which are Star
sites. Two more Oregon SGEs have served
on VPP teams as well.
puerTo riCo
Fiscal year 2009 was a successful year for
VPP in Puerto Rico OSHA (PR OSHA).
During this year, PR OSHA received five
VPP applications, three new VPP sites were
approved at the Guanín (Star equivalent)
level and three sites were re-approved as
Guanin Programs.
The companies were: Veolia ES Technical
Solutions, LLC, from Gurabo (storage
and disposition of chemicals); AMS
Gilbane, UPR Molecular Sciences Project
in Río Piedras (construction project for the
University of Puerto Rico); Stryker Puerto
Rico in Arroyo (manufacture of medical
devices); Abbott Pharmaceuticals PR Ltd
in Barceloneta; and Cutler-Hammer de
Puerto Rico in Las Piedras (manufacturer
of miniature circuit breaker components).