GRAPEVINE, Texas - (August 24, 2015) - During the 31st Annual National Voluntary Protection Programs Participant's Association (VPPPA) Conference, keynote speaker Peter Cella, president and chief executive officer of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP, urged industry leaders to continue to strengthen their existing safety cultures and reinforced how the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) -- launched by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1982 -- plays a critical role in amplifying safety messages across Chevron Phillips Chemical sites.
"Every member of our workforce understands and helps us spread the word that nothing is more important than personal safety," said Cella at the annual conference attended by thousands of industry representatives. "That is why I see participation in OSHA's VPP as such a critical component of our safety culture. VPP serves as a megaphone for me and for every employee and contractor to communicate his/her right and responsibility to work safely or not at all. Participation in VPP helps us amplify and reiterate a constant and persistent safety message to employees and contractors, helping to create a culture that keeps safety at the forefront."
Since 2002, Chevron Phillips Chemical has achieved a 70% reduction in its combined employee and contractor recordable illness and injury rate. Of the company's 20 eligible U.S. sites, 18 have achieved the prestigious Star Designation through VPP, including, most recently, the company's Pasadena plant in Pasadena, Texas. The company's Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown, Texas has the most VPP-certified contractor companies working at one site in the United States.
Chevron Phillips Chemical is in the midst of a $6 billion U.S. Gulf Coast Petrochemicals Project that has mobilized on average 4,000 construction workers a day and accrued 13 million man hours. "While all of this development means more jobs for our communities, it also compels company leaders like me to deliver a strong safety message. Nothing is more important than all of these workers going home to their families safely every single day," Cella said.
Each year, the VPPPA hosts a national conference with more than 100 workshops, 300 exhibitors and thousands of experts from diverse industries sharing safety and health information and practices.