The Woodlands, Texas (August 29, 2016) - The Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP (Chevron Phillips Chemical) Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown, Texas, has been awarded the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Outreach Award for excellence in promoting safety among employees and contractor companies by the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants' Association (VPPPA) during its 32nd Annual Safety & Health Conference in Kissimmee, Florida.
VPP, a program of the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), recognizes employers and workers who have implemented effective safety and health management systems, and which maintain injury and illness rates below national Bureau of Labor Statistics averages for their respective industry.
The VPP Outreach Award is given to an individual, worksite or company that has demonstrated extraordinary support of the VPP principles through outreach activities that encourage others to pursue safety excellence and share their knowledge.
"Safety is Chevron Phillips Chemical's number one priority and the principles of VPP support our mission to keep both employees and contractors safe while working at our site," said Mitch Krutilek, plant manager for Chevron Phillips Chemical's Cedar Bayou plant.
In addition to achieving and maintaining certification at its facilities, Chevron Phillips Chemical encourages contractor companies doing work at the company's locations to participate in VPP. As a result of this effort, the Cedar Bayou plant flies 12 VPP flags, one for the company and each of its 11 VPP-certified contractor companies, boasting the highest number of VPP flags at any one site in the United States.
"The Cedar Bayou facility has maintained VPP Star status, the highest level of VPP certification, for more than nineteen years and during that time has provided all its contractors with tools, positive mentoring and dedicated support to achieve the very same status," said Lesli Trahan, safety facilitator at the Cedar Bayou plant. "By consistently instilling a strong safety culture based on core values, contractors at Chevron Phillips Chemical are driven to motivate and mentor future VPP applicants into the program."
In addition to the already certified contract companies, the Cedar Bayou safety team works diligently with other companies going through the VPP certification process by conducting mock audits, field visits and employee interviews.
"We will continue to help all our contractor companies maintain their status and continuously improve their health and safety programs in hopes that they'll spread VPP throughout their respective organizations," said Trahan. "We are committed to the VPP principles and we understand that the more companies there are in the program, the safer we will all be."
Chevron Phillips Chemical maintains VPP Star status at 19 out of 20 administrative and production facilities throughout the U.S.
About Voluntary Protection Programs Participants' Association, Inc. (VPPPA)
The Voluntary Protection Programs Participants' Association, Inc. (VPPPA), the Premier Global Safety and Health Organization, is the leading organization dedicated to cooperative occupational safety, health and environmental management systems. VPPPA, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is a member-based association, providing a network of more than 2,300 companies and worksites who have achieved or are striving for occupational safety and health excellence, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) or the Department of Energy's (DOE) Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP).
The Voluntary Protection Programs Participants' Association, Inc. (VPPPA), the Premier Global Safety and Health Organization, is the leading organization dedicated to cooperative occupational safety, health and environmental management systems. VPPPA, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is a member-based association, providing a network of more than 2,300 companies and worksites who have achieved or are striving for occupational safety and health excellence, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) or the Department of Energy's (DOE) Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP).