VPP update, EMXG culture of success Published Feb. 12, 2016 By Jenny Gordon Robins Public Affairs ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- The Voluntary Protection Program Safe Site Challenge continues at a steady pace across Robins. Currently there are 254 safe sites, of which 81 percent have achieved Gold status. As of Feb. 1, the status across the installation includes: 206, Gold; 37, Silver; and 11, Bronze. That number includes units from across the 78th Air Base Wing, Air Force Sustainment Center operating locations at Robins, Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, and Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and 448th Supply Chain Management offices. Sustaining a culture of safety happens every day here. Take for example the VPP culture within the 402nd Electronics Maintenance Group. Charles Neal, 402nd EMXG VPP program manager, explained that with its versatile workforce of 1,040 trained specialists across the organization, enthusiasm needs to be part of the VPP program. The group is currently awaiting a visit from OSHA to be assessed as an OSHA VPP Star Site. There are currently two at Robins - the 402nd Software Maintenance Group and 402nd Maintenance Support Group. "If you do just straight facts and talk of rules and regulations, you lose people," he said. "In EMXG, there are people who bring fun and games into it in order to not lose enthusiasm about the program." One area that stands out is that the 402nd EMXG experienced no lost time in 2015 due to employee injuries. For calendar year 2015, the group's rates for injuries and time lost, known as TCIR, Total Case Incident Rate, and DART, Days Away Restricted Transfer, was below the industry standard. Zero days were lost in 2015 due to illnesses and/or injuries. The TCIR rate last year included a total of 10 OSHA-reportable mishaps, minor incidents that workers reported to work the following day. According to Neal, from last September until November, the group went over 100 days without a single injury, a first for the group in over a decade. The 402nd Software Maintenance Group also had a zero DART rate for 2015. According to safety officials, injury trends are down across the WR-ALC and 78th ABW, specifically they're at a three-year average low. "The numbers are decreasing which is the way we want them to be," said Jim Howard, WR-ALC safety and occupational health specialist representative with the 402nd EMXG. While there are environments within EMXG complexes where work in sheet metal, radar and chemicals are a constant presence, safety is always on the minds of everyone. It's agreed that care, commitment and timely response are ingrained in its culture - that everyone takes responsible ownership for not only their own safety but the safety of others. "EMXG is a solid opportunity to see a safety management system that is engaged with VPP," said Johnson.