Chemical Protection Coaching Facility recertifies with OSHA’s highest security certification | Article

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — The Occupational Security and Well being Administration recertified Fort Leonard Wooden’s Chemical Protection Coaching Facility final month for assembly the workplace’s highest requirements for office security.

The CDTF, which is the one facility that conducts dwell chemical warfare agent coaching for the Division of Protection, acquired its preliminary certification as an OSHA Voluntary Safety Program Star Work Website in 2019. In an Oct. 13 letter from OSHA to CDTF Director Dan Murray, Billie Kizer, administrator for OSHA’s Kansas Metropolis Regional Workplace — which has accountability over Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska — wrote individuals of VPP function fashions for different employers and staff by working wonderful security and well being administration packages.

“Attaining a degree of employee safety that goes past compliance with authorities rules is commendable,” Kizer wrote. “Congratulations in your dedication and employee involvement within the prevention of accidents and sicknesses. I encourage you to share your successes with others and regularly enhance your security and well being program.”

Murray stated sustaining this commonplace over the previous three years has been a chance for the CDTF to do one thing within the security enviornment “that was significant and that may talk to our management — army and civilian alike — in some type of widespread language, that we take security critically.”

“All the pieces we do is targeted on security, simply due to the character of the work we do,” Murray stated. “Our leaders want to have the ability to have the boldness that we don’t have any points that current a threat to the mission, the individuals who work and practice right here or the neighborhood.”

The recertification course of included a go to from OSHA representatives, who carried out doc critiques and on-site inspections, stroll throughs and worker interviews meant to confirm the packages that earned the certification within the first place are nonetheless in energetic apply. Serving to make sure the CDTF — and any new workers or contractors there — remained targeted on the well being of this system was George Dalgetty, the ability’s security specialist.

Dalgetty stated the individuals, each workers and administration, make the CDTF the very best place within the Military to work — he known as it “a security man’s dream.”

“It’s not me,” he stated. “It’s everybody within the facility who makes this what it’s. All of us consider. On the finish of the day, you’re feeling safer coming to work at a protected worksite.”

Although all parts of the CDTF’s security and well being administration packages met OSHA’s expectations for VPP individuals, 4 areas have been famous in OSHA’s report as “exemplary and fashions for different industries.” These included the Military’s Deliberate Danger Evaluation course of that summarizes dangers related to explicit duties; the CDTF’s Good Card program that highlights security data for workers on a pocket-sized card; month-to-month security stand-down coaching periods; and chief involvement that has empowered workers in any respect ranges to cease unsafe acts and report points with no concern of reprisals or some other unfavorable actions.

Murray identified the CDTF is the one group inside U.S. Military Coaching and Doctrine Command — and considered one of solely about 50 areas throughout the DOD — to take part within the VPP as a Star Work Website. Going above and past the mandated requirements exhibits the CDTF is operated and led each day by a group of dedicated professionals, who perceive the necessity to combat towards complacency.

“Having exterior eyes, having security professionals are available is significant to us — it’s very important to any group — since you don’t all the time see what you take a look at each day,” Murray stated.

Now that the CDTF has been recertified, the subsequent step is one other recertification in 5 years’ time — which means preserving the tradition of security on the CDTF alive and properly.

“We’re the one place within the DOD that does what we do,” Dalgetty stated. “We practice all of the providers right here, and we practice with dwell chemical brokers, so security is inherent in every part we do.”