Austin Bridge & Road Partners with OSHA in Pursuit of VPP Status

Austin Bridge & Road has entered into a partnership with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in further promoting an effective safety and health management system. OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) set performance-based criteria for a managed safety and health system. Project sites are invited to apply for VPP status. Applicants are then assessed against VPP criteria. OSHA’s verification includes an application review and a rigorous onsite evaluation by a team of OSHA safety and health experts.

Austin has signed a commitment letter to participate in OSHA’s VPP. Austin has applied for the challenge process, which is the initial step in the pursuit of the VPP Merit status for Austin at our Texarkana project. “This is very important for this company and can bring recognition for Austin’s current efforts in thesafety of our employee-owners,” said Jim Harbor, safety director.“I am very proud of Austin’s safety record and honored to be a part of achievingthis level of recognition.”

OSHA gains a unit of ambassadors enthusiastically spreading the message of safety and health system management. These partners provide OSHA with valuable input and augment its limited resources. The purpose of the safety and health advocacy group, VPP, is to assure that every worker in the nation is exposed to safe and healthy working conditions. By encouraging employers and workers in their efforts to reduce the number of occupational safety and health hazards at their places of employment allows them to institute new, and to perfect existing, programs for providing safe and healthy working conditions“I look forward to the partnership with OSHA through the VPP Challenge Program as a means to ensure a safe and productive work environment for our employee-owners,” said Randal Rosenbaum, project manager. Austin is the first heavy highway contractor in the nation to apply for this process. Austin Industrial began its association with OSHA’s VPP in the early 1990s and has been approved for Star designation at numerous project sites. Austin Commercial has also had a VPP Star designation at its University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center project.

From left: Randall Rosenbaum, Johnny Harthcock, Mike Moore, Bruce Colton, Chuck Boyer, Bryan Danielsen and Bill Klingbeil.