97th MX takes safety to another level, receives honors Published May 1, 2013 By Senior Airman Kenneth W. Norman 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- A recognition ceremony was held May 1, 2013 to present the 97th Maintenance Directorate with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Voluntary Protection Program Star rating. During the ceremony, the 97th MX was presented with a plaque to recognize their achievement as well as a VPP flag to fly at their squadron. "We worked for seven years trying to achieve the OSHA Star Status, which is one of three rankings," said Bryan Doyle, 97th MX safety office supervisor. "Altus is the first active and civilian base to achieve this award. It is pretty prestigious." According to the OSHA website, the Star Program is designed for exemplary worksites with comprehensive, successful safety and health management systems. Companies in the Star Program have achieved injury and illness rates at or below the national average of their respective industries. "To even be considered for the Star, we had to maintain our three-year average injury rates below the industry standards," Doyle said. "This was accomplished through teamwork, better reporting, trend tracking and by completing a Job Safety Analysis on potentially dangerous worksite tasks." It took a complete team effort for the 97th MX to achieve this status and expressed thanks for all of the support they received. "I'd like to thank all the employees in the A Team, without all of their support we never would have achieved this," Doyle said. "Also, our mentors at Valero who helped us through the process, the commander and upper management - without their support we wouldn't have been able to take the program to the level that we did."