Workplace Health and Safety

At PPL, employee health and safety is always a top priority. The company’s goal is to build a culture that promotes continuous safety improvement, and it believes achieving that goal requires a companywide commitment by all employees.

To demonstrate this commitment, PPL facilities throughout the country are participating in the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program. VPP encourages cooperation among government, industry and labor to protect worker health and safety. It establishes performance criteria for health and safety management programs, assesses companies that apply for VPP status and recognizes companies that meet its high standards with OSHA’s "Star" designation.

PPL business units in Montana that have received Star recognition are: 

• Colstrip power plant in southeastern Montana on Oct. 9, 2007.
   
• Corette power plant near Billings, Mont., became the first industrial site in Montana to receive VPP Star status on Feb. 14, 2005, and recertified in June 2008.
   
• Holter hydroelectric plant in Wolf Creek, Mont., on June 16, 2008.
   
• Kerr hydroelectric plant near Polson, Mont., on Jan. 24, 2006.
   
• Madison hydroelectric plant near Ennis, Mont., on July 28, 2008.
    

Companies that qualify for VPP status view OSHA standards as a minimum level of safety and health performance and set their own, more stringent standards for effective employee protection. VPP participant sites generally experience 60 percent fewer lost-workday injuries than would be expected of an average site of similar size in their industries.

In evaluating safety and health programs, OSHA looks at many components, including management leadership, employee involvement, worksite analysis, training, and hazard prevention and control. An OSHA team re-evaluates VPP Star sites every three to five years for recertification. To be recertified, sites must continue to show improvement in their safety and health programs.

Attaining VPP Star status involves an employee-driven effort. At PPL, both management and labor support the VPP program and the process needed to achieve and maintain VPP Star status.