Workplace 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 company-wide commitment by all employees.
To demonstrate this commitment, PPL facilities throughout the country are participating in the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program. This program recognizes companies that go beyond compliance to protect worker health and safety.
The Colstrip power plant, which is operated by PPL Montana, and PPL Montana's Corette and Kerr Dam power plants are three of only five sites in Montana to hold the VPP Star certification – the highest safety recognition given within the federal program. PPL Montana is the only private company in the state to have Star certifications.
VPP encourages cooperation among government, industry and labor to protect worker health and safety. 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.
Designed for worksites with comprehensive, successful safety and health programs, VPP is open to all industries and to companies with injury rates below their respective industries' national averages. More than 1,920 worksites nationwide have earned entry into OSHA's VPP, which has proven over the years to be an effective means of reducing injuries, illnesses, fatalities and costs, while fostering a more productive workforce and increasing employee morale.
Attaining VPP Star status involves an employee-driven effort. OSHA evaluates the following components of a safety and health program to determine if a facility is worthy of VPP Star status: management leadership, employee involvement, work-site 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.
Other PPL business units that have received Star recognition are the Martins Creek, Montour, Brunner Island, Holtwood and Susquehanna power plants in Pennsylvania; PPL Interstate Energy, which operates the pipeline serving the Martins Creek power plant; and PPL's electric distribution company in Pennsylvania. PPL Electric Utilities was the first electric distribution company in the country to have all field worksites qualify for VPP Star certification.