Brentwood's Facility in Hope, Arkansas, Achieves Voluntary Protection Program Star Status

Brentwood’s Hope, AR, facility has been approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for participation in the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). This is a high-level safety recognition for facilities that have gone above and beyond OSHA compliance.

Across the country, there are roughly 2,200 VPP-approved sites (and only 41 in Arkansas), putting Brentwood into an elite group of organizations that are dedicated to providing exemplary occupational safety and health protection. As a Star site, Brentwood management and labor work cooperatively and proactively with OSHA to focus on hazard prevention and control, worksite analysis, trainings, management commitment, and worker involvement. OSHA has learned that this approach can save lives, reduce injuries and illness, and promote communication in the workplace.

Brentwood’s qualification of VPP is a testament to the efforts of a dedicated project team in Hope that worked diligently over 18 months to develop and implement VPP-quality safety and health management programs. They were actively involved in preparing for the program, educating the entire Hope workforce, and presenting Brentwood’s case to the OSHA VPP team.

Moving forward, all Brentwood sites will aspire to VPP certification. Brentwood’s President, Peter Rye, has stressed safety in the workplace by identifying wellbeing as one of the company’s core values. He says, “The process begins by deepening employee commitment to safe behaviors and improving processes. We expect that each employee makes safety their highest priority, just like their Hope colleague have.”