SGE Testimonials
Participation in the SGE program is considered an investment in the future of the company’s safety performance and as a professional growth opportunity for their employees. Where else can you get three days of OSHA training on what an effective safety and health system should look like, then participate annually as a member of an OSHA team evaluating another company’s system? SGEs return to their facilities with a steady flow of new ideas, practical solutions, and best practices to take their site to the next level of safety excellence.
Quotes from several of Georgia-Pacific SGEs
GP benefits from benchmarking with other companies and the knowledge that is gained from the various federal and state OSHA representatives. All this information is then shared with the various GP sites that the SGE serves.
Kerry Fischman, Corporate VPP Manager
SGEs pride themselves on their professionalism and their commitment to safety and health. They are extremely well respected by GP supervisors and safety coordinators as folks who have proven themselves because the SGEs have actually worked with OSHA. This lends a high degree of value to our inspections and our proposed solutions to safety concerns.
Mike Maurer, Wood Products South Business Unit Safety Manager
The positive relationships formed with the OSHA personnel have proven to be invaluable. I can call on the OSHA staff for assistance on any problem and know that they will help. By the same token OSHA personnel can expect the same from me. There is a mutual respect that was simply not possible before the VPP and SGE programs.
Ken Moseley, Plywood Business Unit Safety Manager
The benefits to the company of participating as an SGE on a VPP on-site team include observing how another company meets similar challenges that our facilities face, developing a relationship with OSHA personnel - including those who normally work in compliance, networking with another company's safety managers, and creating greater appreciation and respect for our company by another company and OSHA.
Steve Hays, Corporate Safety Manager
I began serving in the SGE capacity in 2000. Since that time I have had numerous opportunities to work with OSHA on audits, network with the field coordinators, and mentor several sites. These experiences have expanded my knowledge of safety practices and of what it takes to manage a business in America. This has been an eye opener and has provided me with invaluable opportunities that have changed my perspective on how one can safely work in any job capacity.
Belinda Ralston, Chevron Phillips Chemical, LP, Cedar Bayou Plant, Baytown, Texas
I consider my SGE service as one of the highlights of my career as a Safety Facilitator. My experiences working with OSHA on field audits and having the opportunity to work at the World Trade Center Disaster have provided me the opportunity to network with other facilities and share safety "Best Practices". Working as an SGE has enabled me to mentor prospective new sites helping them improve their safety programs and this gives me satisfaction knowing that workers return home to their families at the end of their work day as healthy as they came to work.
Jerry Hale, Chevron Phillips Chemical, LP, Cedar Bayou Plant, Baytown, Texas
Quotes from Lancaster Safety Consulting
Our SGEs value the experience they gain from each VPP audit team assignment. From a company standpoint, there is no greater training benefit than having our consultants actively participate on VPP audit teams.
Jeffrey Lancaster, Lancaster Safety Consulting, Inc. President/CEO www.lancastersafety.com
As a safety and health professional, I have found that there is no better way to learn about safety and health than working with other SGEs and OSHA VPP audit team members at world-class companies. Every audit has given me ideas to improve our own EHS program, opportunities to network with other professionals, means to establish new contacts at OSHA, and an opportunity to observe how VPP improves the work environment of participating operations. The experience is truly invaluable.
Jason Lancaster, Lancaster Safety Consulting, Inc. Vice President of Operations www.lancastersafety.com