N.H. post office earns a Star

The US Post Office in Goffstown is the first postal office in New Hampshire to be accepted into the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Star Voluntary Protection Program for worksites committed to effective employee protection beyond OSHA requirements.

The designation was awarded after the post office passed an on-site review of its safety and health programs, interviews with employees and a walk-through of the worksite as well as the successful completion of an application.

According to a statement released by OSHA, reviewers found the Goffstown facility’s safety and health management system “consistent with the high quality expected of VPP participants while its injury and illness rates remained below the industry average.”

“Employees and management at the Goffstown post office should be proud of this milestone,” said Marthe Kent, OSHA’s New England regional administrator. “Their accomplishment in working together to reduce occupational hazards can serve as a model for other Granite State worksites.”

Over 1,600 worksites in 270 industries have been accepted into Star program. Companies that successfully obtain the VPP Star rating often receive cost reductions in their workers’ compensation expenses as a result of fewer accidents as well as experience positive changes in company culture and attitudes toward safety and health, and injury rates lower than other companies in their industry.

Requirements for the program include management support, employee involvement, worksite hazard analysis, prevention and control programs, and comprehensive safety and health training for all employees, all of which must be effective, in place and in operation for at least one year before a company can apply to join the program.

More information is available from the VPP manager in OSHA’s Boston regional office at 617-565-9890. — CINDY KIBBE