Lippert Components, Inc.’s Plant 50 has been recognized with the Voluntary Protection Program’s (VPP) Merit Certification through 2022.
VPP is a partnership with the Indiana Department of Occupational Health and Safety (IOSHA) to promote effective health and safety programs in manufacturing and other industries. Recognition as a VPP Merit Site is referred to as “a testament to sustained excellence in all areas of your safety and health management system.”
Plant 50 produces furniture and mattresses for the RV industry along with mattresses for college dorms and over-the-road trucks. Lippert officials pursued and secured the partnership to help ensure a comprehensive safety management system is in place. The plant has more than 500 employees, and Lipper said their efforts towards team member engagement, management commitment to a safe working environment, hazard control and prevention, and employee training programs “are truly world-class.”
To maintain VPP certification and status as a Merit Site, Plant 50 must submit annual safety and health management system evaluations to IOSHA.
“I’m very proud of Plant 50 for the collaborative work they have done to make this happen,” said Ryan Smith, Lipper’s group president of North America. “At Plant 50 and Lippert as a whole, we constantly strive to be a team that prioritizes creating and maintaining safe, productive, and synergetic work environments while concurrently improving health and safety performances and programs for the betterment of everyone involved.”
Lippert said VPP benefits employees. The certification process helps increase employee involvement and engagement; reduces injuries through improved hazard recognition, prevention, and control; and improves employee training, which enhances overall quality, Lippert stated. Team members are equipped with guidelines and involvement opportunities so employees can become personally involved in the program.
“The IOSHA Merit Site status is the product of a commitment to a safe working environment and a culture of caring,” said Erick Click, vice president of environmental health and safety. “Our wholistic approach to workplace safety underscores that we can continue to use business as a force for good, and we would encourage others to do the same.”
