AF Chief of Safety named ‘CEO who gets it’ Published Feb. 7, 2017 By Darlene Y. Cowsert Air Force Safety Center Public Affairs KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Maj. Gen. Andrew M. Mueller, Air Force chief of safety, has been named one of seven 2017 CEOs Who 'Get It', the National Safety Council’s annual recognition of safety leaders who go above and beyond to protect employees on and off the job. “Doing a job right means doing it safely – every time – and safety starts at the top,” Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council, stated in Safety + Health magazine featuring the honorees. “The best leaders lead by example and so we salute the 2017 CEOs Who ‘Get It’ for going above and beyond in creating a culture of safety by focusing on what matters most.” The nominees’ merits were based on their safety strategy using four components: leadership and employee engagement, safety management, solutions, risk reduction and performance measurement. “I’m very honored to receive this recognition and to be among the other honorees of such respected organizations,” Mueller said. “But really, any progress in mishap reduction is actually a result of the concerted efforts of all our committed safety personnel, Air Force leaders and the Airmen who accomplish the Air Force mission every day. Leadership involvement, focus on compliance and decision making at the right level continue to be the essential elements of a successful Air Force safety program.” Mueller is credited for his support of joint federal initiatives among the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the Air Force, and for leading the way in OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down-Prevent Falls in Construction for back-to-back years. Among other accomplishments, he was responsible for the integration of the Safety Management System into the Air Force Mishap Prevention Program that continues to impact mishap reduction and risk management efforts. His leadership also led to the advancement of space safety worldwide by interfacing with the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety, a body of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Under the general’s purview, the Air Force Safety Center garnered the 2016 Green Cross Safety Excellence Award for the proactive safety initiatives Organizational Safety Assessment and Air Force Combined Mishap Reduction survey. Those programs provide Air Force leaders with findings and recommendations that have a direct application to the safety climate, culture, leadership and supervision of their organizations.