New safety campaign engages Airmen

Published March 12, 2015
By Senior Airman Shane M. Phipps
30th Space Wing Public Affairs

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- 30th Space Wing safety professionals are currently aiming to bring specialized guidance into units throughout base.

Under the Air Force's new Quest for Zero safety campaign, the safety office hopes to highlight one unit each month with the desire that Airmen will better recognize hazards they face at work and at home.

"The goal is to visit different units, for instance, the first month we visited the Civil Engineer Squadron, which was a huge task because they have a very large safety spectrum," said Tech. Sgt. Francisco Borjas, 30th Space Wing NCOIC of ground safety. "In the past, we've always focused on safety in a very broad way, but now we want to give dedicated attention to each unit, so it's specialized, more personal and specific to their job."

In addition to instilling sound safety practices within the units, Borjas and his team hope to highlight various Airmen and their work centers.

"With the focus being on the unit, it's an opportunity for us to go out, look for areas of improvement, and inspire people to do better in their safety culture," said Michael Trudeau, 30th SW ground safety manager. "When this process is fully ingrained, we hope to take advantage of the fact we're highlighting specific career fields. We want them to be able to show off what they do and be recognized."

Quest for Zero primarily focuses on safety and risk management in the workplace, with the belief that sound practices in the workplace will also seep into off-duty habits.

"It's really hard to influence a person's actions when they're not at work, so the intent is to concentrate on the culture at work," said Borjas. "We're hoping it will become so ingrained in our people that they will take that safety culture home with them while they're off duty. In this way, we're covering both on and off duty hazards."

The dedicated personnel spearheading this new program remain motivated and relish another opportunity to help keep their fellow Airmen safe.

"It's really important for us to understand what people in other career fields do because if we understand that, we can better help them perfect, or improve their processes to eliminate unnecessary hazards," said Trudeau. "Safety is about culture, it's about mindset, it's about decision making -- and it's about risk acceptance."