The Department of Energy-Voluntary Protection Program presented the SRS Liquid Waste program with its Star of Excellence. The program has earned the award every year since 2009. (From left, Process Applications Manager Susan Lawson, SWPF Waste Specialist and SWPF Local Safety Improvement Team Chair Teshania Bey, Safety and Health Programs Manager Eddie Magness, Department of Energy's Office of Worker Safety and Health Assistance Director Brad Davy, and Process Control Systems Software Developer Cameron Fields.)
AIKEN, S.C. (September 7, 2022) — The Liquid Waste program at the Savannah River Site (SRS) has again earned the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star of Excellence. The honor was awarded during the DOE-VPP session preceding the National VPP Participants’ Association Safety+ Symposium in Washington, D.C. on August 22, 2022.
Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) is the SRS liquid waste contractor. The SRS Liquid Waste team has earned the Star of Excellence or Legacy of Stars award every year since 2009.
The award is presented to organizations that demonstrate outstanding performance in meeting established safety and health goals, actively conduct outreach to others, and achieve an injury and illness rate that is 75 percent better than the average of other U.S. businesses in the same industry.
The DOE-VPP promotes safety and health excellence through cooperative efforts among labor, management, and government at DOE contractor sites. The program provides several proven benefits to participating sites, including improved labor/management relations, reduced workplace injuries and illnesses, increased employee involvement, improved morale, reduced absenteeism, and public recognition.
SRMC President and Program Manager Dave Olson said the VPP designation results from long-term dedication to safety.
“Safety should always be a significant concern,” Olson said. “The safety of our employees is a core company value. We are continuously seeking new ways to improve safety while maintaining a high level of performance.”
Eddie Magness, SRMC's manager of Safety and Health Programs, said the award recognizes employees’ efforts to observe safety guidelines and create a safer work environment.
"It is our employees who have earned this award," Magness said. "Each day, they have demonstrated our core value of safety and concern for protecting themselves and guarding the safety of others. They are to be commended and congratulated for this achievement."
At the symposium, Magness and his team presented on the topic of “Emerging Technologies for Development of Leading/Lagging Indicators.” He spoke on the use of Artificial Intelligence and a subset called Machine Learning, which uses technology that simulates human capability which allows software to automatically learn from past data. The goal is to identify data that indicate the potential for preventing injuries. Machine Learning has proven to be faster and more efficient than using people to manually review data. Also involved in the presentation were SRMC Process Applications Manager Susan Lawson and Process Control Systems Software Developer Cameron Fields.
SRMC comprises parent company BWX Technologies, Inc. with partners Amentum and Fluor. Its team brings the capabilities necessary to accelerate cleanup at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site through safe nuclear operations, optimized and integrated mission execution, and strong corporate governance.