Crop nutrients are a significant portion of the input costs in tree nut production. Part of the value is trust in the source and management practices at the site. The nutrients need to be exactly what they are promised to be.

Team leaders at the Tessenderlo Kerley Hanford plant,  where liquid sulfur products for fertigation are made, believe their strong commitment to worker safety and health comes with assured product quality.

The worker safety commitment at the plant site has earned a Cal/OSHA Voluntary Protection Program STAR status, the agency’s highest recognition for workplace safety and health performance.  Fewer than 55 California workplaces have earned this status. Nationwide,  only 1,000 worksites have earned similar status.

“At Hanford, product quality begins with a strong safety culture,” said Bobby Yang, plant manager. “When our team is focused on safety at every step, from production and quality testing to the final loadout, we create consistency, accountability, and attention to detail throughout our operation.”

Yang said safety is about more than protecting employees. It extends to every contractor, customer and visitor who comes to the facility.

“That commitment to looking out for one another is what drives operational excellence and helps us deliver products that consistently meet the high standards our customers expect,” he said.

Leading a tour of the Hanford plant, Yang pointed out numerous instances of enhanced safety measures that have been implemented to protect workers from contact with chemicals and equipment. Enhanced safety measures were implemented at truck loading sites where Yang said samples of all outgoing products are tested in their laboratory for quality.

“Worksites with the CA/VPP culture have knowledgeable employees and management who work together in partnership with OSHA to systematically identify and correct hazards,” said Keya Litt, senior manager of health, safety and environment. “This status requires continuous improvement of health and safety programs. Safety is a choice we make every day, and we find ways to get better.”

Maintain efforts
At the July 29 event, Cal/OSHA representative Eugene Glendenning noted that California’s requirements for VPP STAR status are the toughest in the nation. Worksites also have to maintain strict safety standards to hold that status, he said.

“You have to keep pedaling because we do lose people,” he added.

The California Voluntary Protection Program is a labor-management-government cooperative designed to recognize workplaces with outstanding health and safety management systems for the protection of workers that go beyond minimum compliance with Cal/OSHA Title 8 regulations.

“At Hanford, product quality begins with a strong safety culture.” — Bobby Yang

Status benefits include a three-year inspection exemption. Approved sites receive an exemption from routine, programmed Cal/OSHA inspections. Approval also means that participating sites average injury and illness rates significantly lower than their peers. It also establishes a cooperative relationship with the state agency and replaces adversarial enforcement posture with a collaborative partnership with safety regulators.

The exemption from routine inspections does not mean removal from valid employee safety investigations; it directs Cal/OSHA’s inspection resources to other workplaces. The Cal/OSHA website notes that this new relationship can approach safety and health issues cooperatively.

Russell Sides, executive vice president, said the attention to detail when it comes to workplace and worker safety is closely tied to product quality. The goals, he said, are to protect workers and the environment while delivering a quality product. The Hanford site is the second Tessenderlo Kerley site to receive VPP STAR status.

“Achieving VPP STAR status at Hanford reflects our people living our values every day,” said Alex Dimitriadis, senior vice president of operations. “Safety is not simply a priority; it is fundamental to who we are. This recognition highlights our collective commitment to ensuring every employee returns home safely.”

Dimitriadis noted that the STAR designation places the Hanford site among an elite group of companies recognized for worker safety leadership and performance excellence.

Beyond minimum
To achieve this status, worksites must go beyond minimum Cal/OSHA standards to prevent and control workplace hazards. The workplace three-year average for workplace incidents must be below 90 percent of the Bureau of Labor Statistics industry average. Key components of a safety program include documented worksite analysis, hazard prevention and control, safety training and active worker involvement. It was designed to recognize workplaces that manage outstanding health and safety systems for protection of workers and go beyond the minimal compliance with Cal/OSHA regulations.

Cal/OSHA’s VPP STAR status recognizes worksites with outstanding worker safety and health management systems. Requirements for this status include strong management commitment, employee participation and keeping injury rates below specific industry averages.

The VPP STAR status event at the Hanford plant included recognition for regional health, safety and environment specialist James Fabrizo; process engineer Daniel Simmons; lead operator Rafael Tijero; office manager Tracy Warn; assistant office administrator Yanely Reyes; maintenance lead Kou Vang; and the entire Hanford team.

Tessenderlo Kerley Inc. is based in Phoenix.