Safety excellence in action: Picatinny Arsenal's Logistics Readiness Center awarded OSHA VPP Star status

PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - The 404th Army Field Support Brigade’s Logistics Readiness Center (LRC) at Picatinny Arsenal has earned “Star” participant status in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Programs, recognizing its demonstrated commitment to workplace safety and health. The designation, the program’s highest level, reflects the organization’s proactive safety management practices, employee involvement, and sustained performance in preventing workplace injuries and illnesses.

The Star designation is reserved for organizations that demonstrate exemplary occupational safety and health management systems. By attaining this status, Picatinny’s LRC joins an elite tier of Department of Defense and industry worksites that maintain injury and illness rates significantly below the national averages compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The award was presented by Richard Mendelson, OSHA Regional Administrator, New York Regional Office, to the LRC staff at Picatinny during a U.S. Army Garrison Picatinny Arsenal All-Hands meeting, Oct. 22.

The 404th Army Field Support Brigade’s LRC provides logistics service and support to the garrison and mission-partner organizations at Picatinny in accordance with Installation Logistics Baseline Services (ILBLS) policy.

Mendelson and staff visited the Arsenal, which serves as the Joint Center of Excellence for Guns and Ammunition by leading innovative research and lifecycle engineering to deliver decisive armaments solutions for U.S. warfighters, to present the award and congratulate the team on their achievement.

The Voluntary Protection Programs represent a cooperative partnership among management, labor, and OSHA. Rather than focusing solely on regulatory compliance and scheduled enforcement audits, VPP emphasizes proactive hazard identification, continuous risk mitigation, comprehensive employee training, and strong leadership engagement.

For the Picatinny LRC workforce responsible for critical warehousing, materiel management, equipment maintenance, and transportation support for the garrison and mission partners across the installation, achieving Star status required a multi-year effort to integrate safety protocols into everyday workflows.

“The VPP Star Status means that the LRC has demonstrated a commitment to workplace safety that goes far beyond basic rules to protect our workforce,” said Brandon Weston, Director, LRC Picatinny Arsenal. “It highlights the teamwork between management and employees to stop accidents before they happen and reflets a daily commitment to finding and fixing safety risks.”To qualify for the Star award, the installation underwent an exhaustive evaluation conducted by a team of OSHA safety and health specialists that included comprehensive facility walkthrough, documentation and metrics reviews, employee and management interviews, and hazard prevention systems.

Star participants are reevaluated by OSHA every three to five years to maintain their status, requiring organizations to pursue continuous improvement rather than resting on previous milestones.
With the official presentation of the OSHA VPP Star flag and plaque, LRC Picatinny joins a select network of Army installations leading the charge in federal workplace safety.

“The LRC serves as a benchmark and mentor for other LRCs through collaboration within the 404th Army Field Support Brigade and subsequently Army Sustainment Command to share risk management policies, strategies, and lessons learned to enhance readiness through the execution of safety goals and objectives.

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