DPR Construction Incorporated today received a Merit Award from Oregon OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) for their outstanding workplace safety record. DPR serves as the project contractor for the Campus Housing Project at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, a 78,000 square foot, three building dormitory complex scheduled to be ready for occupancy in August 2002.

Oregon OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program promotes effective safety and health management.   Nationally, companies which are members in VPP are recognized as leaders in occupational safety and health. To achieve VPP status, a worksite must have a three-year average injury and illness rate that is at or below the average for that industry.  Additionally, the worksite must undergo extensive Oregon OSHA reviews of workplace conditions, safety records, employee safety and health programs, compliance with applicable state and federal regulations, and interviews with project personnel. DPR features a three-year lost workday case rate of 0.37 percent, below the national construction industry average of 3.2 percent and well below Oregon’s lost workday case rate of 5.0 percent for the construction industry. During 2000 and 2001, DPR did not have an OSHA- recordable injury occur on the Lewis & Clark construction site.

Oregon OSHA’s VPP companies are removed from routine scheduled inspection lists for the duration of their participation.  Employees lose none of their rights under the program, and Oregon OSHA will still investigate accidents, valid formal complaints and chemical spills which occur at a VPP worksite. DPR Construction has approximately 95 employees on the Lewis & Clark project. Project management team members at the Lewis & Clark site tailored a specific safety plan to meet the unique demands of building on the urban college campus around VPP principles. 

The Campus Housing Project is registered as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) project by the U.S. Green Building Council. The design incorporates many “earth friendly” features, such as site practices which remove only those trees directly on the building's footprint (and taking elaborate protection measures to shield existing trees from equipment damage), recycling over 99 percent of construction wastes produced on site, and utilizing recycled materials in construction.

For more information about DPR Construction, contact Rob Fallow at 503-225-9700. For questions regarding VPP, please contact Oregon OSHA’s VPP/SHARP Program Manager, Mark E. Hurliman at (503) 947-7437, or toll free in Oregon at 1-800-922-2689.  You can find out more about VPP on Oregon OSHA’s website, www.orosha.org.

Photos of VPP Merit Award presentation

(Left to Right) Oregon OSHA administrator Peter De Luca presents the VPP Merit Award to DPR's Andrei Blaj and DPR Project Manager Rob Fallow

Members of the DPR Safety Team pose with the VPP Merit Site flag presented to the Lewis & Clark job site