Region IV VPPPA
 

Region IV VPPPA
2009 Mentor of the Year

Robert (Bob) Edwards
Safety Leader

Roper Corporation - LaFayette, Georgia

At the 2009 VPPPA Region IV Annual Conference Robert (Bob) Edwards, Safety Leader at Roper Corporation in La Fayette, GA was recognized as the 2009 VPPPA Region IV  Mentor of the Year.

Mr. Edwards has been a long time supporter of the VPP.  This year he informally mentored Mohawk Industries in Dalton, Georgia to prepare them for Region IV VPP.  Mr. Edwards met with labor and management frequently providing suggestions and answering any questions regarding the program.  He made several visits to Dalton, often taking a team of people from his own facility, to conduct walkthroughs, program review, and application preparation.  Mr. Edwards invited several members from Mohawk Industries to Roper Corporation to see how the program had been implemented at the facility.  Mohawk Industries truly benefited from seeing the program in motion and was able to take back several practices to work in to their own safety and health management system.

Mr. Edwards has also mentored the following sites within General Electric:

•             General Electric, Lexington Lighting

•             General Electric, Transformer site

•             General Electric, Selmer Monogram site

Mr. Edwards is well-versed in the VPP.  He has participated on several onsites with the Region IV VPP Officers.  Mr. Edwards assists companies just as one of the VPP Officers when mentoring.  He ensures that they understand every step that is taken, by holding closing conferences after each visit and setting up follow-up meetings.  Mohawk Industries found this very beneficial to them.  Mr. Edwards clearly communicated what is expected, what was found, and what should happen after his visits.

Mr. Edwards has also contacted companies in his own area to bring more participants in the program in North Georgia.  By taking the initiative to go out and work with companies that have never heard of VPP, he continues to help strengthen the program and help Region IV exceed.  He is a reliable source to verify that a plant is ready or not ready for their official onsite from a VPP Officer.

Mr. Edwards is very committed to the VPP and can be called upon at any time to help a site build and strengthen their safety and health management system.  He constantly puts the people first and truly understands the meaning of safety in the workplace.  Mr. Edwards ensures that he is there when he says he will be, because he understands the importance of company time. 

Mr. Edwards is a frequent volunteer in Region IV to assist in training classes, conduct workshops at conferences, and as an active SGE.  During 2008, he conducted two SGE classes with the Region IV VPP staff and other SGEs.  If he is unable to participate on an onsite that he has signed up for, he ensures that he finds a replacement so that the team is not shorthanded.