What is VPP? 

The Voluntary Protection Program is designed to encourage cooperative efforts between employees, management and OSHA for the purpose of improving workplace safety and health. The VPP concept recognizes that workplace safety and health can be enforced in a compliance atmosphere and can be enhanced in a cooperative atmosphere. OSHA recognizes and partners with work sites that demonstrate excellence in Safety and Health.

 

 

Benefits of VPP

Many benefits have been seen by companies participating in the VPP process. A few of those benefits are: 

  • Improved employee motivation to workplace safety, leading to safer working conditions, improved quality and productivity
  • Improvement of existing safety and health programs through the internal and external reviews required under VPP 
  • Community recognition
  • Reduced worker’s compensation costs decreased absenteeism, improved employee participation in all aspects of the business and improve perception of the business as a good place to work
  • Participant sites generally experience from 60 to 80 percent fewer lost workday injuries than an ‘average’ worksite of the same size in the same industry

 

How does VPP work? 

Your company will benefit from free networking and mentoring programs that will help you prepare for your on-site inspection. Your company will capitalize on a network of experienced safety and health professionals and proven best practice procedures. If you have the commitment, Region IV will assist as much as possible.

Management and employees, including organized labor, agree to participate in the process. Utilizing resources available through VPP, employees and management work together to implement, maintain, document and improve their safety process. Then OSHA VPP makes a voluntary site visit to confirm the worksite qualifies for VPP recognition. The site is then recognized as a Star participant or a Merit participant. Follow-up visits from OSHA (usually at three to five year intervals) ensure continued high safety standards and safe practices.

The annual Region IV Conference features workshops intended to help companies in their quest for VPP recognition. The Application Workshop delivers detailed instructions on the application process. The Strengthening Star Quality Workshop will guide VPP sites through a process to help them select projects and programs to enhance their Safety & Health Program. Since the VPP is designed to foster continual Safety & Health improvement, the workshops at the annual conference highlight areas of emphasis for Safety & Health improvement.

 

 

National VPPPA

The Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association, Inc., the premier global safety and health organization, is dedicated to cooperative occupational safety, health and environmental management systems. VPPPA is a member-based association, supporting worksites across the U.S. in their efforts to receive and maintain VPP status.

For over two decades, the association has provided its members a direct link to OSHA, DOE and similar agencies within state-plan states and continues to offer a support network for participants from a wide variety of industries. The association works closely with OSHA, OSHA state-plan states, DOE and the Department of Defense (DoD) in the development and implementation of cooperative programs within the agencies.


Becoming member of VPPPA, gives you membership to National VPPPA and the Region IV VPPPA. For more on becoming a member or on the program, visit the VPPPA Website.