While the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is well known, much less is said about one of their innovative safety programs. Created in 1982, the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) is a leader in promoting exceptional habits and policies in the workplace. Companies can apply to join this program to demonstrate their beliefs in a safe and efficient workplace. According to OSHA VPP Fact Sheet, the “sites are committed to effective employee protection beyond the requirements of OSHA standards.” This commitment is revealed in the fact that the average VPP workplace has 51% less lost workdays than companies outside the program. The program is open to both companies large and small and is a boon to the American working environment.
At the outset, companies undergo a rigorous initial week long evaluation. They are then re-evaluated every 3 to 5 years. There are two ratings given to companies during their evaluations. The first rating is Merit which OSHA defines as “an effective stepping stone to Star. Merit sites have good safety and health management systems, but these systems need some improvement to be judged excellent. Merit sites demonstrate the potential and the commitment to meet goals tailored to each site and to achieve Star quality within three years. However, each Merit site is limited to one three-year term unless a second term is approved by the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. Onsite evaluations occur every 18 to 24 months.” The second, and higher, rating is Star. OHSA calls this rating “for exemplary worksites with comprehensive, successful safety and health management systems. Companies in the Star Program have achieved injury and illness rates at or below the national average of their respective industries. These sites are self-sufficient in their ability to control workplace hazards. Star participants are reevaluated every three to five years, although incident rates are reviewed annually.”
The VPP is ancillary to OSHA enforcement efforts. It supports rather than detracts from them. In OSHA terms, the program “compliments the agency’s enforcement activity without replacing it, allowing the agency to focus its inspection resources on higher-risk establishments.” Part of the VPP effort is outreach to companies that do not have stellar track records. By doing this, companies can assist others in creating safer and more efficient workplaces freeing agency resources.
In addition, VPP has a training program for employees of Star rated companies to assist in the evaluation and training process. During their 3 year term (after intense training), Special Government Employees (SGE) work with OSHA employees in conducting VPP assessments by reviewing documents, conducting onsite reviews, interviewing employees of the company under review and helping prepare final written reports. There are over 1,600 SGEs and their efforts with VPP are funded by their own companies. As OSHA says in their SGE pamphlet, the SGE program “encompasses the spirit of VPP – industry, labor, and government cooperation,” and it “embodies the idea of continuous improvement.”
The time and support these companies (and many more) have put into providing a safe workplace seems to be going unnoticed by OSHA, the Department of Labor and in the budgets of the current administration. In the FY2010 budget, while there were funds available OSHA did not use them for cooperative programs. Cuts were made to the number of initial audits performed for the year, and an increase in the wait time for recertification was pushed through. For FY2011, Secretary Hilda Solis has stated that OSHA will focus more on enforcement than improvement and thus shift 35 workers from supporting VPP to enforcing regulations. While there is always a need for enforcement of regulations, programs to bolster improvements in workplaces are essential in reducing the number of workplace accidents promoting the health and safety of the American worker. Secretary Solis also made an incorrect statements in the budget proposal when she said, “The VPP program in the past has been successful in promoting best practices and corporate safety and health programs, primarily in high performing large businesses. Rather than devote resources to mostly large companies that voluntarily meet and exceed OSHA’s requirements, OSHA is looking to sharpen its focus on businesses that continue to violate the law and put workers’ lives at risk, as well as on protecting hard-to-reach populations.” While large companies are involved in VPP, small companies hold a strong footing.
An example of a small company with excellent standing in VPP is Scott’s Liquid Gold. It is a company that has been in business for 56 years as an American standard in manufacturing and distribution. Their quality American made products range from wood cleaners to diabetic lotions to cosmetics. They have long been a member of the Voluntary Protection Program yet they are not a large company. Scott’s Liquid Gold has only 68 employees. Their Regulatory/Safety Manager, Kelli Heflin, is a member of the Special Government Employee program and participates in evaluations of other companies all while making sure her own is a safe and healthy place to work.
Please read through and see all that these programs provide employees and employers alike. Help them maintain the staffing levels and improve their budgets. Programs such as these are a necessity in creating and maintaining safe, healthy and happy workplaces.
We need to stand up for the Voluntary Protection Program and the member companies and those who aspire to join. We need to stand up for the Special Government Employee program and the workers who take on the additional job of helping others. We need to stand up for the American attitude of constantly striving for a state of excellence.
Signed,
The Daughter of the Electorate
OSHA Voluntary Protection Program flyer can be found at: http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/factsheet-vpp.pdf
OSHA SGE flyer can be found at: http://www.osha.gov/Publications/sge/OSHA_3222_sge.pdf
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