Voluntary Protection Program

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Logo for OSHAs VPP OSHA VPP Logo.jpg
Logo for OSHAs VPP

Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) is an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) initiative that encourages private industry and federal agencies to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses through hazard prevention and control, worksite analysis, training; and cooperation between management and workers. VPP enlists worker involvement to achieve injury and illness rates that are below national Bureau of Labor Statistics averages for their respective industries. [1]

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an agency of the United States Department of Labor. Congress established the agency under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which President Richard M. Nixon signed into law on December 29, 1970. OSHA's mission is to "assure safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance". The agency is also charged with enforcing a variety of whistleblower statutes and regulations. OSHA is currently headed by Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor Loren Sweatt. OSHA's workplace safety inspections have been shown to reduce injury rates and injury costs without adverse effects to employment, sales, credit ratings, or firm survival.

Bureau of Labor Statistics US government agency

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System. The BLS is a governmental statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the U.S. Congress, other Federal agencies, State and local governments, business, and labor representatives. The BLS also serves as a statistical resource to the United States Department of Labor, and conducts research into how much families need to earn to be able to enjoy a decent standard of living.

Contents

History

Even though the original OSH Act of 1970 included language that discussed the concept of VPP, it didn't start until an experimental California program began in 1979. The OSHA program started in 1982 with the first approved facilities. [2] [3]

Levels/types of certification

VPP offers two levels of certification:

Star

Star is the highest level. It recognizes employers and employees for developing and implementing continuous improvement workplace safety and health management programs that result in injury/illness rates that are below the national averages for their industries.

Occupational safety and health Field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work

Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or workplace health and safety (WHS), is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work. These terms also refer to the goals of this field, so their use in the sense of this article was originally an abbreviation of occupational safety and health program/department etc.

Merit

Merit is for employers and employees that have implemented good safety and health programs but require additional improvements. They must also commit to seeking to advance to Star level within three years.

VPP offers three types of certification:

Site-based

Site-based Star and Merit certifications are offered for permanent work sites and long-term construction sites. It may also be used to certify resident contractors at participating VPP sites or under a corporate program.

Mobile workforce

This type of certification is for companies whose employees work on location at various sites.

Corporate

Large organizations that implement organization-wide health and safety management programs that extend to it individual sites are able to seek corporate VPP certification.

As of 10/31/2012 2,370 entities were registered as VPP certified with the vast majority achieving the Star level. [4] All organizations are re-evaluated every three to five years to remain in the programs.

See also

Related Research Articles

Occupational Safety and Health Act (United States)

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is a US labor law governing the federal law of occupational health and safety in the private sector and federal government in the United States. It was enacted by Congress in 1970 and was signed by President Richard Nixon on December 29, 1970. Its main goal is to ensure that employers provide employees with an environment free from recognized hazards, such as exposure to toxic chemicals, excessive noise levels, mechanical dangers, heat or cold stress, or unsanitary conditions. The Act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health United States government agency for preventing work-related health and safety problems

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Process safety management

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Health Hazard Evaluation Program organization

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Young worker safety and health

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Contractor Management Automation

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References

  1. "About VPP". Occupational Safety and Health Administration. U.S. Department of Labor.
  2. "VPP: What it Takes to be a Star". EHS Today. September 8, 2005.
  3. McLeod, Vince (June 20, 2013). "VPP, OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program: Part 2". Forensic Magazine.
  4. "Industries in the VPP Federal and State Plans". Occupational Safety and Health Administration. U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved October 31, 2012.