The current status and future of occupational safety and health partnership programs and regulations are among the many topics to be discussed during the Annual National Conference of the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants'' Association (VPPPA), Aug. 28-31 in Seattle, Wash.
OSHA Administrator Charles N. Jeffress will address representatives of some of the nation''s leading companies in occupational safety and health during the opening session on Monday, Aug. 28 at 3 p.m.
Joining Jeffress at the session will be keynote speaker Bob Bigony, senior vice-president, Motorola, president North America Region.
Jeffress will offer his views on safety and health compliance in the workplace, developments within the agency since 1997, and OSHA''s future direction during this year''s VPPPA Premier Focus workshop, on Tuesday, Aug. 29.
Participants will be able to visit more than 55 exhibits and attend more than 90 workshops on such topics as ergonomics, hazard recognition, behavior-based safety, workplace violence and model safety and health programs.
Recipients of the VPP Outreach Award, Safety and Health Outreach Award, Innovation Award, and the VPPPA Achievement Program Award will be announced during the opening general session on Monday.
Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, former player for the Nortre Dame Varsity Team and subject of the inspirational film "Rudy," will speak during the conference closing session, Aug. 31.
The Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), administered by OSHA and DOE, are a cooperative effort among labor, management and government.
Acceptance into the VPP requires safety and health programs that exceed OSHA''s standards.
Sites participating in the VPP have overall lost workday rates 50 percent below the industry average.
More than 650 U.S. worksites are VPP participants, and more than three-quarters of a million workers in the United States are directly impacted by VPP.
For more information on the VPPPA conference, visit www.vpppa.org.
by Virginia Sutcliffe