The Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association (VPPPA) introduced a new program, “Journey Toward Safety Excellence," which provides new safety and health resources designed to help companies and sites achieve total safety excellence.
The program is designed to aid participants through a structured continuous improvement plan that includes enhanced self-assessments and tailored mentoring opportunities and will officially launch September 1.
“By leveraging current VPPPA member knowledge and expertise, VPPPA has created the tools and processes to help workplaces across the country on their journeys to achieve health and safety excellence,” stated VPPPA Chairperson Terry J. Schulte, in a statement.
Gap Analysis Tool Part of Program
The new program focuses on incremental progression towards world-class safety processes and performance. As part of the program, VPPPA has developed a gap analysis tool—available to any company or worksite free of charge—that can be used to identify strengths and weaknesses in a company or site’s existing safety and health management program.
The program coincides with an announcement by Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Amanda Wood Laihow about the agency’s new “Pathways to Safety and Health Success, built on the concepts of OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program.
The new pathway includes an expansion of VPP’s core elements from four to seven, aligning VPP with OSHA’s Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs and enhanced use of Special Government Employees to assist in growing the program.
Stated Schulte, “VPPPA’s ‘Journey Toward Safety Excellence” is built to align with OSHA’s new Pathways program model and provide interested companies and sites with the resources needed to successfully advance through each tier.”