Reinventing OSHA
VPP Annual
Self-Evaluations
Case Study: Partnering with the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association to streamline OSHA VPP compliance.
“I’ve been searching for a tool like VPP Online for a long time” – Jerry Thompson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association (VPPPA)
The Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association (VPPPA) is a leader in helping worksites achieve continuous improvement toward their occupational safety and health goals. Founded in 1985, the American nonprofit has grown from 30 participants to an established community of more than 2,200 member sites.
Many VPPPA members are involved, or interested in pursuing, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).
Voluntary Protection Program (VPP)
The VPP recognizes employers and workers in the private industry and federal agencies who have implemented effective safety and health management systems and maintain injury and illness rates below national Bureau of Labor Statistics averages for their respective industries.
Key Features of the VPP:
- Voluntary Participation: Companies choose to participate and must maintain exemplary compliance with OSHA standards.
- Systematic Hazard Prevention: Implements a systematic approach to hazard prevention that includes regular, thorough worksite analyses.
- Employee Involvement: Strongly emphasizes employee involvement and requires active employee engagement in safety management.
- Continuous Improvement: Encourages continuous improvement in safety management systems beyond OSHA compliance.
- Program Tiers: Includes three levels of recognition—Demonstration, Merit, and Star—each with its own requirements and benefits.
- Safety Audits: Requires comprehensive safety assessments with detailed reviews of practices and compliance.
Challenge
To participate in the VPP, employers must submit an application to OSHA and undergo a rigorous onsite evaluation by a team of safety and health professionals. VPP participants must then submit Annual Self-Evaluations and are re-evaluated every three to five years to remain in the programs. Participants are exempt from OSHA inspections while they maintain their VPP status.
The existing paper-based process for submitting Annual Self-Evaluations was long, complex, and admin-heavy. The process also didn’t support key pillars of the VPP program – including collaboration and driving year-round continuous improvement to EHS&S initiatives.
VPPPA partnered with AuditSoft to create a platform for VPP sites to complete their assessments electronically via a collaborative, automated, and standardized process – that promotes the core values of the VPP program.
Solution
VPPPA and AuditSoft consulted with federal OSHA officials from various states. VPPPA also met with VPP state managers to better understand their requirements for the platform.
AuditSoft developed the VPP Online platform based on these insights. The platform was then introduced to the VPP community, and a select group tested the platform for the 2022 VPP self-evaluation to garner insights for improvements.
The feedback from the pilot program was fantastic:
Collaboration
The new cloud-based platform allows for easy collaboration between 20+ team members by providing a single location for all report information and supporting documents to be uploaded and stored.
Automation
VPP Online reduces errors commonly seen in the reports by automatically calculating the statistics that are required for submitting the report, including injury and illness rates by NAICS code.
Standardization
The platform standardizes the assessment by creating a consistent process to upload and deliver the information in the correct format, which can be repeated year after year – and tracked and reported on.
Continuous Improvement
With 24/7 access to a cloud-based system that enables real-time collaboration between disconnected teams, safety professionals can now work on their VPP and EHS&S initiatives all year round.
VPP Online User Reviews
Results
In addition to completing Annual Self-Evaluations, members have been using VPP Online year-round to:
- Organize all their safety initiatives in a single location
- Track the progress of initiatives and regularly assess performance
- Generate professional reports and action plans to share with their leadership team
- Gain a holistic view of all worksites from one application
- Check their readiness for the VPP program by completing an internal self-evaluation
AuditSoft has helped turn VPP Annual Self-Evaluations into a year-round process focused on continuous improvement. We continue to work closely with the VPPPA to improve the solution and incorporate feedback from members.
“The VPP Online platform expands the capabilities of collaboration and helps make the experience of submitting Annual Self-Evaluations much more seamless, saving VPP Managers and their teams hours of time compiling these reports.”
Terry Schulte, VPPPA Chairman of the Board
AuditSoft’s Peter Spence and VPPPA’s Chris Williams discuss the partnership to date at the 2023 Safety+ Symposium in Orlando.
VPP Online:
VPP Online helps you organize your EHS&S initiatives and makes it easier to conduct VPP Annual Self-Evaluations. The cloud-based platform enables safety teams to collaborate in real-time and is designed to be used by any company or site that is committed to strengthening their EHS&S program.