VPP Checklist                                        

Are you ready for VPP?

The following checklist is designed to help companies determine if they are ready for the OSHA Voluntary protection Program.  Find that you are missing some items?  That’s where we can help!  Call Safety Alliance now.

Rates:

• For the past 3 calendar years, calculate your TCIR (Total Recordable Case Incidence Rate) and your DART (Days Away and Restricted Incidence rate).  Note: For very small companies, alternative formulas may be allowed, contact Safety Alliance to see if you fit into this category.
• Compare your incidence rate with the industry average for your SIC.  (The industry average is available through the Bureau of labor statistics.)  Note: Do not give up if you are above the industry average.  You may still qualify for VPP, provided you have a plan to reduce your rates.

Management Leadership and Employee Involvement;

• A managerial commitment to worker safety and health protection.
• Top site management’s personal involvement
• A system in place to address safety and health issues/concerns during overall management planning/purchasing/contracting.
• Safety and health management integrated with your day-to-day management system.
• A written safety and health program- often referred to as a safety and health manual with policy and procedures specific to your site- appropriate for your site’s size and your industry that addresses all the elements in this checklist.
• A safety and health policy communicated to and understood by employees.
• Safety and health program goals and results-oriented objectives for meeting those goals.
• Clearly assigned safety and health responsibilities with documentation of authority and accountability from top management to line supervisors to site employees.
• Necessary resources to meet responsibilities, including access to certified safety and health professionals, other licensed health care professionals, and other experts, as needed.
• Selection and oversight of contractors to ensure effective safety and health protection for all workers at the site.
• At least three ways employees are meaningfully involved in activities and decision making that impact their safety and health.
• Annual safety and health program evaluations on VPP elements in a narrative format, recommendations for improvements, and documented follow-up.
• Formal signed statements from all collective bargaining agents indicating support of your application to VPP.  (Where no collective bargaining agent is authorized, written assurance by management that employees understand and support VPP participation.)

Worksite Analysis

• A baseline hazard analysis identifies and documents common hazards associated with your site, such as those found in OSHA regulations, building codes, and other recognized industry standards and for which existing controls are well known.
• Documentation within the baseline hazard analysis of your sampling strategy to identify health hazards and accurately assess employees’ exposure, including duration, route, frequency of exposure, and number of exposed employees.
• Job or process hazard analysis of routine tasks that identify hazards and lead to hazard elimination or control.
• Pre-use analysis procedure for new processes, materials, equipment, and non-routine tasks to determine uncontrolled hazards.
• Samples, tests, and analysis that follow nationally recognized procedures.
• Self-inspections, conducted by trained staff with written documentation and hazard correction tracking, that cover the entire site at least weekly.
• A written hazard reporting system that enables employees to report their observations or concerns to management without fear of reprisal and to receive timely responses
• Accident/incident investigations conducted by trained staff.  Written findings that aim to identify all contributing factors.
• A system that analyzes injury, illness, and related data- including inspection results, observations, near-miss and incident reporting, first aid, and injury and illness records- to identify common causes and needed corrections in procedures, equipment, or programs.

Hazard Prevention and Control

• An effective system for eliminating or controlling hazards.  This system emphasizes engineering solutions that provide the most reliable and effective protection.  It may also utilize, in preferred order, administrative controls that limit daily exposure, such as job rotation; work practice controls, such as rules and work practices that govern how a job is done safely and healthfully; and personal protective equipment.  All affected employees must understand and follow the system.
• A system for tracking hazard correction.  It includes documentation of how and when hazards are identifies, controlled or eliminated, and communicated to employees.
• A written preventive/predictive maintenance system that reduces safety-critical equipment failures and schedules routine maintenance monitoring.
• An occupational health care program appropriate for your workplace.  It includes, at a minimum, nearby medical services, staff trained in first aid and CPR, and hazard analysis by licensed health care professionals as needed.
• A consistent disciplinary system that operates for all employees- including supervisors and managers- who disregard the rules.
• Written plans to cover emergency situations, including emergency and evacuation drills for all shifts.

Safety and Health Training

• Training for managers and supervisors that emphasizes safety and health leadership responsibilities.
• Training for all employees on the site’s safety and health program, hazards, hazard controls in place, and the VPP.
• Training that enables employees to recognize hazardous conditions and understand safe work procedures.
• A method for assessing employee comprehension and training effectiveness.
• Documentation of all training that individual employees receive.

Call Safety Engineer Tamara McCanty at Safety Alliance and Enroll today!          

 

Phone: 1-877-723-0073