OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) was initiated in 1982 to recognize workplaces with exceptional safety and health management. VPP was groundbreaking, being among the first programs to employ a management system structure emphasizing management leadership, worker participation, robust hazard identification and control, and training. In the intervening 40+ years, the program has grown to include a wide variety of organizations in many industries. Much has been learned about safety and health management since the VPP requirements were last updated in 1989. OSHA published its Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs in 2016 and consensus standards have been published at both the national (ANSI Z10-2019) and international level (ISO 45001-2018).

OSHA is seeking public input as it considers updating its Voluntary Protection Program (VPP); to expand participation and increase Safety and Health Management System (SHMS) adoption.

IHMM has drafted comments for the OSHA VPP proceeding, focused on the CSHM, CSMP, CHMM, and CHMP, which we intend on submitting in the next 10 days. If you have any comments on the IHMM submission please send them to Gene Guilford at [email protected]