Very interesting, but in my little world of opinion, this was badly needed and is a big step in the right direction for OSHA and the VPP effort. VPP needs to get back to being all about “World Class Leadership in Safety” and not about the number of VPP sites.. Click Here to see the internal OSHA Memorandum for what the VPP Policy on Safety Incentive programs is as of April 22, 2011.
The memo breaks down what NEW VPP applicants have to do and sites seeking re-approval have to do. Bottom line is that if OSHA even gets a hint that a facility’s incentive program discourages incident reporting, the facility may end up with a 90-day item to change their program. If the site decides that they will not comply with the 90-day recommendation, it will be terminated from the program.
The memo states, and I quote…”An incentive program that focuses primarily, or even in small part, on injury and illness numbers often has the effect of discouraging workers from reporting an injury or illness”. The memo even mentions the ever popular monthly/quarterly pizza parties for working a set period of time without a recordable or lost-time injury.
It is late and I am tired so I will refrain from climbing up on my soapbox till later in the week, but there is a HUGE DIFFERENCE in an incentive and a reward. Celebrating successes in safety is key to changing the perception of safety. I will explain in a post later this week. For now take a look at the memo and let me know how you feel about it in the poll question below.