OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs: Improved Oversight and Controls Would Better Ensure Program Quality
GAO-09-395
Published: May 20, 2009. Publicly Released: Jun 18, 2009.
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Highlights
The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is responsible for ensuring workplace safety. OSHA has established a number of programs, including the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), that take a cooperative approach to obtaining compliance with safety and health regulations and OSHA's standards. OSHA established the VPP in 1982 to recognize worksites with exemplary safety and health programs. GAO was asked to review (1) the number and characteristics of employer worksites in the VPP and factors that have influenced growth, (2) the extent to which OSHA ensures that only qualified worksites participate in the VPP, and (3) the adequacy of OSHA's efforts to monitor performance and evaluate the effectiveness of the VPP. GAO analyzed OSHA's VPP data, reviewed a representative sample of VPP case files, and interviewed agency officials.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Labor | To ensure proper controls and measurement of program performance, the Secretary of Labor should direct the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health to develop a documentation policy regarding information on follow-up actions taken by OSHA's regional offices in response to fatalities and serious injuries at VPP sites. | Beginning in August 2009, OSHA issued a series of VPP Policy Memoranda that specified actions to address this recommendation. The agency reinforced the policy requiring Regions to immediately provide specified information to the National Office upon learning of a fatality or other serious injury and to ensure that all communications are appropriately documented and placed in the participant file. Summary information from enforcement files with final disposition or contest status and information from OSHA's Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) are also put in the participant file. The agency also initiated annual audits of regional VPP participant files to ensure that files are... properly documented and maintained when a fatality or serious injury occurs. Each Region must submit copies of specified VPP files to the National Office for review. When the audit is complete, the results are documented with a memorandum of findings. Finally, the agency updated its Management Accountability Program (MAP), which requires regional actions and documentation in response to a fatality or serious injury at a VPP site.
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| Department of Labor | To ensure proper controls and measurement of program performance, the Secretary of Labor should direct the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health to establish internal controls that ensure consistent compliance by the regions with OSHA's VPP policies for conducting on-site reviews and monitoring injury and illness rates so that only qualified worksites participate in the program. | OSHA issued a series of VPP Policy Memorandum from August 2009 to June 2011 that include provisions addressing this recommendation. Examples of actions taken to promote consistency across Regions include: clarifying policy and procedures for reviewing and evaluating safety and health incentive programs at VPP applicant and participant worksites; requiring all Regions to use the VPP Automated Data System or an equivalent regional tracking system to ensure onsite evaluations are conducted within established timeframes; implementing a uniform policy regarding communication with applicants and participants about VPP approval; and establishing uniform procedures to notify VPP participants and...
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| Department of Labor | To ensure proper controls and measurement of program performance, the Secretary of Labor should direct the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health to establish a system for monitoring the performance of the VPP by developing specific performance goals and measures for the program. | In FY09, OSHA stated that it believes injury and illness rates are the most appropriate measure of VPP's impact, however, the agency would look further into this issue and explore additional ways to measure participant performance and program impact. In FY10, the agency reported that it would evaluate VPP programs, including analyzing current and potential performance goals and measures, and determining VPP's effectiveness and optimal resource allocation. As of FY12, OSHA reported that continued to evaluate and develop ways to improve internal controls and measurement of program performance and effectiveness as part of its ongoing VPP continuous improvement process. In addition, OSHA...
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