Volunteer protection program: improving workplace safety and the bottom line.

• Author: Sergeant, Deborah Jeanne
• Position: SAFETY

What if you could lower workers' compensation insurance premiums, decrease workplace injuries and downtime, raise morale and increase your chances of attracting terrific applicants, all without spending a dime?

It's not a fantasy--it's the Alaska Occupational Safety and Health (AKOSH) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). Begun in 1982 by Federal OSHA and implemented by AKOSH as a State-led program in 1997, VPP was designed to create a partnership among management, employees and OSHA compliance officers to enhance workplace health and safety.

During the application process and thereafter, VPP can become an important part of your overall safety program.

YOUR CHOICE

As its name denotes, this is a voluntary program, a sort of self-run safety accreditation that's guided by OSHA representatives in cooperation with company safety leaders. VPP focuses on four elements: management leadership and employee involvement; work site analysis; hazard prevention and control; and safety and health training.

Because of the many benefits the program offers, VPP's popularity has increased nearly 200-fold in the past nine years. At the same time, workplace deaths have decreased 14 percent, a seeming causal relationship.

'BEST OF THE BEST'

Bill Nickerson serves as VPP coordinator and safety consultant to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development's Occupational Safety and Health Consultation and Training. He views a company with a VPP safety program as "the best of the best. It shows employees, the industry and the community that they're a leader in the safety field," he said. "It's all about proactive safety."

VPP status confers to a company more benefits than just bragging rights. According to the Alaska Department of Labor, "on average VPP participants experience ,52 percent fewer workplace accidents than their competitors."

"For the past several years, we've continued to reduce the number of injuries and illnesses," said Jeff Carlson, North Slope HSE director for ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. in Anchorage. "Since joining VPP in 2006, that trend has continued to decline and VPP contributes to that. "We've embraced VPP and seen the value of it."

Carlson's words ring true. As of 2009, ConocoPhillips had the only office tower in Anchorage with VPP status.

In recent years, ConocoPhillips has earned VPP status in all of its Alaska locations.

"It shows we're committed to top safety performance," Carlson said. "For the last several years, we've continued to...