On-Site Visits
The DoD VPP CX focuses on providing on-site and technical support to put the installation on the path to VPP success. Phase I consists of two on-site visits. The first on-site visit is conducted by a small team of safety professionals including a DoD VPP CX Ambassador and an Assessment Team Leader who serve as the primary points of contact throughout the VPP process. The second visit is conducted by an Assessment Team that typically consists of the Team Leader and additional safety professionals with various safety and VPP subject matter expertise.Through the site visits, the following objectives are met.
First Visit
- Provide an overview of the DoD VPP CX program and how it will be tailored to the installation.
- Conduct a Safety Perception Survey to provide a baseline regarding the safety attitudes of site personnel. The anonymous survey is completed by a cross-section of site personnel across all levels, including senior leadership.
- Determine the scope of the site's VPP effort. "Provide guidance in determining what organizations within the installation will be involved in the drive for VPP recognition status and communicating its benefits to the installation.
Second Visit
- Conduct a baseline assessment of the installation. The Assessment Team evaluates the site's existing safety management system by reviewing written programs and procedures, verified by a walk-through and formal and informal interviews of a cross-section of site personnel.
- Provide the site with a gap analysis. The gap analysis provides the outcome of the site assessment findings and describes the current state of safety activity in the VPP process.
- Provide VPP process training to the installation safety department staff, safety committee members and other VPP stakeholders.
- Assist the site in developing a VPP action plan. Generate concrete steps toward achieving VPP recognition status.
Follow-on support
The DoD VPP CX will continue to track and assist an installation until each VPP site's objectives have been met! The VPP CX will routinely review a site's progress and ensure that the site is kept up-to-date on new tools, information, and resources available on the DoD VPP CX Web portal. When necessary, the Center will deploy subject matter experts to the site. At all times, answers to questions are as close as a phone call or E-mail.The DoD VPP CX Advantage
- Higher success rates in reaching VPP star status
- Shorter application timelines for participating sites
- Significant improvements in total incident rates and lost work day rates
- Multi-service experience, subject matter experts
- Permanently assigned team leader for each participating site-start to finish
- Over 20 full-time VPP safety and health experts
- Latest DoD guidance and instructions
- Automated application tools
- Quality assurance for all applications
Getting Started
To improve on the status quo it is important to identify a site's current safety and health challenges and the potentially hidden opportunities for improvement. Sites seeking to improve their worker safety and health performance often do not have a clear perception of how their programs compares to programs of other similar organizations. Internally, management's perception of an organization's safety and health program may be quite different than their own employees' first-hand impressions. The DoD VPP CX provides:
- Self Assessment Tools
- Perception Surveys
- Gap Analyses
- Implementation Plan
Self-Assessment Tools
A recommended starting point for many sites is to conduct an internal review of the current status of the site's safety and health program. The DoD VPP CX has identified several no-cost, self-assessment tools to aid in comparing a site's current safety and health program against the criteria of VPP Star sites' programs. VPP Star site criteria represent best management practices, which contribute directly to world-class performance. Even good programs can benefit from implementing many of the practices deployed by VPP star sites.
Perception Survey
Surveying the management and employees' perceptions of a site's own safety and health program is an excellent method for identifying the gaps between management policies and their actual implementation. The DoD VPP CX has arranged with the National Safety Council to conduct an Employee Safety Perception Survey for participating sites.
The DoD VPP CX will provide the National Safety Council "Safety Barometer" questionnaire during the initial engagement visit with each participating site. Once completed, the survey is returned directly to the National Safety Council for analysis and a final report is prepared within 30 days of receipt of the survey forms to aid the site in identifying gaps in the site's safety and health program.
Training
The DoD VPP CX staff will conduct training for both the site's leadership team as well as specific training for onsite safety professionals that is designed to build support for the site's safety and health program improvement efforts. Training includes an introduction to the VPP concepts, goals and objectives designed to identify the program requirements, resource requirements, and commitments needed to be successful.GAP Analysis
Any process improvement efforts should start with an independent assessment of the program's current status. A baseline provides a benchmark from which future progress can be measured. Organizations may not have the in-house expertise to conduct an unbiased assessment of their individual organization's own programs. The DoD VPP CX provides an assessment of the site's safety and health program by experienced safety and health specialists.During the engagement visit, the DoD VPP CX Team Leader will arrange for a team of safety and health experts to conduct an independent and unbiased baseline assessment of the current state of the site's health and management program. Teams are comprised of VPP-experienced safety, management system, and industrial and occupational health professionals.
Prior to leaving the site, the Engagement Team will leave a checklist of requested information to be assembled for review by the Assessment Team. The Assessment Team visit is generally conducted over a four/five day period consisting of document and records reviews, program assessments, observations of current practices, and personnel interviews. Assessment visits are usually conducted within 30 days of the initial Engagement Team visit.
Concise Implementation Plan
Upon completion of the assessment visit, the assessment team will provide a multi-step plan forward for raising the performance level of the site's safety and health program. Specific steps will address each of the VPP criteria identified as missing or needing improvement; completion of each step will move the site's safety and health program closer to world class performance. Sites set their own timeline and resource requirements to address each of the steps identified.Remote Technical Assistance
The VPP CX will actively reach out to nominated installations during the execution of their Implementation Plan. Further, the VPP CX is available via toll free access, 877-292-2880. Sites can submit general safety and health questions or specific questions on the VPP application process via E-mail. The DoD Help Line is staffed Monday through Friday from 8:00-5:00 Eastern Time. Questions submitted after hours will be answered the next business day.Web-based Technical Assistance
The VPP CX will provide Web-based best practices, tools and training via www.vppcx.org. As a Center of Excellence, the VPP CX will catalog and share best practices that other VPP Star sites (or hopefuls) already implement. These best practices are sorted by VPP element.
The DoD VPP CX has assembled a suite of exclusive outreach and media materials to assist sites in educating their employees and increasing awareness of the sites' efforts to improve their safety and health programs. Materials include:
- Awareness Posters
- Sample Press Release
- Policy Templates
- VPP Fact Sheet
- Employee Awareness Training
Application Support
Preparing to submit an application for VPP Star recognition may take many months and could take up to one or more years to prepare fully to submit to OSHA. The DoD VPP CX is committed to support the site's application through monthly remote telephone support and, if requested, onsite technical assistance. Onsite support is provided as requests are received and are subject to funding and resource availability. Application support includes:- Application E-Tool
- Custom On-site Support
- Mentoring
