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Voluntary Protection Programs
Annual Evaluation of Calendar Year 2021 Injury and Illness Rates

The Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) promotes effective worksite-based safety and health. In the VPP, management, labor, and OSHA establish cooperative relationships at workplaces that have implemented a comprehensive safety and health management program. Participation in the VPP requires each VPP participant to evaluate annually the effectiveness of their safety and health management programs. The self-evaluation must include assessments of all the VPP elements and sub-elements of the VPP participant’s safety and health management program.

By February 15th of each year, VPP participants must submit their annual self-evaluation to their Regional VPP Manager. The injury and illness rates from the VPP participant’s annual self-evaluations are forwarded to the National Office where OSHA uses the information to update records and statistics, to showcase successes related to implementation of the VPP requirements, and to demonstrate that VPP participants are committed to continuously improving employee safety and health at their worksites.

Below is a summary of the findings from the calendar year 2021 annual evaluation of VPP participants’ injury and illness rates.

Site-Based Non-Construction VPP Participants

During calendar year 2021, the VPP participants experienced the following results. On average, rates for site-based non-construction VPP participants are 53 percent below the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR) and 57 percent below the BLS Days Away from Work, Restricted Work Activity, or Job Transfer (DART) rate for their respective industries. This data was collected from 1,232 Federal jurisdiction site-based non-construction VPP participants representing more than 349,000 employees.

Other results from the 2021 VPP Annual Evaluation:

  • Site-based non-construction VPP participants avoided an estimated 4,035 TCIR injuries when compared to expected results within their respective industries.

  • Site-based non-construction VPP participants avoided an estimated 3,262 DART injuries when compared to expected results within their respective industries.

  • The 1,224 site-based non-construction VPP Star participants are, on average, 54 percent below the BLS TCIR and 57 percent below the BLS DART for their respective industries.

  • The four site-based non-construction VPP Merit participants are, on average, 40 percent below the BLS TCIR and 47 percent below the BLS DART for their respective industries.

  • The 88 Federal, site-based non-construction VPP participants are, on average, 58 percent below the BLS TCIR and 56 percent below the BLS DART for their respective industries.

  • The 302 site-based non-construction VPP participants covered by the Process Safety Management (PSM) standard are, on average, 57 percent below the BLS TCIR and 59 percent below the BLS DART for their respective industries.

  • There are 542 site-based non-construction VPP participants that experienced zero recordable injuries and illnesses during 2021.

Site-Based Construction and Mobile Workforce VPP Participants

During calendar year 2021, VPP participants experienced the following results. On average, site-based construction and mobile workforce VPP participants are 54 percent below the BLS TCIR rate and 72 percent below the BLS DART rate for their respective industries. This data was collected from 45 Federal jurisdiction site-based construction and mobile workforce VPP participants representing more than 21,000 employees.

Other results from the 2021 VPP Annual Evaluation:

  • Site-based construction and mobile workforce VPP participants avoided an estimated 205 TCIR injuries when compared to expected results within their respective industries.

  • Site-based construction and mobile workforce VPP participants avoided an estimated 163 DART injuries when compared to expected results within their respective industries.

  • The 45 site-based construction and mobile workforce VPP Star participants are, on average, 54 percent below the BLS TCIR and 72 percent below the BLS DART for their respective industries.

  • There were no site-based construction VPP Merit participants in calendar year 2021.

  • The one site-based construction and mobile workforce VPP participant covered by the PSM standard is 100 percent below the BLS TCIR and 100 percent below the BLS DART for its respective industry.

  • There are 14 site-based construction and mobile workforce VPP participants that experienced zero recordable injuries and illnesses during 2021.