Interested in helping companies in your area achieve safety and health excellence by being an OSHA
Challenge Administrator?
As an Administrator, you and your organization will benefit. You will network with safety and health
experts across the country; help OSHA make the business case for embracing safety and health as an
organization value; and receive OSHA recognition as a leader in America's challenge to keep workers
safe and healthy.
Contact Office of Partnerships and Recognition by
email or by telephone,
202-693-2213.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is always looking for new and innovative ways to encourage and
assist employers in their efforts to protect their employees' safety and health. For more than 20 years, OSHA's
Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) have addressed this need and provided recognition to exemplary employers.
Over the years, many employers have asked for a program that caters specifically to organizations that are interested in
the Voluntary Protection Programs but they need some help in meeting VPP requirements. Our new offering, the OSHA
Challenge Pilot, aims to satisfy this need. OSHA Challenge recognizes that there are many employers at different stages
in the process of working towards implementing a successful safety and health management system.
OSHA Challenge provides opportunities for employers not currently served by existing OSHA cooperative programs to
work with the Agency and receive recognition for their efforts. Challenge Participants link into either a General
Industry or a Construction track. Within each track, Participants follow a detailed three-stage roadmap that
guides them to improve their safety and health management systems and work toward VPP status.
How Does OSHA Challenge Work?
OSHA Challenge helps companies take a more proactive approach to safety and health by providing an online roadmap
that guides them through the steps needed to meet VPP requirements. As employers make incremental improvements in
their safety and health management systems, OSHA will recognize their progress.
The online roadmap establishes clear actions, documentation, and outcomes required for Challenge Participant to progress
from one stage to the next. A Participant that successfully completes all three stages and graduates from the pilot may
be considered for expedited approval to OSHA's VPP Star or
Merit Program.
How Do I Become an OSHA Challenge Participant?
First, an interested employer – referred to as an OSHA Challenge Candidate -- must associate itself with an
appropriate Administrator. (Some employers may also qualify to be an Administrator for their own facilities.) The
Candidate then completes a brief application that the Administrator submits to OSHA. Upon acceptance by OSHA, the
Candidate becomes a Participant.
The Participant's primary contact with OSHA is through its Administrator, who will assist the employer to develop an
effective safety and health management system by working through the stages of OSHA Challenge. Participants may begin
at either stage one, two, or three -- placement is determined by the comprehensiveness of the safety and health
management system already in place. Participants must show progression through the stages.
There are no direct costs for participating in this voluntary program.
How to Qualify as a Challenge Participant
The OSHA Challenge Pilot is open to General Industry and Construction employers in both private and public sectors
under OSHA's federal jurisdiction. Candidates (prospective Participants) must be interested in and committed to
improving their safety and health management systems and ultimately applying for VPP. Candidates also must have the
sponsorship of an accepted Challenge Administrator. Once OSHA reviews and accepts a Challenge Candidate's
application, the applicant becomes known as an OSHA Challenge Participant.
Challenge Administrators and How to Qualify
Administrators act as the primary contact for their OSHA Challenge Participants and OSHA. They guide Participants
through the three structured stages to achieve incremental improvements in Participants' safety and health management
systems. Administrators also play an important role in collecting and reporting information on each Candidate and
Participant, such as progress and injury/illness data.
Challenge Administrators may be corporations, nonprofit associations, and federal agencies. However, Administrators
may not be private safety and health consultants or for-profit associations.
OSHA will review potential Administrators' qualifications and make a decision. Requirements include demonstrated
knowledge and experience in safety and health management systems, availability of adequate resources, and a
commitment to the Challenge Pilot.
For More Information on OSHA Challenge, including the application process:
Contact the OSHA Office of Partnerships and Recognition at (202) 693-2213.
At this time, interested applicants may be accepted into the OSHA Challenge Pilot at OSHA's
discretion as resources allow.
The OSHA Challenge Pilot will run for at least two years. OSHA will evaluate the Pilot's effectiveness at the end of
the first year and at the conclusion. Based on the evaluation, OSHA will decide whether to continue the pilot,
convert it to an ongoing OSHA Challenge program, or terminate the pilot. Accessibility Assistance:
Contact the OSHA Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs at 202-693-2200 for assistance
accessing OSHA PDF materials.
Printing Instructions
June 2008 -
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