The National Safety Council conducted a workshop at the 26th Annual national VPPPA Conference on how to use employee safety perception surveys to gain and maintain OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) status. The workshop focused on employee perception surveys as one of the most promising proactive measures of  safety management systems and organizational safety cultures.

Conducted in a rigorous way, employee perception surveys can provide a comprehensive and sensitive set of metrics that evaluate and monitor management commitment, supervisor engagement, employee involvement and organizational culture. The survey process itself becomes a substantive employee safety activity with uniquely far-reaching benefits to any organization's safety program. The presentation provided a detailed explanation of the role, process, utility and value of employee safety perception surveys in applying for and sustaining VPP status.