OSHA Safety Champions Program Series Part 1

OSHA Safety Champions Program Series Part 1

From The Safety Consultant Podcast by Sheldon Primus, MPA, COSM, COSS

April 4, 2026 · 29 min · Season 6 · Episode 348

About this episode

Sheldon introduces OSHA’s new Safety Champions Program and its phases, contrasting it with SHARP and VPP.

In this first episode of a 3-part series, Sheldon introduces OSHA’s new Safety Champions Program (SCP) and explains how it differs from SHARP and VPP. He frames SCP as a practical, voluntary pathway for organizations that want to start building a stronger safety and health program from the ground up, rather than waiting until they are already operating at a mature recognition-program level. In the episode, Sheldon explains that SCP is built around three phases — Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced — and OSHA’s seven core elements of an effective safety and health program. Sheldon also highlights how the program uses a tracker and SGE support to help employers document progress and move step by step through the process. He contrasts SCP with SHARP, which is aimed at smaller employers using OSHA consultation, and VPP, which is geared toward mature, high-performing safety systems. This episode is for safety professionals, consultants, and leaders who are asking: What’s next for our safety system? How can we start preparing for OSHA’s new Safety Champions Program? Sheldon also introduces his upcoming Safety Champion Readiness Workshop, where he’ll spend four hours helping…

People in this episode

Host: Sheldon Primus

Topics covered

  • VPP
  • OSHA Safety Champions Program
  • safety and health program
  • SHARP
  • safety professionals
  • workshop

Keywords

  • OSHA
  • Safety Champions Program
  • safety system
  • SHARP
  • VPP
  • safety professionals
  • workshop

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: OSHA, SHARP, VPP, Safety Champion Readiness Workshop

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