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ALLIANCE ANNUAL REPORT

Occupational Safety and Health Administration
and
American Meat Institute (AMI) Alliance
November 3, 2006

I. Alliance Background

Date Signed

October 24, 2002

Dates Renewed

July 12, 2004
September 27, 2006

Evaluation Period

October 24, 2005 – October 23, 2006

Overview

The OSHA and AMI Alliance addresses ergonomics and related workplace safety and health issues in the meat industry by using the collective expertise of AMI's members to advance a culture of injury and illness prevention and the sharing of best practices and technical knowledge.

Implementation Team Members
 
OSHA  
   
Brett Besser
*Todd Briggs
Betty Copeland
Cathy Cronin
Doug Fletcher
Lisa Ramber
Doug Simon
**Beth Sherfy		 Salt Lake Technical Center (SLTC)
Office of Outreach Services and Alliances (OOSA)
North Carolina OSHA
Office of Training and Education (OTE)
Region VII
OOSA
OTE
OOSA
   
AMI:  
   
Bob Christiansen
Travis Ellis
Mike Hartley
Jim Hardison
Gary Walters
Eric Reynolds
Dan McCausland		 Hormel Foods
Land of Frost
Smithfield Packing Company
Indiana Packers Corporation
Premium Standard Farms
Cargill Taylor Beef
AMI, Director, Worker Safety and Human Resources

* Todd Briggs became the OSHA and AMI Alliance coordinator as of July 20, 2006
** Beth Sherfy was the OSHA and AMI Alliance coordinator until July 19, 2006.

II. Implementation Team Meetings
 
November 4, 2005
December 8, 2005
February 14, 2006
July 20, 2006		 Region VIII Meat Industry Orientation Seminar Conference Call
Implementation Team Conference Call
Region VIII Meat Industry Orientation Seminar Conference Call
Implementation Team Meeting, Washington, DC

III. Results
  1. Events and Products

    Training and Education Goals

    • Develop and deliver training and education programs on ergonomic issues. AMI will include ergonomics training sessions at the annual AMI Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources conference.

      During this reporting period, OSHA and AMI did not work on any new projects to address this goal.

    • Cross-train OSHA personnel and industry safety and health practitioners in AMI ergonomic best practices or programs.
    Products

    OSHA 10- and 30-hour Training Courses for the Meat Industry

    Through the Alliance, AMI developed an OSHA 10-Hour Outreach Training Program for the Meat Industry and an OSHA 30-Hour Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Meat Industry course. OSHA's Office of Training and Education (OTE) approved the courses' outlines and AMI has provided OTE with copies of the courses to review. AMI plans to will offer the 10-hour course at AMI's Conference on Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources in April 2007. In addition, it is planned that participants in OSHA Region VII's Nebraska Meat Industry Strategic Partnership and AMI's members in Omaha, Nebraska, will serve as a test audience for the 30-hour course when it is finalized.

    Outreach and Communication Goals

    • Seek opportunities to jointly develop and disseminate information and guidance through print and electronic media, particularly the AMI and OSHA Web sites.
    Products

    OSHA's Meat Packing Industry Safety and Health Topics Page

    The following AMI representatives serve as members of the editorial board of OSHA's Meat Packing Industry Safety and Health Topics page which is a product of the OSHA and AMI Alliance:

    • Jim Hardison, Indiana Packers Corporation
    • Mike Hartley, Smithfield Packing Co.
    • Dan McCausland, AMI
    • Eric Reynolds, Cargill Taylor Beef
    • Gary Walters, Premium Standards Farms
    • Ken Wengert, Kraft Foods
    OSHA's Ammonia Refrigeration Safety and Health Topics page

    The following AMI representatives serve as members of OSHA's Ammonia Refrigeration Safety and Health Topics page's editorial board which is a product of the OSHA and AMI Alliance:

    • David Innes, Smithfield Packing Co.
    • Matthew O'Brien, Smithfield Packing Co.
    OSHA's Powered Industrial Truck Safety and Health Topics page

    The following AMI representatives serve as members of OSHA's Powered Industrial Truck Safety and Health Topics page's editorial board:

    • David Innes, Smithfield Packing Co.
    • Don Jones, The Dow Chemical Company
    • Matthew O'Brien, Smithfield Packing Co.
    OSHA's Ammonia Refrigeration eTool

    The following AMI representatives serve as members of the editorial board of OSHA's Ammonia Refrigeration eTool:

    • Dan McCausland, AMI
    OSHA and AMI's Alliance Web Page

    The OSHA and AMI Web page on the agency's Web site continues to be updated and includes links to the Alliance agreements and related documents, activities and events, milestones and successes, and products of the Alliance such as OSHA's Ammonia Refrigeration eTool and Meat Packing Industry Safety and Health Topics page. For more information on the number of visits to the OSHA and AMI Alliance Web page, please see the Alliance Program Reach table.

    AMI's Web Site

    AMI continues to update the Worker Safety Page on its Web site, which includes links to the OSHA and AMI Alliance Web page on the agency's Web site, OSHA's Meat Packing Industry Safety and Health Topics page, and AMI's fact sheet on worker safety and health. During the reporting period, AMI added a link to the Department of Labor-developed article, "Hispanic Worker Outreach: OSHA Can Help!"

    Print and Electronic Media

    Articles on the OSHA and AMI Alliance appeared in print and online publications, including: Safety + Health. For more information on the articles, please see the Alliance Program Reach table.

    • Seek opportunities to jointly disseminate information and guidance in Spanish and other languages.

      During this reporting period, OSHA and AMI did not work on any new projects to address this goal.

    • Seek opportunities to speak, exhibit, or appear at conferences, local meetings, or other events to promote the effectiveness of their ergonomic programs.
    Events

    AMI's Board of Directors Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, October 27, 2005

    On October 27, 2005, Dan McCausland gave an update on the OSHA and AMI Alliance to 120 attendees at the AMI Board of Directors Meeting in Chicago, Illinois.

    AMI's Conference on Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources, Denver, Colorado, April 9-11, 2006

    On April 10, 2006, Dan McCausland gave an update on the OSHA and AMI Alliance to 30 members of the AMI Human Resources Committee and 30 members of the AMI Worker Safety Committee during AMI's Conference on Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources in Denver, Colorado.

    AMI's Worker Safety Committee Meeting, Washington, DC, July 19, 2006

    On July 19, 2006, Dan McCausland gave an update on the OSHA and AMI Alliance to 20 members of AMI's Worker Safety Committee during its meeting in Washington, DC.

    • Promote and encourage AMI members' participation in OSHA's cooperative programs such as compliance assistance, the Voluntary Protection Programs, Consultation, SHARP, and mentoring among AMI members.

      During this reporting period, OSHA and AMI did not work on projects to address this goal.
    Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health Goals

    • Encourage AMI members to act as industry liaisons and resources for OSHA's cooperative programs and Compliance Assistance Specialists.

      During this reporting period, OSHA and AMI did not work on projects to address this goal.

    • Share information on best practices of AMI members with others in the industry.
    Events

    Meat Industry Orientation Seminar, Denver, Colorado, April 12, 2006

    On April 12, 2006, the OSHA and AMI Alliance held a "Meat Industry Orientation Seminar" for OSHA Region VIII federal and State Plan State personnel in Denver Colorado. Twenty-five participants attended the seminar and heard AMI representatives present an in-depth orientation to the meat industry and discuss how the meat processing and meatpacking industry addresses safety and health issues in the workplace, including lockout/tagout, process safety management for ammonia refrigeration systems, ergonomics, personnel protective equipment, machine guarding and job hazard analyses. AMI's speakers included:

    • Dan McCausland, Director, Worker Safety and Human Resources, AMI
    • Mike Hartley, Corporate Safety Director, Smithfield Packing Company
    • Eric Reynolds, Manager of Safety and Ergonomics, Cargill Taylor Beef
    • Jeff Jones, Sector Safety Manager, Kraft Foods
    • Gary Walters, Processing Safety Manager, Premium Standard Farms.
    At the same meeting, Doug Fletcher, Compliance Assistance Specialist, Region VII, Omaha, Nebraska Area Office, USDOL-OSHA provided information on the Nebraska Meat Industry/OSHA Strategic Partnership. He reviewed the Partnership's formation and its challenges and successes. Members of the Partnership, Doug Kloth, Supervisor of Safety, Security and Medical at Hormel Foods, and Steve Neuhaus, Director of Training & Compliance, Kaiser's Contract Cleaning Specialists Inc. also presented information about clean up operations at meat packing and processing plants.

  2. Executive Summary

    During the reporting period, OSHA and AMI renewed its Alliance to continue to work to reduce and prevent exposure to ergonomic and other workplace safety and health hazards in the meat packing and processing industry. Through the Alliance renewal agreement, OSHA and AMI will also focus on lockout/tagout issues, including the prevention of amputations.

    The OSHA and AMI Alliance implementation team continued to maintain and update several resources with information about the Alliance and safety and health in the meat packing and processing industry. The OSHA and AMI Alliance Web page on the agency's Web site features links to related documents, activities and events, and milestones and successes. AMI's Web site contains a Worker Safety Page that includes links to the OSHA and AMI Alliance Web page on OSHA's Web site, OSHA's Meat Packing Industry Safety and Health Topics page, and AMI's fact sheet on worker safety, which features information on the OSHA and AMI Alliance.

    During the past year, the AMI Alliance implementation team members contributed to a number of OSHA's compliance assistance products. For example, AMI members serve on the editorial boards of OSHA's Ammonia Refrigeration, Meat Packing Industry, and Powered Industrial Truck Safety and Health Topics pages and Ammonia Refrigeration eTool.

    In addition, the OSHA and AMI Alliance implementation team shared best practices from the meat packing and processing industry with OSHA staff. The OSHA and AMI Alliance implementation team presented the "Meat Industry Orientation Seminar" on April 12, 2006, in Denver, Colorado, for OSHA staff from Region VIII.

    To help promote the Alliance, Dan McCausland, AMI's Director of Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources, made a number of presentations about the OSHA and AMI Alliance to the association's Board of Directors, Human Resources Committee, and Worker Safety Committee.

  3. Alliance Program Reach
Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
OSHA and AMI Alliance Webpage on the OSHA Web site 4,649
AMI Worker Safety Page Data Not Available
Meat Packing Industry Safety and Health Topics Page 14,400
Ammonia Refrigeration Safety and Health Topics Page 14,400
Powered Industrial Truck Safety and Health Topics Page 14,400
Ammonia Refrigeration eTool 18,600
October 27, 2005: AMI Board of Directors Meeting, Chicago, Illinois

Speaker:

Dan McCausland, Director, Worker Safety and Human Resources, AMI 		120
February 2006: "Safety In the Meat Packing Industry," Safety + Health. Data Not Available
April 10, 2006: AMI's Conference on Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources, Denver, Colorado

Speaker:

Dan McCausland, Director, Worker Safety and Human Resources, AMI		 60
April 12, 2006: Meat Industry Orientation Seminar, Denver, Colorado

Speakers:
 
  • Doug Fletcher, Compliance Assistance Specialist, Omaha, Nebraska Area Office, Region VII, USDOL-OSHA
  • Dan McCausland, Director, Worker Safety and Human Resources, AMI
  • Eric Reynolds, Manager of Safety and Ergonomics, Cargill Taylor Beef Co.
  • Jeff Jones, Sector Safety Manager, Kraft Foods
  • Mike Hartley, Corporate Safety Director, Smithfield Packing Company
  • Gary Walters, Safety Manager, Premium Standard Farms
  • Doug Kloth, Supervisor of Safety, Security and Medical Hormel Foods
  • Steve Neuhaus, Director of Training & Compliance, Kaiser's Contract Cleaning Specialists Inc.
25
June 19, 2006: AMI Worker Safety Committee, Washington, DC

Speaker:

Dan McCausland, Director, Worker Safety and Human Resources, AMI		 20
October ,4, 2006: "AMI and OSHA Renew Safety Agreement," Poultry Today Data Not Available
October 9, 2006: "AMI and OSHA Renew Workplace Safety Agreement," Poultry Times Data Not Available
October 10, 2006, "OSHA, American Meat Institute Renew Alliance," OSHA News Release 69 News Services; 1,700 news papers; and 5,000 radio and television stations
October 12, 2006: "OSHA Announces Renewal of Health Safety Alliances with Six Organizations," BNA Occupational Safety and Health Reporter Data Not Available
TOTAL 76,674

IV. Upcoming Milestones

In the upcoming year, OSHA and AMI will continue address workplace safety and health issues, including ergonomics and lockout/tagout, by developing and reviewing compliance assistance projects, making presentations at OSHA and AMI conferences and meetings, and developing training and education for AMI members and others in the meat packing and processing industry.

For example, the members of the Alliance implementation team will continue to serve on the editorial boards of the Ammonia Refrigeration, Meat Packing Industry, and Powered Industrial Truck Safety and Health Topics pages and the Ammonia Refrigeration eTool. AMI representatives also will provide input into the development of OSHA's draft Powered Industrial Truck Safety and Health eTool.

AMI will also continue to promote the OSHA and AMI Alliance at the AMI 2007 Conference on Worker Safety, Health and Human Services, which will be held April 3-4, 2007 in Denver, Colorado. As part of the conference, Paula White, Director, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, USDOL-OSHA, will deliver "Learn about OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) and Other Cooperative Programs" which will focus on OSHA's compliance assistance and cooperative programs and the OSHA and AMI Alliance. The session will be presented twice at the conference.

In addition, AMI is working to develop a new Web site, "WorkerSafety.org," exclusively devoted to worker and workplace safety. The site will provide information on a wide range of meat packing-related safety topics and the OSHA and AMI. OSHA Alliance staff have reviewed and provided comment on the page and will be asked to contribute links to information focusing on safety and health issues in the meat packing industry.

In conclusion, the OSHA and AMI Alliance implementation team will develop and host training and education programs for the meat packing and processing industry and OSHA staff. The group will explore opportunities for presenting the Meat Industry Orientation Seminar in Regions V and VI. In addition, AMI plans to finalize 10- and 30-hour training courses for the meat industry. The group is considering delivering part of the 30-hour course to participants in Region VII's Nebraska Meat Industry Strategic Partnership and AMI's members in Omaha, Nebraska.


Report prepared by: Elizabeth Sherfy, Alliance Coordinator, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, November 3, 2006. (Please note this report was updated with new information on April 2, 2007).