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IDAHO TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT
ALLIANCE ANNUAL REPORT
20 August 2007
I. Alliance Background

Date Signed

7 July 2005

Overview

The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) and the Boise Area Office (BAO) entered into an alliance whereby a collaborative relationship was established to provide ITD employees and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect employees’ health and safety, particularly in reducing and preventing exposure to construction and environmental hazards and addressing work zone hazards.

Implementation Team Members

Cheryl Rost, ITD and Bill Bankhead, BAO

Contributors

Rosemarie Olney, BAO

Evaluation Period

August 1, 2006 through July 30, 2007

II. Implementation Team Meetings

25 October 2006: Meeting between Cheryl Rost, ITD and Rosemarie Olney, BAO to discuss alliance opportunities.

III. Events and Products

Training and Education

Events
  • 11-15 December 2006: Numerous ITD employees attended the four-day Safety Fest of the Great Northwest. The Fest included several OSHA 10-hour General Industry, Construction and Highway Safety courses, in addition to a number of construction-related courses.

  • October, 2006 and April, 2007: A number of ITD employees attended the three-day Snake River Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineer’s (ASSE) Environmental, Safety and Health Symposium. The symposium included a work zone safety course. The ITD Safety Director and BAO CAS worked together on the planning committee for this educational session.

  • 19-22 June 2007: Two ITD employees attended an OSHA 10-hour General Industry course organized and sponsored by OSHA.
Products
  • NA
Outreach and Communication

Events
  • 1 May 2007: The BAO CAS attended ITD’s annual foremen/superintendent meeting. The CAS presented a training session on hazard identification and the relationship between ITD and OSHA.

  • 9 July 2007: The BAO CAS and an office compliance officer met with representatives from ITD, Federal Highway Administration and the Idaho T2 Center to formulate a working group to research methods available to improve work zone safety.
Products
  • NA
Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health

Events
  • NA
Products>
  • NA
IV. Results

The alliance has opened the doors for a better flow of communications between the ITD and OSHA. The ITD Safety and Risk Manager and various ITD managers have requested clarification of standards, discussed and coordinated mutual training opportunities, and even emailed photos of alleged hazards.

Additionally, the various training opportunities ITD personnel have attended coupled with the services of safety consultants and outside trainers has improved the overall safety of this state agency. These training venues have educated ITD personnel working on road projects to better recognize safety and health hazards, determine when to remove their employees from possible hazardous situations, and discuss those safety issues and abatement options with the contractors on the jobsite.

V.
 
Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
Conferences Approximately 300
Training Approximately 10
TOTAL 310

VI. No Other Issues

VII. Upcoming Milestones

ITD is working to develop a training program in which contracted employees on each of their job sites receive appropriate safety and health training. This project is in the conception phase.