Alliance Logo << Back to Concluded Regional Alliances - Region III


ALLIANCE CLOSE-OUT REPORT
ALLENTOWN AREA OFFICE
NORHAMPTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
December 14, 2009
  1. Alliance Background

    Date Signed: December 18, 2007.

    Date Renewed/Revised: A new Alliance with The Lehigh Valley Safety Committee – a Consortium of the Lehigh Valley Area Labor-Management Council, the American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley and Northampton Community College, was signed on December 14, 2009.

    Alliance Overview:

    The Alliance was formed to provide students, local businesses, emergency responders and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect themselves and/or their employees’ health and safety particularly in reducing and preventing exposure to hazards associated with emergency preparedness and response, respiratory protection, means of egress, emergency action plans, fire prevention and/or addressing the needs of developing and implementation of effective safety and health programs.

    Implementation Team Members.

    Thomas Barnowski, Director – Corporate and Public Safety Education, NCC
    Judith Rex, Director – Center for Healthcare Education, NCC
    Scott Shimandle, CAS, USDOL/OSHA Allentown Area Office

     
  2. Implementation Team Meetings

    January, 6, 2009 Conference Call for “Road-to-Ready – Partnering for Emergency Preparedness” Workshop Pre-Meeting

    February 4, 2009 Alliance Meeting at Northampton Community College

    February 9, 2009 Conference Call – Follow-up discussions for Workshop

    February 26, 2009 Alliance Meeting with Regional Office Emergency Response Coordinator at NCC

    March 2, 2009 Conference Call with Director – Corporate and Public Safety

    March 20, 2009 Alliance Meeting with Regional Office Emergency Response Coordinator at NCC

    April 3, 2009 Alliance Meeting with Regional Office Emergency Response Coordinator at NCC

    April 9, 2009 Alliance Meeting at NCC – “Road-to-Ready” Workshop

    April 28, 2009 Alliance Meeting at NCC – “Road-to-Ready” Workshop

    May 8, 2009 Alliance Meeting at NCC – “Road-to-Ready” Workshop

    May 18, 2009 Conference Call with Instructional Mgr. – HealthCare and Corporate and Public Safety

    May 20, 2009 Outreach - “Road-to-Ready – Partnering for Emergency Preparedness” Workshop at NCC (Main Campus)

    July 8, 2009 Alliance Meeting at NCC – Review of Workshop

    July 30, 2009 Alliance Meeting at NCC – Wrap-Up (Debriefing) Meeting to discuss data and comments received from “Road-to-Ready” Workshop

    August 28, 2009 Outreach – OSHA 10 hour – “Introduction to OSHA”

    November 12, 2009 Conference Call with Director - Corporate and Public Safety

     
  3. Activities and Products

    December 19, 2008 through December 14, 2009.

    Alliance Activity.
     
    • Training and Education
       
      1. The “Road-to-Ready – Partnering for Emergency Preparedness” Workshop was a single day event in which a series of seminars where presented to the attendees. The topics included OSHA Hot Topics (Update on Regulations), OSHA’s Emergency Action Plans and Response Requirements, a detailed look at Emergency Action Planning, Emergency Response Responsibilities in Lehigh/Northampton Counties, Emergency Response Interface, Demonstration and Apparatus Review and a Panel Discussion. The panel discussion consisted of academia, government, local responders, private employers and insurance.

        Contributors to this event included not only the Implementation Team members (listed above) but also the following individuals:

        Matthew Dahms, Philadelphia Regional Office, Emergency Response Coordinator

        John Conklin, Director of Administration, County of Northampton

        Jean Davis, Selective Insurance

        Tyrone Reed, Safety Director, Alvin H. Butz, Inc.

        Bob Fehnel, Mtnce Foreman/Safety/Env. Coordinator, Cadmus Communications

        John Kloss, Director of Operations, Eastern PA EMS Council

        Michele Pappalardo, Director, Business Training
      2. OSHA 10 Hour – “Introduction to OSHA”. The Allentown Area Office - CAS assisted the Director of Corporate and Public Safety Education in the “Introduction of OSHA - All About OSHA” opening session of the OSHA 10 Hour General Industry class. Provided to the attendees to share current OSHA strategies and areas of emphasis.
    • Outreach and Communication

      See comments above for Training and Education.
    • Promoting the National Dialogue on Safety and Health

      No National Events held during this time frame.
    Alliance Products.
    • Training and Education
    • Outreach and Communication
    • Promoting the National Dialogue on Safety and Health
    The products developed were PowerPoint Presentations, flyers and pamphlets used specifically for the “Road-to-Ready” Workshop.

     
  4. Results
     
    1. The Road-to-Ready – Partnering for Emergency Preparedness Workshop, obtained some very useful and immediate information. During this event, we had the opportunity to incorporate questions within the PowerPoint presentations, and through the use of remote “clickers” each attendee could respond instantly to the questions by pressing the corresponding key on their clicker unit. After all the attendees replied, the screen (within the PowerPoint presentation) depicted the results from the audience. This technology (information) provided not only the Alliance Implementation Team with immediate feedback (to be used for future events), but also all the attendees had the opportunity to see what other employers may (or may not) be doing at their facilities. The data was completely anonymous as the clicker units were not “assigned” or “labeled” to a person or company, which allowed responses to be open and honest.
      Below is a brief summary of some of the data (questions) collected during this event:
      • 86% of the employers had an Emergency Action Plan
      • 72% of the plans addressed fire, medical AND natural disasters
      • 65% Updated their plans annually
      • 56% of the employees know their roles and expectations in an emergency
      • 41% know their community emergency response capabilities
      • 56% conduct fire extinguisher training
      • 76% train their employees on the hazardous materials in their plant
      • 79% have procedures in place to clean up a spill of a hazardous substance
      • 50% will rely on local emergency responders to address a “large” spill
      • 66% have a written fire prevention plan
      • 76% conduct regular inspections for fire hazards
      • 78% will permit their employees to fight incipient stage fires
      • 71% have invited their local responders to visit the site
      • 69% will have employees respond/provide first aid
      • 63% have trained employees in bloodborne pathogen hazards
    2. The table below lists the two outreach activities and the number of individuals reached (or trained) during the reporting period.
       
      Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
      Road to Ready – Partnering for Emergency Preparedness 70
      OSHA 10 – Hour – Introduction to OSHA 30
      TOTAL 100
       
    3. Issues that had a bearing on the Alliance’s implementation.

      It should be noted that this Alliance (and the point of contacts from NCC) has been woven into the Alliance with the Lehigh Valley Area Labor-Management Council (LVALMC), as a representative of NCC sits on the “Board” for the LVALMC. As such, there have been many other meetings held, during this evaluation period, where members of NCC and the LVALMC have been in attendance. However, only those meetings that were specifically held for this Alliance are listed above (Section II – Implementation Team Meetings). It is for this reason that a new Alliance has been drafted which will incorporate not only NCC and the LVALMC, but also the Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley (Alliance expired in September 2009), as the Red Cross is also a member of the LVALMC.
       
  5. Upcoming Milestones

    For Northampton Community College, meetings will be scheduled in the near future in preparation for the next workshop, which will focus on the Emergency Response Personal Protective Equipment. Until then, and in cooperation with the LVALMC Alliance and the expired Red Cross Alliance, members are working on the third FREE Safety Expo to be held on May 18, 2010 at DeSales University. There will be approximately 18-20 safety and health sessions held during the event, which will include such topics as Safety Committee Operations, Accident Investigation, Hazard Awareness, NFPA 70E, Driver Safety Awareness, Driving Simulator, Safety Accountability and Goal Setting, Incident Command System, Safety and Health and the Aging Worker, Pandemic Influenza, Stress Management, Drug and Alcohol Testing and Awareness and Safety Behaviors.


    Report Prepared by: Scott G. Shimandle, Compliance Assistance Specialist

    For more information, contact the Office of Outreach Services and Alliances at 202-693-2340 or go to OSHA's webpage.


Page last updated: 03/12/2010