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ANNUAL ALLIANCE REPORT
ALLENTOWN AREA OFFICE
TRICOUNTY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
FEBRUARY 27, 2010
- Alliance Background
Date Signed:
February 27, 2009
Date Renewed:
Not applicable at this time.
Alliance Overview:
The TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce, is located in Pottstown, Pa., and serves
more than 700 businesses in northern Chester, southeastern Berks, western
Montgomery counties, and along the Pennsylvania Route 422 Corridor. Through this
Alliance, OSHA and the Chamber will provide Chamber members and others with
information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them
protect employees' health and safety, particularly in reducing and preventing
employee injuries and illnesses. Training and educational programs that have
been offered under the Alliance agreement include various safety and health
topics including: "Preparing for an OSHA Inspection", "OSHA Recordkeeping Rules
and Regulations", "Most Common General Industry Workplace Hazards and
Violations" and "Elements of an Effective Safety and Health Program".
Implementation Team Members:
P. Timothy Phelps, President, TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce
Kitty Papp, Special Events Director, TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce
Scott G. Shimandle, Compliance Assistance Specialist, USDOL/Allentown Area
Office
- Implementation Team Meetings
February 27, 2009
March 23, 2009
March 25, 2009
April 15, 2009
June 10, 2009
June 22, 2009
June 25, 2009
Sept. 11, 2009
Sept. 17, 2009
December 3, 2009
December 8, 2009
January 20, 2010
January 22, 2010
February 1, 2010
February 19, 2010 |
Alliance Signing at Pancakes &
Politics Chamber Breakfast
Email correspondence for upcoming outreach seminar
Outreach Seminar – Preparing for an OSHA Inspection
Email correspondence for upcoming outreach seminar
Email correspondence from Office of Public Affairs (OPA) – upcoming seminar
has been listed in local paper
Email correspondence confirming seminar and attendees
Outreach Seminar – OSHA Recordkeeping Regulations
Email correspondence confirming seminar and attendees
Outreach Seminar – Most Common Gen. Ind. Hazards
Email correspondence for upcoming outreach seminar
Outreach Seminar – Effective Safety and Health Programs
Email correspondence to schedule an Implementation Team Meeting for next
series of seminars
Email correspondence for Implementation Team Meeting on February 4, 2010
Email and telephone conversation rescheduling the Implementation Team Meeting
for Feb. 19, 2010
Implementation Team Planning Meeting |
- Activities and Products
Evaluation Period.
February 27, 2009 through February 26, 2010.
Alliance Activity
- Training and Education
Events
March 25, 2009 – OSHA 101 – Preparing for an OSHA Inspection Seminar. The
presentation discussed all aspects of an OSHA inspection. From the opening
conference and presentation of OSHA credentials to reviewing records and
interviewing employees; to conducting the walk-around and monitoring for
health related hazards. Additionally, the closing conference and citation
processing issues were discussed as well as the informal conference and formal
contest procedures.
June 25, 2009 – OSHA Recordkeeping Rules and Regulations. This presentation
discussed the rules and regulations with the recording of work-related
injuries and illnesses as well as the requirements for maintaining the records
and reporting of work related fatalities and catastrophes.
September 17, 2009 – Most Common General Industry Hazards and Violations.
Since most of the attendees have been from the manufacturing and service
related industries this presentation was tailored to discuss and depict common
hazards and violated conditions in general industry work environments. A
portion of this presentation was a hazard recognition workshop.
December 8, 2009 – Effective Safety and Health Programs. This presentation
discussed the elements of an effective safety and health program and reviewed
the need for management commitment and employee involvement; conducting a
worksite analysis and identifying appropriate and adequate hazard controls;
and effective training and communication to/for all employees.
- Outreach and Communication
Events
See seminar events listed above.
- Promoting the National Dialogue on Safety and Health
No events were conducted to promote the National dialogue on Workplace Safety
and Health during this time period. All dialogue has been on a local level.
Alliance Products
- Training and Education
PowerPoint presentations have been created and/or modified for the specific
topics/subject matter listed above. PowerPoint presentations were provided in
handout format for note-taking purposes.
- Outreach and Communication
As noted above new PowerPoint presentations were developed/modified and used
locally.
- Promoting the National Dialogue on Safety and Health
No products developed at this time.
- Results
It has been recognized by the Implementation Team, that the outreach sessions
have not been as well attended as originally hoped. In part, there is still some
reservation about a training/outreach session with a regulatory agency and a
fear of asking regulatory related questions during the outreach as there is some
concern that enforcement activities may be triggered by active participation in
the event. In addition to this attendance and participation issue, it was
identified that another organization (an occupational healthcare provider) in
the area had been conducting its safety and health seminars on the same days as
those listed below (with this Chapter). Since many members below to both groups
several chose to attend the healthcare session as their "safety peer group" as
it has been in existence for several years – and this Alliance (with the
TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce) has only been in place for a period of less
than one year. Attendance does appear to be growing and the attendees are
becoming more comfortable with the (OSHA) activities with the Chamber. The
Chamber continues to solicit information from the attendees by requesting
completion of a Survey. The information obtained from the surveys is listed
below.
| Type of Activity (Conference,
Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) |
Number of Individuals Reached or
Trained |
| Alliance
Signing and Overview of Goals |
25 |
| Preparing for
an OSHA Inspection |
6 |
| OSHA
Recordkeeping |
12 |
| Most Common
Gen. Industry Hazards |
8 |
| Effective
Safety & Health Programs |
11 |
| TOTAL |
62 |
The Chamber surveyed the attendees by asking them 7 questions, 6 of which were
directly related to the days outreach event. The survey questions are as
follows:
- The session content was relative to my job.
- My goals in attending the program were met.
- The length of the program was appropriate.
- The geographic location of the meeting was suitable.
- The speaker was an effective presenter.
- Overall rating of this seminar.
In review of the evaluations the following data (average) was obtained. On a
scale of 1 to 4, with 4 being the highest:
| Question |
3/25/09 |
6/25/09 |
9/17/09 |
12/8/09 |
|
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. |
3.8
4.0
4.0
3.8
3.8
4.0 |
4.0
4.0
4.0
4.0
4.0
4.0 |
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.5 |
3.8
3.8
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.8 |
As a result of activities with this Chamber and one of its members, an
additional outreach activity (not sponsored by the Chamber) had been arranged
and conducted to address safety and health issues within the construction
industry. This event was for employers and union organizations, principally in
the steel erection trades. This activity was conducted on October 29, 2009 with
25 attendees.
- Upcoming Milestones
As a result of the planning meeting conducted on February 19, 2010 and after
review of the Outreach Surveys, it was identified that the next four events will
cover 1) Control of Hazardous Energy (LO/TO), 2) Job Safety Analysis, 3)
Certified Safety Committees and 4) Accident Investigation/Root Cause Analysis.
At the conclusion of the final event, the Implementation Team will meet to
evaluate and discuss the efforts of this agreement in order to determine if the
agreement will be renewed and/or modified.
Report Prepared by: Scott G. Shimandle
For more information, contact the Office of Outreach Services and Alliances at
202-693-2340 or go to OSHA
webpage.
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