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ALLIANCE REPORT
Temporary Worker Alliance
Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation (BWC)
OSHA On-Site Consultation
Staffmart (Formerly CBS Personnel Holdings, Inc.)
Ohio Staffing and Search Association (OSSA)
February 16, 2010
  1. Alliance Background

    Date Signed

    October 17, 2007

    Alliance Overview

    The goal of this Alliance is to provide temporary staffing and employee leasing companies with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect employees’ health and safety, particularly in reducing and preventing deaths and serious injuries from falls, electrical, struck-by, caught-in, and other hazards related to manufacturing and construction work performed by temporary workers.

    Implementation Team Members

    Howard Eberts, OSHA
    Ken Springer, Staffmart
    Christopher McKinney, Staffmart
    Dana Parsons, Ohio BWC
    Ford Sledge, Ohio BWC
    Don Mullins, Ohio BWC
    Mike Marr, Ohio BWC
    Tom Erb, OSSA
    Greg Collins, On-Site Consultation

     
  2. Implementation Team Meetings

    Alliance meetings were held at the Ohio BWC, and members actively participated at each meeting. Meeting roles (facilitator, minutes, etc.) are assigned on a rotating basis for each meeting and minutes are distributed with agendas for the next meeting.

    March 9, 2009: Alliance Meeting
    June 8, 2009: Alliance Meeting
    September 14, 2009: Alliance Meeting
    December 14, 2009: Alliance Meeting

     
  3. Activities and Products

    Evaluation Period.

    This report covers December 8, 2008 to December 31, 2009.

    Alliance Activity.
     
    • Training and Education

      The Ohio BWC scheduled and conducted four training courses on "Employee Safety for Staffing Companies & Professional Employer Associations (PEOs)" in 2009 throughout the State of Ohio. Approximately one hundred people attended these training sessions, and they were very successful, although attendance has started to fall off somewhat. BWC has scheduled two more of these classes in 2010 throughout the State of Ohio.
       
    • Outreach and Communication

      The OSSA has promoted OSHA on its website and newsletters. OSSA also presented the videos at their annual conference in June, 2009. OSHA and BWC have issued press releases in 2009 to promote the video training courses.
       
    • Promoting the National Dialogue on Safety and Health

      During the course of the alliance, the Ohio BWC, OSSA, CBS, and On-Site Consultation have promoted the alliance, as well as safety and health issues during internal safety meetings and also at public conferences held with other organizations. The training course and other Temporary Worker Safety issues were also promoted at the Annual Ohio Safety Congress held in April, 2009.
    Alliance Products.
     
    • Training and Education

      The Alliance members have worked together with the Ohio BWC’s Communication Department to create a series of training videos / DVDs that cover safety and health issues for temporary workers. Scripts were developed and video footage was shot at a variety of worksites throughout Ohio for seven different modules. These modules addressed General Safety & Health, Landscaping, Industrial Manufacturing, Food Service, Warehousing, Construction, and Office Safety. The videos were completed, and a link appears on the BWC website to download them. http://www.ohiobwc.com/basics/videos/SafetyVideoArchive.asp.

      Hard copies of the DVD are also free to all requestors. As of January, 2009, all the video scripts were translated into Spanish and recorded. The Spanish versions of each video are scheduled for completion and distribution by June, 2010.
       
    • Outreach and Communication

      OSHA’s website and handouts were linked to OSSA’s website. OSHA and BWC both issued press releases to promote the release of the safety videos.
       
    • Promoting the National Dialogue on Safety and Health

      The Alliance discussed OSHA enforcement issues related to temporary workers, and as a result, Staffmart sent a letter on September 16, 2009 requesting interpretation of several issues that will have national implications.

       
  4. Results

    The Ohio BWC training courses developed for staffing companies and PEOs and the Temporary Worker Safety and Health videos that were completed in 2009 are significant products that will help employers in Ohio improve safety and health for temporary workers. These courses and videos are free to all employers in the State of Ohio, and they will be further promoted at the upcoming Ohio Safety Congress in April, 2010. The scripts for the videos have been translated and recorded in Spanish and should be completed for distribution by June, 2010. The Alliance participants feel that this Alliance is also providing an effective means of communication to help further explore the safety and health issues faced by staffing companies and temporary employees.

     
  5. Upcoming Milestones

    The Alliance was scheduled to end on October 17, 2009. However, the Alliance was extended to finish the training videos in Spanish.

    Report Prepared by: Howard Eberts, Compliance Assistance Specialist

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

     
  6. Copy of Press Release


    U.S. Labor Department’s OSHA and alliance partners develop free safety training video for temporary workers in Ohio

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and alliance partners, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC), Staffmark LLC, and the Ohio Staffing and Search Association, have produced a new video intended to help provide safety and health awareness training to temporary workers.

    "Working together to share best practices and to develop and implement safety and health training to temporary workers were the main goals of this alliance," said Deborah Zubaty, OSHA’s area director in Columbus. "This video should help temporary staffing companies provide an initial awareness of safety and health training to their temporary workers before working in a new environment."

    The video (DVD) includes a general safety orientation for all temporary workers, and also includes six additional modules directed toward specific types of potentially hazardous work environments, including construction, landscaping, warehousing, general industry, food distribution services and office environments. A collection of these safety videos can also be viewed at the following Web site: http://www.ohiobwc.com/basics/videos/SafetyVideoArchive.asp

    In addition to the suffering of injured workers’ and the toll this takes on their families, temporary staffing service companies are financially strained by the costs of these injuries each year. Lack of knowledge and training in workplace safety is a key reason for workers getting hurt on the job.

    "In addition to our safety training classes, we know that this video will be an excellent asset to the safety and health management systems of all staffing service companies," said Dr. Ibraheem Tarawneh, sperintendent of BWC’s Division of Safety & Hygiene. "Providing temporary workers with the knowledge and ability to anticipate, identify and eliminate work-related hazards will bring us closer to eliminating job related injuries."

    Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA’s role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach and education. For more information, visit OSHA's website.