Alliance -- An OSHA Cooperative Program<< Back to Region V




  1. Alliance Background

    Date Signed:

    May 27, 2009

    Alliance Overview.

    OSHA, Onsite Consultation and the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois (GFAI) formed an Alliance to provide the GFAI 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 exposure to falls, confined space hazards, fire hazards and amputation hazards. The alliance will focus on preventing exposure to hazards related to machine guarding, lockout, slip and fall hazards, ergonomic stressors, and confined space entry.

    Implementation Team Members.
     
    John Lee, Grain and Feed Association of Illinois Safety Director and Brian Bothast, Peoria OSHA Office Compliance Assistance Specialist (CAS) are the primary implementation team members.
     

  2. Implementation Team Meetings

    On June 9, 2009, Brian Bothast and John Lee met to discuss the alliance and implementation for 2009.

    On January 27, 2010, Brian Bothast and John Lee met to discuss the alliance and implementation for 2010.
     

  3. Activities and Products

    Evaluation Period.
     
    May 27, 2009 to May 27, 2010

    Alliance Activity.
     
    On April 6, 2009, Brian Bothast met with John Lee and reviewed 159 facility OSHA 300 logs, identified trends, and developed an action plan for a statewide alliance.

    On May 27, 2009, Tom Bielema signed a new alliance with the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois Executive Director and a press release was picked up by several agriculture related media groups. (see press release following report)

    On June 9, 2009, Brian Bothast and John Lee provided a half day training session in Springfield Illinois for 35 agri-business site representatives. Brian provided training sessions on the OSHA recordkeeping requirements, ergonomics, lockout and bin entry. John Lee addressed accident costs, slip and fall hazards, and machine guarding hazards. Brian also addressed the OSHA emphasis programs on combustible dust, lead, silica, powered industrial vehicles and hazards associated with hexavalent chrome and potential occupational asthma issues. Brian also addressed the new paying for personal protective equipment standard and common OSHA violations.

    On July 8, 2009, Brian Bothast and John Lee provided a half day training session in Pontiac, Illinois for 50 agri-business site representatives. Brian provided training sessions on the OSHA recordkeeping requirements, ergonomics, lockout and bin entry. John Lee addressed accident costs, slip and fall hazards, and machine guarding hazards. Brian also addressed the OSHA emphasis programs on combustible dust, lead, silica, powered industrial vehicles and hazards associated with hexavalent chrome and potential occupational asthma issues. Brian also addressed the new paying for personal protective equipment standard and common OSHA violations.

    On September 1, 2, and 3, 2009, Brian Bothast and Ken Koroll manned a booth at the safety and health tent at the National Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois. A variety of safety and health handouts were available for participants, participants were tested on electrical hazards and young workers were quizzed on the emphasis program hazards.
     
    On January 27, 2010, Brian provided a presentation 60 people at the Agri-Service Association Conference in Wisconsin to address the OSHA alliance with the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois, effective safety and health programs, combustible dust hazards, fall hazards in the industry, amputation hazards associated with grain handling equipment, sources of hexavalent chrome exposure, common OSHA recordkeeping violations, ergonomic hazards, PPE requirements, respiratory hazards, and the causes of a number of work related fatalities.

    Alliance Products.

    Brian Bothast and John Lee worked together to continue to get employers to use a bin entry permit or similar checklist to ensure suitable bin entry procedures are followed for every entry. Bin entry permit attached to this evaluation.
     

  4. Results
     
    Type of Activity Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
    GFAI outreach training sessions in Springfield, IL 35
    GFAI outreach training sessions in Pontiac, IL 50
    National Farm Progress Show, Decatur, IL 500
    Wisconsin training session in Wisconsin Dells 60
    TOTAL 645

    In addition to the outreach sessions, the GFAI and OSHA requested participants return to their worksites and make an effort to control specific hazards that were discussed. The following chart details hazards that 176 participants reported back to the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois that they had addressed.

    Fall protection hazards addressed
     
    Handrails added or repaired 102
    Fixed ladders repaired 58
    Portable ladders (removed from service) 48
    Fall Arrest Equipment purchased 23

    Machine guarding hazard addressed
     
    A. New machine guards installed 57
    B. Existing machine guards repaired 51

    Lockout annual inspections
     
    A. Annual Inspection of Procedures 112

    Bin entry program improvements
     
    A. Implemented permit system 21
    B. New Equipment purchased 135
    C. Improvements made to procedures 53

    In the time period for the alliance, over 1000 bin entry permits issued prior to entry. The permits help the facilities to ensure they have taken the necessary steps to control hazards prior to entry.

    In all, over 1,660 actions were taken by participants to improve safety and health at the participating facilities.
     

  5. Upcoming Milestones

    Training sessions have been set up for the summer of 2010 with a focus on bin entry, sweep auger hazards, machine guarding, recordkeeping, respiratory protection, fall hazards, combustible dust, and other emphasis program hazards.

Report prepared by: Brian Bothast


Grain Bin/Silo Entry Checklist
 
Issue Action Verified by
Has all mechanical energy been locked out?    
Has all electrical energy been locked out?    
Has all pneumatic equipment been locked out?    
If there is potential for combustible gas, vapors or toxic agents, if yes, has it been tested?    
If there is any potential the grain to be waist high, what method will be used to protect workers from the engulfment hazard?    
Employees shall not enter bins, silos, tanks or flat storage where there is a bridging condition, grain on the sides that could bury them or any engulfment hazard.
If worker enters, is an observer in communication?    
Is rescue equipment provided and specifically suited for entry?    
Is the observer trained and able to initiate rescue?    
Participants Name Signature
Entrant(s)    
Observer/Rescue    
As the responsible person I am familiar with the hazards of the space and have verified that precautions are in place to protect workers entering the space.
Responsible person    

 
News Release
U.S. Department of Labor
Office of Public Affairs
Chicago, Ill.
Release No.		 For Immediate Release
Date
Contact: Brad Mitchell
(312) 353-6976
 
Grain and Feed Association of Illinois, Onsite Safety and Health Consultation
Program and OSHA join in Alliance to address hazards

Alliance signing set for Hotel Pere Marquette in Peoria on May 27, 2009, at 10:30 a.m.

PEORIA, Ill. – Agricultural workers throughout Illinois stand to benefit from an alliance signed today by the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois (GFAI), the Onsite Safety and Health Consultation Program IL DCEO, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The alliance is designed to reduce and prevent some of the most common workplace injuries and illness threats for workers in the industry.

The alliance will focus on preventing exposure to hazards related to machine guarding, lockout, slip and fall hazards, ergonomic stressors, and confined space entry.

"Workplace fatalities and serious injuries due to falls, failure to control hazardous energy and amputation hazards continue to be among some of the top safety issues in the country,” said Peoria OSHA Area Director, Nick A. Walters. “Working with the GFAI, and the state consultation program to eliminate or control these hazards at the individual worksites will ultimately make Illinois workplaces safer.”

The three organizations will work to develop training and education programs designed specifically for the worksites in the grain handling and storage industry. The alliance calls for the sharing of information regarding best practices and effective approaches to control safety and health hazards.
 
OSHA health and safety alliances are part of the U.S. Department of Labor's ongoing efforts to improve health and safety for workers through cooperative partnerships. OSHA's role is to assure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit OSHA's website.