Alliance -- An OSHA Cooperative Program << Back to Concluded Regional Alliances - Region V

  1. Alliance Background

    Date Signed.

    July 7, 2005 and renewed in July of 2008.

    Alliance Overview.

    • Enhance outreach activities and training programs to improve business awareness of OSHA's rules, safety and health management systems and cooperative programs as well improve the awareness of the Wisconsin Onsite Consultation Programs Services.
    • Promote the use of OSHA, Wisconsin Onsite Consultation Programs, technical and training assistance and participation in cooperative programs by Onsite Consultation.
    • Improve the safety and health performance of employers that receive outreach, training and other assistance service (i.e. mentoring, Onsite Consultation, hazard identification).
    Implementation Team Members.
     
    Kimberly Stille, Area Director, Madison
    George Yoksas, Area Director Milwaukee
    Mark Hysell, Area Director, Eau Claire
    Mel Lischefski, Area Director, Appleton
    Terry Moen, Program Director, Wisconsin Consultation
    Frances Huntley-Cooper, Administrator, Workers Compensation Division

  2. Implementation Team Meetings

    Meetings were held on these dates: November 12, 2008, December 23, 2008, June 4, 2009, August 26, 2009 and October 29, 2009.

  3. Activities and Products

    Evaluation Period.
     
    This report covers the period September 4, 2008 through November 13, 2009.

    Alliance Activity and Product.

    • This alliance worked on the topic of fatigue in the workplace, its effects on employees' safety and health and issues employers should consider when scheduling employees for long work shifts. As there are no consensus standards for workplace fatigue, this initiative involved a lot of research to find and evaluate the science behind workplace fatigue and whether it's potential to affect workplace safety and health has been documented in the literature. The team worked hard to obtain evidence of specific risk factors related to workplace fatigue and to try to determine if control measures are available.
    • The team developed a blog-based internet survey that anyone could access and complete. The team's intention was to have employers and employees complete the survey's 12 questions with the expectation that the data obtained might point to interesting associations between real-world work environments and the information known so far about workplace fatigue. The data from this survey is in the process of final analysis and we expect the results to be compiled in the next phase of this alliance period.
    • The alliance decided to develop materials that employers, employees and others could use to raise the level of awareness and discussion of this topic. These materials are in the form of a Power Point presentation that lays out the background and science behind workplace fatigue as well as its effects on work performance, including examples of accidents where fatigue was found to be an underlying contributing factor. These materials also include reference to control measures that individuals can consider in trying to minimize workplace fatigue.
    • The Power Point and the materials used to compile the presentation will be posted on a web site which the committee intends as a 'toolkit' for individuals looking for information on workplace fatigue. This web site will be developed in the next phase of the alliance period.
  4. Results

    1. The online survey has been completed by more than 360 people and we are in the process of evaluating the data.
    2. The Power Point has been presented to four different audiences by OSHA staff:
      1. Wisconsin Safety Council Fall Conference (9-9-08) - 30 attendees
      2. Chicagoland Construction Safety Day (2-18-09) - 20 attendees
      3. VPPPA Regional Conference in Madison (5-27-09) - 40 attendees
      4. Wisconsin Safety Council Wellness Conference (8-4-09) - 40 attendees
    3. One of the committee members who works for the Wisconsin Hospital Association has presented the Power Point to six different healthcare-related audiences for a total audience of about 120 people. She also references the presentation when she meets with policy makers. She also posted it on the WHA web site for use by anyone visiting the site.
    4. The web page which will become the tool kit for stakeholders is due to be completed within the next few months.
    5. The committee is still active and we are in the process of wrapping up this project.
    Type of Activity
    (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.)    		 Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
    Presentations 250
    Online Survey and visitors to web site 360
    Total 610

  5. Upcoming Milestones

    Report Prepared by: Leslie Ptak, Compliance Assistance Specialist, Madison OSHA.

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