Emphasis programs

Enforcement

The Division of Compliance conducted 225 imminent danger inspections in 2008.

In 2008, the Division of Compliance accomplished the following activities:

• Conducted 1,311 unannounced programmed inspections that resulted in 1,585 violations — including 957 serious, five willful, and 49 repeat violations.
   
• Conducted 177 general industry inspections within the “top 10” high-hazard NAICS classifications.
   
• Conducted 877 construction inspections — 66 percent of all inspections in 2008. Fall protection was the top construction standard cited in 2008 (29 CFR 1926.501, Duty to have fall protection, was cited 610 times). Kentucky’s fall protection regulation, 803 KAR 2:412, specifically addresses residential construction. Under a Division of Compliance emphasis program, 99 compliance inspections in residential construction resulted in 129 violations.
   
• Conducted 225 imminent danger inspections due to increased awareness of fall and trenching hazards in the commercial and residential construction industry.
   
• Responded to 225 safety and health complaints, 192 alleging serious violations. There were 98 follow-up inspections, which represented 7.5 percent of all safety and health inspections.
   
• Conducted 52 inspections at public sector work sites, including programmed inspections and responses to public employee complaints.

The Division of Compliance is also responsible for the enforcement of Kentucky’s anti-discrimination provisions. In 2008, the division received 104 discrimination complaints.

Gov. Steven L. Beshear addresses participants at the Governor’s Safety and Health Conference and Exposition.

Outreach

Conferences: The Kentucky Labor Cabinet and the Kentucky Safety and Health Network, Inc., presented the 24th annual Governor’s Safety and Health Conference and Exposition in Louisville. The event featured pre-conference courses and workshops on safety and industrial hygiene technology, current issues, and trends in workplace safety and health.

Keynote speakers included Gov. Steven L. Beshear, Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, and Charlie Morecraft. Participants enjoyed networking and the largest health and safety product exposition in the commonwealth. Additionally, Scholastic Achievement for Education Awards totaling $30,000 went to 14 university students majoring in occupational safety and health, industrial hygiene, and public health.

Partnerships

Voluntary Protection Program: In 2008, OSHA’s Region IV Voluntary Protection Program Participants’ Association conference was held for the first time in Louisville. Kentucky’s VPP program presented a workshop called “Strengthening Star Quality” which addressed recertification and how to maintain high levels of VPP readiness. The workshop was presented by Kentucky’s VPP administrator and several Kentucky VPP companies.

Kentucky continued its in-depth evaluation process with auditor and mentoring classes designed to sharpen the skills of STAR company auditors. This process promotes ownership and self-sufficiency at all levels of the company and encourages the highest levels of performance from management and union officials as they work toward the goal of a safe workplace.

Voluntary Protection Partnership Program: In addition to site-specific partnerships, Kentucky adopted its own Voluntary Protection Partnership Program for Construction (VPPC) in 2008. In 2007, Miller-Valentine came into VPPC under a state-specific pilot program. In 2008, Turner Construction became the first company to achieve VPPC status under the new VPPC State Plan. Turner has been working with the Kentucky Labor Cabinet over the past year to attain VPPC status. From the beginning, Turner’s dedication was obvious in the time and resources the company spent attaining this goal. Turner staff maintained the highest level of professionalism while remaining personable and friendly.

University of Kentucky Patient Care Facility construction site.

Turner Construction has a culture that promotes an injury-free environment and provides the safest possible workplace for all its employees, subcontractors, clients, and visitors to the jobsites. Turner Construction received the Governor’s Safety and Health Award for achieving 2,299,631 hours worked without experiencing a lost-time injury. In 2008, Turner was awarded the first VPP Star Status for Ohio in Region Five. Turner has worked on projects such as Fourth Street Live, Kentucky Speedway, Louisville Slugger Field, Turfway Park, and several University of Kentucky expansion projects. Turner also dedicates time and resources to local causes as Habitat for Humanity, The Salvation Army, The Autism Society, Finding a Cure for Cystic Fibrosis, Cancer Research, United Way, and The Fine Arts Fund. The Cabinet looks forward to continuing its relationship with Turner, which has set the standard future VPPC applicants.

Construction Partnership Program: This has been a very successful year for the Kentucky Labor Cabinet’s Construction Partnership Program (CPP). Six new site-specific partnerships were added including the Northern Kentucky Airport, the Louisville Arena, and the Eastern Kentucky University Science Building. CPP continued to work with existing partners, training more than 100 employees on topics ranging from NFPA 70E to OSHA 300 Logs.

Kentucky Labor Cabinet officials and Washington Penn Plastics personnel pose with SHARP plaque.

SHARP, SPP, and Strategic Partnerships: The Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP), Safety Partnership Program (SPP), and Strategic Partnership programs made substantial progress in 2008. SHARP added two new companies — Maker’s Mark Distillery and Washington Penn Plastics — and is working closely with 28 others.

Education and training consultants were extremely busy due to the popularity of services offered by the Division of Education and Training. The division made some procedural changes; mini-assessments were administered to interested companies about SHARP requirements and checklists were provided of things that need to be in place before the actual SHARP survey. The division also streamlined qualification procedures and let employers know what they must accomplish to achieve SHARP status. The changes resulted in a marked increase in SHARP applications.

There are four companies in the three-year Safety Partnership Program, including two that were added in 2008. These companies realize they have accident rates at least twice the national rate for their NAICS and are committed to making serious safety improvements with guidance from SPP staff. While there is a limit to the number of partnerships that can be managed at one time, past performance data show the program works when companies are serious about making safety improvements.

Production work at Maker’s Mark Distillery. Bottles are being hand dipped in red wax and inspected.

The Strategic Partnership with the Kentucky Ready Mix Concrete association has 88 companies involved. Training is provided twice a year for the members at the association’s headquarters; smaller companies in the association tend to use the program more frequently than larger ones.