Partnership Overview:
Supporting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Strategic Plan which identified the nursing home industry as a high-hazard industry, this Partnership addressed two significant hazards at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) Nursing Home Care Unit (NHCU) in Cheyenne, Wyoming by utilizing the best practices in safety and health management and ergonomic program management. The two identified hazards were ergonomic injuries and illnesses due to handling residents and workplace violence injuries related to resident aggression.

Injuries caused by resident lifting and transfers and workplace violence related to resident aggression were identified as two of the primary causes of injuries responsible for high lost time case rates (LTCR) at the VAMC NHCU, representing 85 percent of the total injuries experienced. In Fiscal Year 2000, the Total Case Incidence Rate (TCIR) for the NHCU was 48.1 and the LTCR was 7.4The two main hazards represent 85% of the total case rate for the NHCU. At the time of signing, a comprehensive ergonomics program involving program elements such as job hazards analyses and controls, reporting and managing of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), and usage of light duty or restricted jobs was not been fully implemented. Therefore, this Partnership intended to address these program deficiencies in order to identify and eliminate or significantly reduce the stressors contributing to ergonomic injuries and illnesses related to resident transfers. The Department of Veteran Affairs intended to apply the lessons learned through this Partnership to the other nursing homes it operated in the states of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.

Also, this Partnership furthered the goals of the Federal Worker 2000 Initiative to reduce injuries and illnesses in the Federal sector.

Partners:

• American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1014, Cheyenne, Wyoming
• Department of Veterans Affairs, Cheyenne Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, Cheyenne, Wyoming
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 415, Cheyenne, Wyoming
• Veterans' Affairs Rocky Mountain Network/Veterans Integrated Service Network, Glendale, Colorado

Partnership Goals:

• Reduce the TCIR by 5% per year
• Reduce the LTCR by 10% per year
• Reduce the rate of lost production days by 2% per year
• Implement OSHA's Framework for a Comprehensive Safety and Health Program for Nursing Homes
• Reduce workers' compensation costs by 2% per year

Partnership Objectives:
The overall goal of this Program is to decrease workplace hazards by focusing on injuries related to patient handling and resident aggression in the NHCU through the implementation of a comprehensive safety and health program. NHCU will implement an effective safety and health program in accordance with OSHA's Framework for a Comprehensive Safety and Health Program in Nursing Homes. The program will incorporate major program elements of management commitment, employee involvement, worksite analysis, hazard prevention and control, medical management, training/education and evaluation.

NHCU also agreed to implement an ergonomic program by conducting an ergonomics evaluation of the jobs in the nursing home care unit identified to have ergonomic injuries and illnesses resulting from patient transfers and also by evaluating engineering and administrative controls.

Partnership Results:
VMAC's TCIR rate decreased from the baseline of 15.4 in 2002 to 7.7 at the end of the Partnership, thus meeting the goal of reducing the TCIR by 5% per year.

OSHA conducted training at the initiation of the Partnership for those employees identified by the VAMC NHCU as core participants in their safety and health program/committee. Training included instructions on completing and using the Form 33 self-assessment tool and safety and health program elements as found in “OSHA's Framework for a Comprehensive Safety and Health Program for Nursing Homes”. Training on OSHA Recordkeeping was also provided to both safety and health managers with the VAMC during the course of the Partnership. Also, the VAMC provided training to its staff regarding their Violent Behavior Prevention Program and mentored other satellite VA clinics within the Rocky Mountain Network on workplace violence, bloodborne pathogen/safer needle device compliance, and safety and health program management.

VAMC reviewed and updated as necessary its ergonomics, workplace violence and infection and exposure control policies through the conducting of two self-assessments using the OSHA Form 33 tool. The VAMC installed the OSHA Nursing Home eCAT on their server and distributed the software to the other nursing homes participating in the VA Community Placement program. The Department of Veterans' Affairs audited their injury/illness records on an annual basis to verify accuracy.

Partnership Overview:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Homebuilders Association of Metro Denver (HBA) entered into a Partnership to offer incentives to homebuilders in the seven-county Denver metro area to meet or exceed OSHA standards and protect workers. Homebuilders who participated in the Partnership committed to ensuring that residential construction safety and health core elements are implemented in all phases of construction.

The Partnership committed to ensure that every employer in the residential construction industry is provided safety material and educational opportunities to ensure the safety of their employees. Towards that end, the HomeSafe Ten-Point List: A Guide to Safe Work Practices was utilized by all participating employers to identify and abate hazards when present, as well as prevent hazards by educating their employees on proper safety procedures. OSHA and HBA also agreed to continuously improve the guide as needed, with special focuses on health hazards in construction and on topic areas not covered affecting specialty contractors.

Partnership Goals:

• To reduce by at least 3% per year the Total Case Incidence Rate among Master Builders and all their subcontractors
• To maintain the Lost Work Day Injury and Illness (LWDII) rate of each Master Builder below the national average for the builder's 3-digit SIC, and to maintain the weighted average rate for all Master Builders by at least 10% below the corresponding national average
• To document continued improvement in HomeSafe II Partners' Audit scores, both on an individual and a program-wide average basis
• To demonstrate a continued increase in the percentage of the Master Builders' supervisors and subcontractors who have received appropriate safety training, in both Spanish and English
• To demonstrate a continued decrease in the frequency of unprogrammed OSHA inspections among Master Builders, along with a decrease in the frequency of serious hazards found during unprogrammed or verification inspections
• To develop a new 20-hour extended course on safety and health in residential construction and to encourage all supervisors to attend

Partnership Results:
The companies participating in this Partnership conducted 5,831 new employee orientations, 7,268 tailgate meetings, and have sent 211 people through the OSHA 10-hour construction course.

Additionally, the baseline TCIR for the Partnership was 5.7. At the Partnership's completion, the rate decreased 39 percent to 3.5, which is 34 percent below the 2003 BLS national average (5.3) for the industry.

The Partnership has became a tool for both builders and sub-contractors alike to ensure safety is being enforced and interpreted in a consistent manner from job to job and builder to builder. To ensure that the same message is being presented consistently, builders share the responsibility of presenting information during the 10-hour OSHA training sessions, and routinely a contractor will provide on-site training for other contractors.

Through this Partnership, a committee was developed to inspect the job sites of provisional and master Builders. The Partnership created an open line of communication where best practices can be shared and implemented. With these tools in place, the jobsites are safer places for employees to work.

The collaborative effort of this partnership was continued with another Partnership agreement: #433: Colorado HomeSafe.

Partnership Overview:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and National Park Service (NPS) - Yellowstone National Park (Park) entered into this Partnership to address the significant increase in recordable musculoskeletal disorder (MSDs) injuries.

Under the Partnership, OSHA agreed to provide assistance to help the Park identify ergonomic hazards and develop abatement methods through training. With assistance from OSHA, the Park agreed to develop an ergonomics program that includes continuing worksite analysis, employee education and awareness, establishing baseline data, assigning responsibility and accountability to managers and employees, and provide for annual assessments of program elements.

Partners:

• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 322, Casper, Wyoming
• Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Partnership Goals:

• Provide safety and health training for all Park employees on the recognition and avoidance of ergonomic hazards specific to their work assignments
• Identify and correct the primary causal factors of MSDs to Park employees
• Reduce total cases for ergonomic injuries by 10 percent for each year of the Partnership

Partnership Results:
The Park was able to reduce the total number of OSHA recordable's by almost 26 percent, with a 24 percent total reduction of ergonomic-related injuries.

In addition to its focus on ergonomic-related hazards with this Partnership, the Park worked to improve its overall safety and health. As a result, they achieved Merit status in OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs in August 2004 and became the first National Park to achieve this status.

Partnership Overview:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) entered into a Partnership with Mortenson/Civil Technology (MCT) covering the construction activity at the Sta-Safe II project. The project covered the Stapleton Redevelopment Infrastructure Development for Filing 12, a part of the transformation of the Stapleton International Airport located in Denver, Colorado into a network of ‘urban villages, employment centers, and open spaces' calling for redevelopment of homes, apartments, retail and corporate centers. Construction activity at this project included site grading, trenching, excavating, utility installation, road and bridge construction, and landscaping.

With this Partnership, MCT agreed to implement a comprehensive safety and health program at the site, including a uniform 6-foot fall protection rule, a substance abuse testing program, 100% eye protection, and a commitment not to exceed any threshold limit values or permissible exposure levels as established by OSHA, whichever is lower. MCT was to ensure that all prime contractors and their subcontractors followed its safety and health program, unless they already had a substantially equivalent written program. Also, it was agreed that 100% of all supervisors was to have completed at least 10-15 hours of safety and health training before the completion of the project.

Additional agreed upon safety and health program elements included the formation of a site safety and health committee comprised of employees of MCT and a representative subset of prime contractors and their subcontractors to assist in identifying and correcting hazards found, conducting daily worksite audits and weekly safety meetings, ensuring employee representation as appropriate, and conducting pre-task safety planning meetings prior to the start of the project and daily when tasks are to be performed with discussions on likely hazards and their abatement or control.

Partnership Goals:

• Prevent the occurrence of incidents resulting in lost workdays cases, excluding restricted duty cases, with zero tolerance for any work related injury or illness
• Maintain a Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate at least 10% below the corresponding Bureau Labor Statistics (BLS) average for its Standard Industry Code (SIC), and strive towards the goal of a zero DART
• Maintain or reduce at the end of every six-month period the total project recordable injury rate
• Provide narrative reports on all significant incidents, “near misses,” saves, etc., detailing corrective action taken
• Have no serious violations during any OSHA inspections
• Implement a comprehensive safety and health program for the site which will meet or exceed the criteria developed in the site-specific project safety and health program, the 1989 OSHA Safety and Health Program Guidelines, or other applicable guidelines

Partnership Results:
The partnership leveraged resources because OSHA's participation resulted in a stronger site Safety and Health Program, not just at Filing 12, but for all of the Stapleton Development. With OSHA's involvement, M.A. Mortenson required mandatory cooperation with the site safety program. As a result, the site experienced improved participation with the on-site training, the self inspection program, the near miss and accident investigations, and the pre-dig meetings. In addition, a stronger contractor disciplinary policy was enforced. Safety was integrated into operations on a regular basis.

First, improvements were made to the site's safety and health management system including the implementation of a new pre-dig procedure whereby a contractor representative was required to meet with the representative at the local site to review as-built drawings prior to application for a Dig Permit from the site Safety Office; requiring Pre-task safety planning meetings prior to start of any work; investigating all near-misses with detailed corrective actions; testing employees for substance abuse; employee involvement in self-inspections; and enforcing a disciplinary program where employees would be dismissed after two strikes.

For the duration of the partnership, MCT did not experience a single incident giving the project a 0.0 Total Case Incidence Rate.

Partnership Overview:
In recent years prior to the signing of the Partnership Agreement, the Crow/Northern Cheyenne, Indian Health Service (IHS) Hospital (Hospital) experienced a high number of employee injuries. Recognizing this, the Hospital entered into a Partnership with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to receive assistance in improving its accident and injury rates, improving its employee safety and health programs, and reducing the numbers and types of employee injuries. As 66% of the recordable injuries at the Hospital involved the use of needles, lancets, and scalpels, this Partnership had a special focus on reducing the number of bloodborne pathogen related injuries.

With this Partnership, the Hospital was to utilize the services of the IHS Regional Office in Billings, Montana for guidance in establishing and implementing an effective and comprehensive safety and health program that is to continuously evaluate and implement bloodborne-related engineering controls, establish a safety and health policy statement developed by the Hospital Administrator and implementing a 2-year strategic action plan to meet the standards with the progress assessed through an annual self-evaluation. Also, the Hospital agreed to commit to having its staff attend bloodborne pathogens safety and health awareness training provided by OSHA.

Participating Facility:

• Crow/Northern Cheyenne Indian Health Service Hospital, Crow Agency, Montana

Partnership Goals:

• Establish a Safety and Health program at Crow/Northern Cheyenne, IHS Hospital to meet the Risk Management Program Elements addressed in the Occupational Safety and Health Act Section 19 and Section 24
• Reduce the number of OSHA recordable needle stick injuries and blood borne related incidents by 10% for each year of this agreement
• Increase the Hospital employees' awareness of safe blood borne workplace practices

Partnership Results:
At the end of the partnership, the Hospital's Total Case Incidence Rate and Days Away, Restricted or Transferred rate were 85% below and 73% below, respectively, its industry's averages and met the goals set toward reducing the number of OSHA recordable needle stick injuries and increase the Hospital employee's awareness of safe blood borne workplace practices.

During the Partnership, training sessions were conducted. Additionally, the Hospital implemented improvements to their electronic data reporting/recording system, in terms of training personnel in the proper use and methods of inputting information. With this Partnership, the Hospital's safety and health manager conducted internal audits of the facility on a regular basis and provided feedback to employees and management. The Hospital staff received assistance in conducting safer needle device training and evaluations.

Partnership Overview:
In past years, the National Park Service (NPS) experienced the highest employee injury and illness rates of all Department of Interior (DOI) bureaus. Recognizing this problem, the NPS approached the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for assistance in improving its safety and health programs at establishments with high Lost Time Case Rates (LTCR). As a result, Grand Teton National Park (Park) and OSHA enter into this Agreement to work in partnership to improve employee safety and health at the Park.

With assistance from OSHA, the Park agreed to develop a comprehensive and effective safety and health program incorporating the elements of employee involvement, root-cause investigations, medical surveillance, self-inspections, and job safety analyses. Also, under this Partnership, OSHA agreed to help identify programmatic needs at the park site by reviewing the Safety and Health Program and providing assistance in implementing the program; help identify the primary causal factors in injuries and illnesses, in particular the three top hazards at this site, and develop countermeasures for correcting those hazards; provide access to training resources; and provide technical assistance as needed including abatement, equipment loans, and air monitoring assistance.

Participating Facility:

• Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Partnership Goals:

• Develop and implement an effective comprehensive safety and health program in accordance with 29 CFR Part 1960 B Basic Program Elements for Federal Employee Occupational Safety and Health Programs
• Reduce the total case rates for the Park by 3% per year
• Reduce the LTCR for the park by 10% per year
• Reduce the number of worker compensation claims
• Identify and correct the primary causal factors in employee injuries and illnesses, in particular those behind the three top causes of injuries and illnesses
• Improve employee productivity and quality of life by providing safe and healthful occupational environments

Partnership Results:
Throughout the duration of the Partnership, the Park decreased its recordable cases and averaged 19 cases, 60% less than the baseline of 32 established at the start of the Partnership. Also, the Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) rate reduced by 31%, from 3.9 in 2001 to 2.7 at the end of the Partnership.

In its final evaluation, it was noted that over the course of this Partnership, the overall attitudes of the employees have changed for the better. The employees and managers have made great strides in improving their communications. Top management made increased strides and the willingness to be more available to the employees. In turn the employees are now more involved and more accountable toward safety in their day to day activities. The employees, at all levels, are more apt to report safety and health issues to their supervisors without fear of reprisal.

Partnership Overview:
In past years, the National Park Service (NPS) experienced the highest employee injury and illness rates of all Department of Interior (DOI) bureaus. Recognizing this problem, the NPS approached the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for assistance in improving its safety and health programs at establishments with high Lost Time Case Rates (LTCR). As a result, Glacier National Park (Park) and OSHA enter into this Agreement to work in partnership to improve employee safety and health at the Park.

With assistance from OSHA, the Park agreed to develop a comprehensive and effective safety and health program incorporating the elements of employee involvement, root-cause investigations, medical surveillance, self-inspections, and job safety analyses. Also, under this Partnership, OSHA agreed to help identify programmatic needs at the park site by reviewing the Safety and Health Program and providing assistance in implementing the program; provide safety and health awareness training; provide abatement assistance for the unique hazards in the Park; and provide safety and health assistance as needed.

Participating Facility:

• Glacier National Park, Montana

Partnership Goals:

• Establish a Safety and Health program at Glacier National Park that will meet the Risk Management Program Elements addressed in the NPS Directors Order 50B
• Reduce the number of OSHA recordable employee injuries within the park by 10% for each year of the Partnership
• Reduce the number of OSHA lost time injuries within the park by 10% for each year of the Partnership
• Provide safety and health training to all employees in the recognition and avoidance of safety and health hazards specific to the work being done at Glacier National Park

Partnership Results:
Since the original signing of this partnership, the number of injuries declined. Compared with the baselines, the TCIR and DART rates reduced 38% and 50% respectively. The Park is now showing increased awareness of hazards due to associated in-house inspection activity under the direction of the management teams and the safety and health departments' visibility and accessibility.

As a result of this partnership, management changes have been made. The safety department was redesigned and the current Safety Manager was promoted to an actual management position with all authority and the responsibility of sitting on the Park's Management Team. This provided the safety department with more input and oversight on the Parks' daily operations. Also, the Park created a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist position to assist in the Safety Program Management and promoted the existing safety departments' assistant.

Employee involvement has also improved. Employees and first line supervisors are becoming more involved in the park wide safety and health issues. The safety culture among all staff members is showing a positive improvement. New employees and seasonal employees are all required to attend at least an 8 hour orientation class plus hands-on training by their immediate supervisors

Partnership Overview:
On April 30, 2006, the ergonomic focused Partnership Agreement between Yellowstone National Park (Park) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) expired. Ergonomic related lost time injuries in the park were reduced to the lowest level in five years and the injury incident rate declined by 40%. As a result of that success both the Park and OSHA believe a new Partnership should be implemented with a focus on reducing slip, trip, and fall hazards and associated injuries throughout the Park as such hazards have been the top cause of employee injuries resulting in higher financial obligations and increased lost time reportable cases.

In 2004, the Park entered into the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) at the Merit level. As the Park's continuing efforts to improve its safety and health programs, culture, and management leadership this partnership is a positive step toward maintaining their VPP status and achieving the Star level. Therefore, OSHA and the Park agree to work in partnership to improve the safety and health throughout the Park by raising the employees' awareness of hazards and associated injuries related to slips, trips, and falls.

Participating Facility:

• Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Partnership Goal:
The overall goal of this Partnership is to reduce the number of injuries to Park employees related to slips, trips, and falls by 20% during the life of this Partnership in the following areas of the Park: parking lots, back country trails and work sites, Park wide employee-involved construction sites, and access and egress on mobile equipment such as loaders and dump trucks.

Partnership Results:
To meet its goal, the Partnership initially conducted an assessment in the specified areas to identify potential hazards. The identified hazards were then documented for future awareness and outreach sessions with employees. To ensure the Partnership was on track, quarterly non-enforcement site visits were performed and injury and illness rates were tracked on an annual basis.

As a result of this partnership, Yellowstone National Park now continuously reviews their written safety and health management systems. In addition, employee involvement has increased significantly. Employees and the park safety and health committee often are involved in updates and feel free to recommend changes to programs along with providing input from the Park Safety Department. All safety and health management systems are reviewed and signed off by the Park Superintendent.

The park has made improvements toward documenting in-house safety and health audits as regular inspections are now occurring at the National Park. The Park Safety and Health Manager now conducts periodic safety inspections in various shops and buildings throughout the Park. Actual work operations are being observed and as necessary safer work conditions and operations are immediately corrected. All employees have opportunities to conduct work place observations. Departmental supervisors are now tasked with conducting safety and health audits of their respective areas. All hazards identified by these audits are required to be addressed as needed and abated as soon as possible. Employees along with managers are an integral part of these self-inspections.

Injury and illness rates have declined over the duration of the partnership as a result of enhancements made to the Park's safety and health management systems. Prior to the start of the partnership, the Total Case Incidence Rate (TCIR) and Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate were 9.4 and 3.3 respectively. At its conclusion, the TCIR and DART rate declined 41 percent and 9 percent to 5.5 and 3.0 respectively.

Partnership Overview:
Holder Construction Company (Holder) and the Denver Area Office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mutually recognized the importance of providing safe and healthful work environments for employees engaged in the construction industry. Therefore Holder and OSHA entered into a Partnership Agreement covering the construction activity at the project located at 1515 Wynkoop Street in Denver, Colorado. The project consisted of the construction of a $58 million, 390,000 square foot commercial office building. Approximately 12 subcontractors with 400 employees worked at the site throughout the duration of the project.

With this Partnership, Holder agreed to require all of its contractors and subcontractors to implement written safety and health programs with proactive measures for the common hazards found at construction sites using best practices and appropriate personal protective equipment along with the necessary engineering and administrative controls. To ensure the appropriate implementation of the safety and health programs, Holder agreed to conduct monthly comprehensive site audits and daily site walk throughs. To reinforce the importance of safety and health awareness, Holder agreed to conduct site orientation training, weekly toolbox safety meetings and provide 10 and 30 hour OSHA training courses as necessary.

Partnership Goals:

• Maintaining the aggregate site Days Away, Restricted or Transferred rate for all subcontractors at least 10% below the national average for NAICS 238 for the duration of the project
• Maintaining Holder's site DART rate at least 20% below the national average NAICS 236220 for the duration of the project
• Ensuring that all project supervisors receive at least 10 hours of safety and health training
• Ensuring that all site workers receive at least 2 hours of safety and health training on the four major construction hazards, including, electrical, falls, struck-by (including work zone safety issues) and caught in/between
• Identify and prevent the most common causes of workplace injuries and illnesses in the construction industry, included but not limited to: falls, electrical safety, struck-by (including work zone safety issues), caught in/between, silica, cranes and noise
• Identify work operations where employees may have exposure to hexavalent chromium, especially welding operations on stainless steel (or other coated materials which may contain hexavalent chromium) and application of coatings containing hexavalent chromium
• Ensuring that one hundred percent (100%) of contractors and subcontractors to have comprehensive written safety and health management systems

Partnership Results:
The 17 month long construction project concluded on March 1, 2009 with Total Case Incidence Rate and DART rate of 3.8 and 2.5 respectively. Both rates are below the Bureau of Labor Statistics Industry Averages for the Construction industry.

To improve Holder's management of contractors working on the Project, it did the following: Site-entry orientation; Pre-planning for cranes on site (police presence); Near miss investigations (4); Zero tolerance substance abuse policy; Progressive disciplinary policy based on the severity of violation; an open door policy with daily safety meetings to allow for greater employee involvement; weekly subcontractor meetings; hexavalent chromium awareness training; and sharing pre-task information with its contractors on various safety issues such as hazards, hazards abated, and general concerns

Partnership Overview:
Home Builders Association of Metro Denver (HBA) supported Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) efforts to reduce and/or eliminate hazards and recognized the value of exerting leadership by bringing their respective skills to bear in a cooperative, focused and voluntary effort to ensure a safe and healthful environment for all personnel at Home Safe Master Builder construction sites. Towards that end, the Home Safe Colorado Ten-Point List: A Guide to Safe Work Practices was utilized by all Home Safe Colorado partners to identify and abate hazards when they are present, as well as prevent hazards by educating workers on proper safety procedures.

This Partnership expanded OSHA's reach into the construction industry by mutual agreement with HBA to facilitate the goal of reducing occupational-related fatalities and serious injuries in the residential construction industry. The scope of this Partnership was limited to Home Safe Master Builder projects in the state of Colorado.

Participating Facilities:

• D&R Framing, Centennial, Colorado
• Richmond American Homes, Denver, Colorado
• Shea Homes, Littleton, Colorado
• Village Homes of Colorado, Fort Collins, Colorado

Partnership Goals:

• Maintain Total Case Incident rates and Days Away, Restricted or Transferred rates for each Master Builder below the national average for the builder's 3-digit SIC, and to maintain the combined weighted average rate for all Master Builders substantially (at least 10%) below the corresponding national average
• Document improvement in Home Safe Colorado Partners' Audit scores, both on an individual and a program-wide average basis
• Demonstrate an increase in the percentage of the Master Builders' supervisors and subcontractors who have received appropriate safety training
• Demonstrate a decrease in the frequency of unprogrammed OSHA inspections among Master Builders, along with a decrease in the frequency of serious hazards found during unprogrammed or verification inspections

Partnership Objectives:
To meet its goals, the Partnership intended to achieve the following objectives:

• Improve and promote worker safety and health at Home Safe Colorado member projects through training, audits, and enforcement
• Cooperatively address issues of concern related to safety and health within the residential homebuilding industry
• Update the Home Safe 10 point booklet as needed to address trends of occupational-related injuries
• Immediately correct all hazards, acts or conditions when observed or given notification of such hazards
• Ensure employee involvement in the day-to-day implementation of work site safety and health programs
• Enforce a policy of non-discrimination against any employee who engages in safety and/or health activities, and encouraging employees to exercise their rights to raise safety and/or health concerns without fear of reprisal

Partnership Results:
This Partnership impacted 30 employers and over 2,800 employees. During the third year of this partnership (September 2007-2008), 520 self-inspections were performed and 1200 hazards were abated. A total of 27 training sessions were held with a total of over 2,800 employees attending with 178 people attending a 10-hour course.

There were four Master Builders with effective safety and health management systems implemented that meet or exceed the 1989 Guidelines. Also, 17 companies were in the process of improving their programs and processes while attempting to reach Master Builder status.

Each Master Builder continued to maintain TCIR and DART below the national averages for their NAICS. The weighted average was 53% below the national average (5.1). Between October 2004 and September 2008, there have been 282 inspections in NAIS 236115 and out of those inspections; only 1 inspection was for a Master Builders site.

At its conclusion, OSHA wrote a Success Story documenting the positive impact made by the Partnership.

Partnership Overview:
This Partnership recognizes the importance of providing a safe and healthful work environment in the renewable energy industry. The Montana Renewable Energy Association (MREA) is a nonprofit corporation with 28 members and associates, referred to as Participating Members, supporting the development of renewable energy throughout Montana. The MREA is attempting to foster a safer working environment for themselves and their member companies and at the time of signing, five members were actively participating in the Partnership. At the end of the Partnership's second year, 15 member companies are currently participating.

Participating Facilities:

• Big Sky Solar And Wind Of Montana, Missoula, Montana
• Big Sky Solar Express, Billings, Montana
• Capital Communications Phanes Solar, Helena, Montana
• H & H Enterprises of Montana, Inc., Billings, Montana
• In-Solar, Helena, Montana
• Independent Power Systems, Bozeman, Montana
• Oasis Montana, Stevensville, Montana
• Planetary Systems, Inc., Ennis, Montana
• Remote Power Systems, Stevensville, Montana
• Solar Montana LLC, Helena, Montana
• Solar Plexus, Missoula, Montana
• Sundance Solar Systems, Red Lodge, Montana
• Sunelco, Victor, Montana

Partnership Goals:

• Reduce the number of injuries and illnesses annually per MREA Participating Member
• Increase the number of Participating Members with effective written safety and health programs
• Increase the number of Participating Members' employees awareness in safety and health hazards associated with the four major hazards of construction; falls, electrical, caught between, and crushed by

Partnership Objectives:
The purpose of the partnership was to prevent the four major hazards (falls, electrical, caught in/between and struck-by hazards) that account for the majority of fatalities and injuries in the construction industry. This partnership focused on improving the safety and health programs of the MREA and their Participating Member companies and strive to eliminate hazards in the targeted areas. The specific goals of this agreement included decreasing the injury/illness rates of the Participating Member companies: increasing the implementation of comprehensive safety programs; increasing the level of safety and health training and its availability for workers and additionally decreasing worker's compensation costs for participants.

Partnership Results:
After two years, the impact of this OSP has been immediate, producing several tangible results: the participating member companies now are changing the ways they approach their particular jobs and work activities; employees are more aware of safety and health hazards and are taking steps toward reporting and abating the hazards; and the five participating companies reported no injuries during 2009.

With the goal of improving the SHMS of its members, MREA worked with five participating members to start the process of writing safety and health management systems for their companies. Also, the Partnership assisted several Partners in the development of job safety analyses. In the second year of the OSP, the focus was on integrating renewable energy installations with electrical contractors in Montana and MREA provided training opportunities for electrical contractors, electricians, and apprentices. MREA held four training days for its renewable energy installers covering a variety of topics including: Basic Renewable Energy Safety, Construction Electrical Safety, and Utility Electrical Safety among others.

Finally, the OSP, in conjunction with the safety department of an utility company, provided outreach training to several educational institutions in 2009. These included college and high school students with interests in renewable technologies. Students were also given the opportunity to be included in Partnership training and other activities at no cost. A number of students showed interest and are actively attending workshops.

Partnership Overview:
By entering this OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP) for the Northern Hotel Restoration Project, Zoot Construction Company and the Billings Area Office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mutually recognized the importance of providing a safe and healthful work environment for employees engaged in the construction industry.

Zoot Construction Company is a General Contractor which was responsible for the restoration project. The 10 story project involved approximately 10 subcontractors with 50 to 80 employees working at the site throughout the duration of the project. All contractors and their subcontractors that worked on this project were considered partners under this agreement.

Participating Facility:

• Zoot Construction Company, Bozeman, Montana

Partnership Goals:

• Maintain the Project's Days Away, Job Restricted or Transferred Activity rate (DART) at least 15% below the national average for SIC code 1542 (NAICS 236220) for the duration of the project
• Maintain the site's DART rate for all subcontractors at least 10% below the national average for their particular SIC code
• Ensure that all project supervisors receive at least ten hours of safety and health training
• Ensure that all site workers receive at least two hours of safety and health training on the four major construction hazards, including, electrical, falls, struck-by (including work zone safety issues) and caught in/between
• Identify and prevent the most common causes of workplace injuries and illnesses in the construction industry, including but not limited to: falls, electrical safety, struck-by (including work zone safety issues), caught in/between, Silica, cranes and noise

Partnership Objectives:
The OSP required all contractors to have written safety and health programs. The programs, at a minimum, included proactive measures to identify common hazards, usage of best practices, and ensure that all necessary controls (engineering, administrative, and personal protection equipment) were provided at the construction site. The program also included training and regular comprehensive site audits.

Partnership Results:
During the first year of the OSP, Zoot Construction Company (Zoot) implemented elements of a safety and health management system (SHMS) including a construction safety plan, industrial hygiene monitoring for airborne lead and nuisance dust, weekly safety meetings, regular safety walk-throughs, and an employee training plan. Zoot's employees attended training on a variety of topics including elevator operating, glass window removal, fall protection, personal protection equipment, and evacuation planning in addition to the OSHA 10 hour course. Zoot also received assistance from OSHA and third-party experts (Cincinnati & 1st West Insurance) including interpretation of OSHA standards on crane operations over power lines, material hoist standards, airborne lead, and nuisance dust. Also, asbestos abatement assistance was provided by the Montana Department of Environment.

Despite the training and assistance provided, the construction project experienced a TCIR rate substantially above its respective Bureau of Labor Statistics industry average for NAICS 236220. The number of injuries was attributed to the use of steel studs during the installation process. In response, Zoot developed and implemented a new safety policy for working with steel studs for the remainder of the project. Also, OSHA recommended that the site be managed more closely with stricter and more visible management oversight.

Partnership Overview:
The National Park Service experienced high employee injury and illness rates of all Department of Interior bureaus. Recognizing this problem, the Glacier National Park approached the Billings Area Office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) asking for assistance in improving their employee safety and health management systems (SHMS) and reducing employee injury and illness rates. In 2003, the Glacier National Park and the Billings Area Office entered into a five year OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP) to improve its SHMS and reduce employee injuries. In 2003, the total case incidence rate (TCIR) was 13.0 and the Days Away, Restricted or Transferred rate (DART) was 5.1. At the conclusion of the original 5-year OSP, the park reduced both its TCIR by 39 percent to 8.0 and its DART to 2.5, a decrease of 49 percent.

Partnership Goals:

• Reduce the number of OSHA recordable employee injuries within the park by 15% for each year of the Partnership
• Establish an effective safety and health management system that meets the Risk Management Program Elements addressed in the Director's Order #50B: Occupational Safety and Health Program

Partnership Objectives:
During the OSP, Glacier National Park implemented a 3-year strategic action plan to meet the standards and assess the progress through an annual self-evaluation and commit to having Park employees and supervisors attended training provided by OSHA. It also ensured that Park supervisors and the Park Safety Department conduct safety audits with employee participation and abate all identified hazards.

2010 Partnership Results:
In 2010, the Glacier National Park built on the progress made during the previous year. The park developed a safety strategic plan addressing specific mandatory goals and actions to reduce employee injuries and increase employee safety awareness. Steps taken as part of the strategic plan as described below resulted in significant reductions to the Park's injury and illness rates as compared to the previous year's rates. The Total Case Incidence Rate (TCIR) reduced by 66 percent to 3.1 from 9.2 in 2009, which is now 31 percent below the BLS National Average for NAICS 712190. Also, the Days Away, Job Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate reduced by 57 percent to 1.2 from 2.8 in 2009, which is also 50 percent below the BLS National average.

To strengthen its safety and health management system, the Safety Office brought on a new seasonal employee who was specifically hired to conduct annual facility safety and health inspections in effort to improve inspection compliance requirements by OSHA and DO 50B, and to enhance safety awareness. As a result of this added position, the park experienced an 81.6% increase in the number of inspections conducted as compared to 2009. Inspections conducted include monthly safety walk-arounds by the Park management team with all hazards documented in the park's intranet Work Order System.

During the year, the Park took numerous steps to enhance its SHMS including revisions to its chainsaw training and operating procedures, implementation of a respirator program, drafting of an excavation program, implemented a lead program among other actions. In addition to completing facility safety inspections, the Safety Office processed safety work orders which were placed into a tracking system for coordinating with Facility Management on prioritizing responses, provided guidance to supervisors and employees for completing job hazard analyses, and maintained up-to-date injury/accident reporting data in the NPS Safety Management Information System (SMIS).

Training is considered an integral part of park operations, and the Park Safety Manager conducts various types of safety and health training to shops, departments, and over 150 permanent, seasonal employees and volunteer employees to meet mandated OSHA and requested training. Worksite specific training is provided to seasonal and volunteer employees upon completion of mandated all employee OSHA training and Employee Orientation by their immediate supervisor and/or shop foreman. The safety training courses covered a wide variety of topics including confined space entry and rescue, ergonomics, job hazard analysis application and development, 24 hour HAZWOPER training, hearing conservation, and fall protection and rescue.

OSHA provided assistance including conducting a required Lead & Asbestos Awareness training for employees, participated in walk-around site visits and provided compliance assistance when necessary, attended the all-employee OSHA training session and facility management quarterly safety training meetings. Also, staff from the local OSHA area office provided the compliance assistance on a contractor excavation project.

Both employees and management have had an increased awareness of safety and health in this park, mainly due to the increased availability of the safety department and the visibility of the Park Superintendent and the Park Deputy Superintendent and added assistance from their regional safety and health management team. The safety department has shown an increase in their availability and visibility to all park employees.