OSHA Strategic Partnership Program<< Back to Koch Industries

  1. PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT PARTNERS

    The partners to this Partnership Agreement are the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational and Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the following participating companies, collectively called “Koch,” all of which are subsidiaries of Koch Industries, LLC:
    • Koch Business Holdings, LLC
    • Koch Mineral Services, LLC
    • Koch Carbon, LLC
    • Koch Nitrogen Company
    • The C. Reiss Coal Company
  2. DEFINITIONS

    CSHO – Compliance Safety and Health Officer
    EHS – Environmental Health and Safety
    FIRM – OSHA Field Inspection Reference Manual CPL 02-00-102, electronic location at www.osha.gov.
    Onsite Non-enforcement Verification – A formal review by OSHA in a non-enforcement capacity of the partner's worksite with the purpose of assessing the implementation of the OSP agreement. The objective is to provide opportunities to highlight site specific partnership efforts as well as discuss challenges and plans for improvements. Referrals for enforcement inspections would only be made if site management refuses to correct hazards identified during the visit.
    OSP – OSHA Strategic Partnership
    Partnership Management Team (PMT) – Committee formed to manage the partnership, consisting of representatives from both Koch and OSHA
    SGE – Special Government Employee
    VPP –Voluntary Protection Programs
     
  3. BACKGROUND

    In the fall of 2001, Koch Industries, Inc. approached OSHA about expanding its relationship through a Partnership Agreement between certain Koch companies and OSHA. The Partnership Agreement was established in January 2003 and subsequently renewed in March, 2006. This Partnership Agreement facilitates the relationship by communicating the commitment to develop strong EHS management systems and to strive toward workplace safety and health excellence. Koch’s partnership sites, which are identified in the Appendix, allow OSHA to reach out to a diverse industry spectrum and to impact safety and health in a meaningful way. The lessons learned from the partnership site participation will be used to further impact health and safety globally at all Koch company sites.

    This partnership does not cover working conditions with respect to when another Federal Agency has exercised statutory authority to prescribe or enforce standards or regulations affecting occupational safety and health.
     
  4. GOALS
     
    Goal Strategy Measure
    1. Prevent and reduce employee injuries and illnesses
    1. Develop baseline data
    2. Use EHS Management System to develop management practices for various health and safety hazards
    3. Review injury and illness information, identify causal factors, and implement fixes
    • TCIR rates
    • DART rates
    2. Expand awareness of the value of EHS management systems
    1. Identify opportunities for management and staff to participate in site EHS management system implementation
    2. Highlight successes to emphasize value of safety and health
    3. Recognize sites that improve their EHS management systems or develop innovative approaches
    • Number of people attending joint industry/OSHA conferences or meetings
    • Number of employees and managers involved in partnership activities
    • Number of sites recognized
    3. Enhance ergonomic program management
    1. Integrate ergonomic principles into existing EHS management system programs
    2. Establish systems that identify ergonomic risk factors, evaluate and control ergonomic risk, and share best practices in ergonomic program management
    • Number of ergonomic risk factors identified and % addressed or fixed
    • % of JHAs/JSAs with ergonomic controls
    • MSD severity rate
      • B
    4. Improve communication and knowledge sharing between OSHA and Koch
    1. Enhance local relations between OSHA and Koch
    2. Share best practices and lessons learned
    3. Identify at least two case studies that advance the knowledge of the practical implementation and impact of EHS management systems
    4. Attend and network at conferences
    • Number of Partnership Management Team (PMT) and other OSHA-Koch meetings
    • Number of best practices, success stories, lessons learned, and case studies shared
    5. Increase VPP participation
    1. Identify potential VPP sites
    2. Seek mentors for facilitation of VPP application
    3. Use tools such as OSHA Challenge to track sites’ progresses to VPP participation
    4. Increase participation in SGE program
    • EHS management system baseline assessment score
    • Number of sites in VPP
    • Number of Koch company SGEs and # of onsite evaluations done
    • OSHA Challenge tracking scores
    6. Enhance contractor safety
    1. Share and encourage use of information about best practices in EHS management systems (i.e., OSHA e-tools or small business publications) with Koch company contractors
    2. Develop site training for contractors as appropriate
    • % of Koch company contract companies participating in training or sharing best practices in EHS management systems
    • Contractor injury/illness rates at Koch partnership sites

     
  5. PARTNER ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
    Koch and OSHA agree to work in partnership to improve safety and health performance as outlined below.

    Koch agrees to:
    • Identify Koch sites to participate in the partnership.
    • Ensure the continuous improvement of EHS Management Systems and the integration of those systems into the overall business management system.
    • Support the Koch sites in working toward VPP participation.
    • Support Koch employees who participate in the SGE program.
    • Develop site-specific ergonomic guidelines for at least one partnership site based on current risk and leverage appropriate knowledge across other Koch sites.
    • Support an overall workplace culture that values safety and health as part of daily business operations.
    • Continue an internal audit program that consists of EHS compliance and management system reviews, where progress toward achieving EHS goals is verified and improved.
    • Share baseline and measurement data with OSHA annually to allow evaluation of partnership success.
    • Solicit OSHA participation in Koch-sponsored safety and health training events, as resources permit.
    • Host a non-enforcement verification visit with OSHA annually at each partnership site.
    OSHA agrees to:
    • Work cooperatively with Koch to provide safety and health information, training, and training materials as resources allow.
    • Share information on available OSHA training offered through the OSHA Training Institute and other facilities.
    • Ensure that CSHOs are knowledgeable of partnership requirements and objectives, and encourage them to provide assistance as requested by Koch.
    • Establish, at the request of Koch and depending on OSHA resources, an OSHA presence at Koch conferences and professional functions to encourage participation in training and other outreach activities.
    • Establish a cooperative feedback process that will solicit comments and stakeholder feedback from the Partnership Management Team (PMT).
    • Identify an OSHA partnership contact in each region that has a Koch partnership site.
    • Identify a regional ergonomic coordinator for outreach to each partnership site.
    • Facilitate mentoring support between the Koch partnership sites and the Voluntary Protection Programs Participant's Association.
    • Track, analyze, and share information on activities such as current relevant OSHA inspection findings, relevant regulatory interpretations, and current industry statistics.
    • Conduct a non-enforcement verification visit annually at each partnership site.
  6. BENEFITS
    1. OSHA Non-Enforcement Benefits
      1. Outreach, technical assistance, and training (when resources are available)
        1. Onsite and offsite activities such as review of the EHS management system and assistance to develop or improve the system, and guidance in conducting audits and evaluations.
        2. Seminars, workshops, and other speaking events provided to the partnership sites and corporate office.
        3. Informational materials such as safety and health brochures, pamphlets, and electronic tools.
        4. Technical assistance; for example, the OSHA Health Response Team and other technical experts within the Directorate of Science, Technology and Medicine, the Directorate of Construction, and Directorate of Enforcement Programs.
      2. Recognition
        1. OSHA will formally recognize partnership sites for its partnering contributions including but not limited to certificates and press releases, OSHA's website and Limited Access Page, worksite banners, letters, and plaques.
        2. OSHA will recognize and highlight the achievements of partnership sites with exemplary or novel approaches to ergonomics.
    2. OSHA Enforcement Benefits
      1. OSHA will maximize the resolution of complaints received against partnership sites through the use of phone and fax as stipulated in OSHA CPL 02-00-115, Complaint Policies and Procedures.
      2. Citation Issuance
        1. In the event that a citation with penalty is issued to a partnership site, the Regional Administrator (RA) has the authority to negotiate the amount of penalty reduction as part of the informal conference settlement agreement.
        2. When calculating the initial penalty reduction, OSHA may provide an additional 10% reduction for good faith beyond the reductions provided in the FIRM where the employer, in implementing the OSP, has taken specific significant steps beyond those provided in FIRM to implement the Act and achieve a high level of employee protection. This additional reduction will not apply to high gravity serious, willful, failure to abate or repeat citations. In cases where a partner’s total penalty reduction is 100 percent or more, the minimum penalty provisions of the FIRM will apply (see CSP 03-02-002, OSHA Strategic Partnership Program for Worker Safety and Health at XIV.B.1).
      3. OSHA may offer up to a six-month deferral from programmed inspections to participants upon their entry into a partnership. During the deferral period, the Koch partner worksite must commit to making workplace safety and health improvements or seek compliance assistance to improve workplace safety and health in accordance with its responsibilities under the Act.
  7. PARTNERSHIP VERIFICATION
    1. OSHA will conduct annual onsite non-enforcement verification visits at each participating partnership site to assess the site’s progress towards the goals of the Partnership Agreement. If a partnership site attains VPP status, OSHA will only conduct annual off-site verifications for that participating site.
    2. The verification will be tailored to address the resources of the participating OSHA Area Office as well as the activities at the participating site.
    3. In addition to verification of the progress made towards goals, the visit will also verify whether the site is operating an effective EHS management system that adequately protects its employees. The OSHA worksite observations should be sufficient to confirm the partner’s worksite is operating a safety and health management system that adequately ensures the protection of employees.
    4. Participants agree in advance, prior to the onsite verification, that they will correct any serious hazards identified during the visit. If the site management refuses to correct such serious hazards, OSHA will make a referral for an enforcement inspection.
    5. Initial verification visits should be conducted as soon as possible after a participating site has entered into the Partnership Agreement.
  8. PARTNERSHIP ADMINISTRATION
    1. The PMT manages the partnership by determining partnership procedures in addition to tracking, analyzing, and sharing information on partnership activities and results. The PMT will evaluate the effectiveness of the Partnership Agreement on an annual basis and will meet quarterly to discuss agenda items such as:
      • Sharing information on current violations and statistics applicable to Koch or similar industry groups.
      • Clarifying the meaning and application of OSHA standards and policy through relevant interpretations and compliance directives on standards, proposed standards, and violations.
      • Identifying Koch sites with outstanding safety and health excellence.
      • Evaluating data and partnership impact.
    2. The PMT consists of representatives from Koch and OSHA as follows:
      • Three OSHA National and Field Office representatives.
      • Five representatives from Koch.
    3. The PMT operates consistently with OSHA Instruction, CSP 03-02-002, OSHA Strategic Partnership Program for Worker Safety and Health.
  9. ANNUAL PARTNERSHIP EVALUATION

    The partners will prepare a joint evaluation of the partnership annually. The evaluation will review the success of the partnership, lessons learned, and changes that will be made to meet the goals of the partnership. The annual performance evaluation report format from Appendix C of the OSHA Strategic Partnership Program (OSPP) Directive CSP 03-02-002 shall be used. Performance measures listed in Section IV of this Partnership Agreement will be collected and analysed to determine the partnership’s progress toward meeting its goals.
     
  10. EMPLOYER/EMPLOYEE RIGHTS

    This partnership does not preclude employees and/or employers from exercising any right provided under the OSH Act, nor does it abrogate any responsibility to comply with rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the Act.
     
  11. PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT TERMS

    Modifications and amendments of the agreement can be proposed by any signatory and they shall be implemented only upon consensus between Koch and OSHA. The Agreement can be renewed at the end of the three-year term. The Partnership Agreement is non-transferable to non-Koch-controlled entities.
     
  12. FUNDS

    It is not anticipated that any funding will be transferred between OSHA and Koch.
     
  13. TERMINATION

    This agreement will terminate on March 6, 2009, which is three years from the date of the signing. If any signatory of this agreement wishes to terminate their participation prior to the established termination date, written notice of the intent to withdraw must be provided to all other signatories.

    If OSHA chooses to withdraw its participation in the partnership, the entire agreement is terminated.
     
Signature Page


Jonathan L. Snare
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor
U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA

Date:


Randy Lair
Vice President, Aviation
Koch Business Holdings, LLC

Date:


Matt Phillips
Vice President of Operations
Koch Nitrogen Company

Date:


Pat Baldwin
Vice President of Operations
Koch Carbon, LLC
On behalf of:
Koch Minerals Services, LLC
Koch Carbon, LLC
The C. Reiss Coal Company

Date:


Appendix
Koch Company Partnership Sites


Koch Company Work Site Location
Koch Business Holdings, LLC  
   Aviation Hangar Wichita, KS
Koch Mineral Services, LLC  
   Koch Carbon, LLC KCBX Chicago, IL
   Koch Carbon, LLC Corpus Christi, TX
   The C. Reiss Coal Company Green Bay, WI
   Koch Nitrogen Company Enid, OK
   Koch Nitrogen Company Beatrice, NE
   Koch Nitrogen Company Dodge City, KS
   Koch Mineral Services Office Complex Wichita, KS