I. Purpose and Scope
E.D. Swett, Inc., the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, Consultation Program and
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States Department of Labor (OSHA)
Concord Area Office (CAO) mutually recognize the importance of ensuring a safe and healthful work
environment in the construction industry in the state of New Hampshire. To advance this mutual goal,
the OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP) Program has been established to formalize a cooperative effort
between these entities committed to encouraging companies to improve their safety and health
performance voluntarily, providing methods to assist them in their efforts, and recognizing
companies with exemplary safety and health programs.
This partnering agreement, which has been developed for the Granite Street Bridge Project on Granite
Street, in Manchester, New Hampshire, will be limited to E.D. Swett, Inc. and associated project
employers who have agreed to participate. E.D. Swett, Inc. will request specialty or trade
contractors to join the partnership when they start working on the site. The partnership will
provide benefits to E.D. Swett, Inc. and the specialty or trade contractors, which include, among
others, special recognition from OSHA and priority in compliance assistance programs.
The E.D. Swett, Inc. project consists of the rebuilding of the Granite Street Bridge. It is
anticipated that at the peak of the project, E.D Swett, Inc. and its approximately 10 subcontractors
will employ approximately 25 trade employees on this project.
E.D. Swett, Inc. retains all rights guaranteed under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA
Act), including the right to appeal or contest citations issued by OSHA.
II. Partners
The following are identified as partners:
- U.S. Department of Labor-OSHA, Concord Area Office
- E.D. Swett, Inc.
- Specialty or Trade contractors working at the site
- New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, Consultation Program
III. Goals / Strategies
The goals of this SPP are to:
- Reduce by five percent annually the number of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities affecting
participating employers, with an emphasis on reducing injuries and fatalities resulting from falls,
struck-by, caught-in/between, and electrocution hazards and trenching.
- Decrease worker compensation costs and the number of OSHA citations for this project within CAO’s
jurisdiction.
- Allow OSHA to focus resources on companies that require attention from OSHA, rather than
companies that have demonstrated existence of effective safety programs.
- Make safety and health resources available to E.D. Swett, Inc. and its subcontractors onsite, as
resources allow.
- It is anticipated that with minimal use of OSHA resources, this SPP will result in improved
safety and health programs, a higher level of employee safety and health training, and as a
secondary benefit, improved job site safety and health program commitments by other specialty or
trade contractors working with/for the SPP participants.
- Foster open and continued communication between the partners.
- Share knowledge of the best practices.
- Offer support by the partners for contractors and compliance officers’ training. E.D. Swett, Inc.
will establish a training goal for each year of participation in the partnership.
To achieve those goals, E.D. Swett, Inc. will use the following strategies:
- Develop and implement a comprehensive safety and health program that adheres to, or exceeds, both
the OSHA Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines. The comprehensive written safety and
health program will, at a minimum:
- Include employee involvement.
- Include effective employee training for avoidance of hazards specific to the company's worksite.
- Provide all E.D.Swett, Inc. construction site supervisors and foremen with training equivalent to
OSHA's 10-hour construction safety course so that they will be able to recognize work hazards and
have the authority to take prompt corrective action. Training curriculum equivalent to the OSHA
10-hour course will be deemed satisfactory.
- Require comprehensive fall protection for all activities above six feet.
- Require all specialty or trade contractors’ onsite to work toward implementing a "zero tolerance"
safety practice in order to help achieve the desired reduction of worksite incidents. Each specialty
or trade contractor will have at least one foreman or supervisor onsite who has received training
equivalent to OSHA’s 10-hour construction safety course.
- Designate a competent person at the worksite.
- Conduct and document weekly safety training at the worksite.
- Compile injury and illness data on a quarterly basis to assist with tracking industry trends and
establishing an industry baseline.
- Compile a summary of the number of inspections made by E.D. Swett, Inc.’s Safety Director (or
her/his designee) and any third party. The report will be broken down into the four major categories
of construction-focused hazards and will show the number of items within the four categories that
were corrected.
- Have designated personnel conduct documented safety inspections. These personnel will have the
authority to take prompt corrective action.
- Set a positive example for desired safety behavior and establish goals and accountability for
safety excellence.
- Hold all of its specialty or trade contractors/subcontractors accountable to the terms of this
partnership. Establish a firm but fair disciplinary policy that will be written into each specialty
or trade contractor/subcontractor’s contracts requiring enforcement by them as well as E.D. Swett,
Inc.
IV. Performance Measures
Performance measures are important tools that indicate the progress made toward achieving the
partnership. Establishing well-defined performance measures enables the assessment of the
partnership’s successes of the desired improvements to the workplace safety and health management
system. The following performance measures will be obtained and used for evaluation and include, but
are not limited to, the following:
- OSHA’s 300 injury and illness data.
- Number of site inspections performed at the site by E.D. Swett, Inc. or any third party.
- Number of hazards identified and corrected.
- Number and type of training conducted.
- Number of employees trained.
V. Evaluation
An annual evaluation of this partnership will be conducted within 30 days of the first anniversary
of the signing of the agreement. The Appendix C of the Directive CSP [03-02-002], "OSHA Strategic
Partnership program for Worker Safety and Health," will be used to provide pertinent information
needed to assess the partnership.
It will be the responsibility of E.D. Swett, Inc. to gather the required participant data to
evaluate and track the overall results and success of the partnership.
After the first year of the partnership, subsequent evaluations are to be conducted at least 30 days
prior to the anniversary of the signing.
VI. Benefits
In good standing, E.D. Swett, Inc. will receive the following benefits from OSHA:
- Special recognition, which may include, but is not limited to, press releases issued by OSHA and
recognition on OSHA’s web page designating E.D. Swett, Inc. a participant in the SPP.
- Availability of informational materials such as safety and health publications and electronic
tools.
- Following an onsite enforcement inspection conducted to meet OSHA Strategic Partnership
verification requirements, it will not be necessary to conduct a programmed inspection at the
Granite Street Bridge Project within the next twelve months.
- Priority status to E.D. Swett, Inc. and specialty or trade contractors for compliance assistance
and outreach activities, including the OSHA 10-hour construction course, as resources allow.
- If cited, E.D. Swett, Inc., and specialty and trade contractors that join in the partnership will
be provided an additional 10% reduction for good faith beyond the reductions provided in the Field
Inspection Manual (FIRM) where E.D. Swett, Inc., in implementing this SPP, has taken specific steps
beyond those provided in the FIRM to implement the Act. This additional reduction will not apply to
high gravity serious, willful, failure to abate or repeat citations.
Although certain benefits described above may modify OSHA enforcement procedures,
OSHA personnel will continue to investigate workplace complaints, referrals, fatalities, catastrophes,
and other significant accidents or events at the site, per standard Agency procedures.
VII. Verification Procedures
To determine contractor compliance with the terms of the agreement, an onsite comprehensive
enforcement verification inspection will be conducted within 30 days from the signing of the
partnership agreement. Citations and penalties may be issued, when appropriate, as a result of this
inspection. Enforcement verification inspections are performed in accordance with the applicable
sections of the OSHA FIRM and other enforcement guidance documents. As such, a focused inspection,
concentrating on the project safety and health program/plan, and the four leading hazards in
construction (i.e., falls, electrical hazards, caught in/between hazards, and struck by hazards) may
be performed where upon initial inspection of the site the CSHO determines that the contractor meets
the requirement of the Focused Inspection Initiative.
VIII. Management and Operation of Partnership Program
- A Partnership Management Team (PMT), with members from E.D. Swett, Inc. and OSHA, will oversee
and coordinate this partnership. The team will determine partnership procedures, which will include
measures to be used and data to be collected; hold conference calls; and meet at least annually to
evaluate the effectiveness of the agreement.
- Once the baseline is established, during the annual evaluation it will be determined whether the
annual goal of a five percent reduction in the number of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities has
been met. E.D. Swett, Inc. and CAO are responsible for collecting baseline and annual performance
data upon which the SPP will be measured. E.D. Swett, Inc. aggregate injury and illness incidence
rates (total case rates) and fatality rates will be compared with the most current BLS published
data to determine whether goals have been met.
IX. Employer and Employee Rights and Responsibilities
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 the Act.
X. Term
This agreement will terminate three years from the day of signing. If either OSHA or E.D. Swett,
Inc. wishes to withdraw their participation prior to the established termination date the agreement
will terminate upon receiving a written notice of the intent to withdraw from either signatory.
XI. Signatories
Signed this 12th day of June, 2006.
Rosemarie Ohar
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Concord Area Office |
Stephen Cole
President
E.D. Swett, Inc. |
Stephen Beyers
Consultation Project Manager
N.H. Department of Environmental Services |
|
|
Printing
Instructions
Back to Top
www.osha.gov
