1. Boise Area Office Instruction CPL 2.1.1 Idaho Construction Targeting and Partnership Project.
2. OSHA Instruction CPL 2.102 Procedures for Experimental Programs.
3. OSHA Instruction CPL 2.103 Field Inspection Reference Manual (FIRM).
4. OSHA Instruction CPL 2.25I Scheduling system for Programmed Inspections, paragraph B.1.a(2(b)4.
5. OSHA Instruction STD 3-1.1 Citation Policy Regarding 29 CFR 1926.20, 29 CFR 1926.21 and Related General Safety and Health Provisions, Appendix A.
6. Policy Memorandum dated August 22, 1994 for Regional Administrators from James W. Stanley, Deputy Regional Administrator, Subject: Guidance to Compliance Officers for Programmed Construction Inspection, Construction Safety Referral Inspections, and Construction Fatality or Complaint Inspections (FOCUSED Inspections).
7. OSHA’s Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines published in the Federal Register dated January 26, 1989.
8. ANSI A10.38-1991 Safety and Health Program Guidelines.

1. To reduce construction worker injuries and illnesses in Idaho through OSHA inspection actions and through development of effective partnerships with qualifying specialty trade subcontractors.
2. To improve employer safety and health programs.
3. To better utilize the Boise Area Office resources by using a partnership tool to reduce the need for some on-site visits, while still achieving worker safety and health.
4. Provide maximum leverage of inspection resources by promoting more active employer action and responsibility in safety and health management.

1. The selection of construction sites for programmed inspections will be in accordance with reference B.4.
2. Inspection list will be in accordance with reference B.3.
3. Inspections of partner specialty trade subcontractors in good standing will be carried out as described in G., below.
4. Any inspections that are initiated as the result of an employee complaint, or of a workplace fatality or catastrophe, will be scheduled and conducted in accordance with reference B.3.

1. General Eligibility.
   1. Business age. The company must have been in business for three or more years.
   2. Insurance Mod Rate. In general, the company’s most recent industrial insurance experience modification rate factor must be 1.0 or less. A copy of the most recent mod rate notice must be provided when applying to the partnership program.
   3. Exception. Companies with a mod rate that exceeds 1.0 will be considered if the modification is being driven by a single loss greater than $5,000 which occurred in the last four years, and, the company’s most recent calendar year lost work day injury/illness (LWDII) rate at or below the most current rate for construction special trade contractors published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The most recent published rate is for CY 1999, and is 4.4 lost workday injuries/illnesses per 100 workers.
      
      An employer’s LWDII rate for the most recently ended calendar year, is calculated as follows:
      - Review the appropriate OSHA-200 log to assure that the entries in columns 2 and 9 correctly include all the injuries/illnesses that involve days away from work or days of restricted work activity.
      -Add columns 2 and 9 to obtain the total number of lost workday injuries and illnesses.
      -Calculate the total number of hours worked during the calendar year by all employees (omitting paid hours that are not hours worked, such as sick and vacation hours).
      
      lwdii rate = total of columns 2 & 9 multiplied by 200,000
      the number of hours worked.
      
      Note: multiplying by 200,000–the full-time equivalent workhours of 100 workers, is necessary to produce a rate of injuries/illness per 100 workers.
   4. OSHA Citation History. OSHA will review the employer’s citation history in both Federal OSHA states and in State Plan states (e.g., Oregon and Washington). Employers who have received an OSHA citation classified as “Willful” or Failure-to-Abate” which became a final order within the last three years, are not eligible for the partnership. Employers who have received a “Repeat” violation or a “High-Gravity Serious” violation in the same period may apply, but may be deemed ineligible at the discretion of the Boise Area Director, following his office’s review of the nature of the violation. Those employers may re-apply three years after the final order date of such a violation.
2. Safety and Health Programs and Self-Evaluation Questionnaire. Specialty trade subcontractors applying for the partnership program must have written safety and health programs. Appendix A is a self-evaluation questionnaire that employers are to complete to evaluate their safety and health programs. Since this self-evaluation serves as the partnership program application, employers should complete the document, certify that the information is true and correct to the best of the employer’s knowledge, and provide it to OSHA.
   
   The employer may, at his discretion, have his safety and health programs and the self-evaluation questionnaire reviewed in advance by another party such as a safety consultant, employer association or insurance carrier. This will not affect the level of OSHA’s review.
3. Letter of Recommendation. The specialty trade subcontractor must be recommended for the program by either a general contractor or construction manager participating in the Construction Partnership Project, or by a Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) employer for whom the applicant has conducted contract construction work in the preceding 12 months. The recommendation is to be based on the Construction Partner or VPP employer’s knowledge of the applicant’s safety and health management and a review of the applicant’s self-evaluation questionnaire. The specialty trade subcontractor may also be recommended by a safety consultant, trade association or worker’s compensation group that is knowledgeable of the applicant’s site management of safety and health. Appendix B to this instruction provides a prototype letter of recommendation.
4. Supervisor Training. All job site supervisors and foremen of a partner specialty trade subcontractor will receive the OSHA 10-hour construction course or equivalent training. Equivalent training should include accident prevention training as well as hazard recognition training which has been tailored to the operations of the specialty/subcontractor. Equivalent training provided in-house may exceed the scope of the training provided by the OSHA 10-hour course.
5. Employee Training. Employees will be trained in hazard recognition, OSHA standards, company safety policies and employee rights and responsibilities under the OSH Act of 1970. The guidance for this training will be the OSH Act, OSHA regulations, OSHA Pamphlet 3021 - “Employee Workplace Rights,” and any other training material/guidelines deemed appropriate by the subcontractor. The goal of this training is to ensure that employees and employers work together to reduce workplace hazards. In addition, 25% of the non-management employees should complete the OSHA 10-hour construction course or be provided equivalent training as discussed above under Supervisory Training.
6. Worksite Safety and Health Audits. Specialty trade subcontractors will perform safety and health audits daily. Safety and health audits will address at a minimum the following areas: fall hazards, struck-by hazards, caught in/between hazards, electrical hazards, and trenching and excavation hazards. They will also include other areas of high hazard when appropriate, such as but not limited to confined spaces and chemical hazards. The subcontractor must document that an audit has been conducted, and must document the audit results for identification of violations of safety and health standards, and action taken.
7. Hazards under Other’s Control. Specialty trade subcontractors will establish a program for reporting hazards at multi-employer sites to the creating employer or the controlling employer. These are hazards created by or controlled by others, which the partner subcontractor cannot correct himself or where he wants to provide written notice of the hazards to the creating employer or the controlling employer to reduce the likelihood of reoccurrence. Partner subcontractors will remove their employees from risk by instructing them how they may work without exposing themselves to the safety and health hazard, or, if necessary, stop work altogether. In cases where the creating employer or the controlling employer does not take prompt corrective action, the partner subcontractor is encouraged to call OSHA and report the hazardous condition.
8. Partnership Banner. Specialty trade subcontractors who partner with OSHA may display a sign or banner at their construction sites advertising their partnership. They may also advertise the partnership on company letterhead or on information sheets submitted with bid proposals.
9. Annual Reporting. The partner specialty trade subcontractor will complete and provide an annual report on or before February 15 each year so that OSHA can evaluate the program and can determine whether the subcontractor continues to qualify for partnership. Appendix C is the format for the report. Partner companies must review report topics in advance, to be sure that they are maintaining the information needed for year-end reporting.

1. Speeches by Boise Area Office staff to the construction industry on the merits of this program.
2. A press release to the Idaho Construction News.
3. Enlisting the support and help of various organizations to promote the awareness of the project. Such organizations shall include, but not be limited to, The Idaho Construction News and the Association of General Contractors.
4. Providing safety and health resources/guidance at the Boise Area Office level to assist employers in the development of effective safety and health programs.
5. Seeking the support of several partner general contractors/construction managers to offer their support concerning this project.
6. Seeking qualified specialty trade subcontractors who have demonstrated excellent commitment to safety and health to participate in this pilot program.

1. Partnership Agreements and Renewal
   
   Paragraph G. of this instruction identifies the eligibility and program requirements for the partnership, including the requirement for the applicant’s safety and health program self-evaluation, and the requirement for an annual report. Appendix D provides a sample copy of the partnership agreement that would be signed by OSHA and the specialty trade subcontractor.
   
   Partnership agreements will require renewal action every three years. Specialty trade subcontractors will be evaluated by OSHA to assure that they continue to meet the partnership requirements identified paragraph G. of this instruction.
    
2. Disqualification:
   
   As indicated in paragraph G.1.d., OSHA will review applicant’s violation history with OSHA and with State programs (e.g., Oregon-OSHA and Washington’s WISHA) and may disqualify applicants in advance. In addition, citations received by a partner subcontractor subsequent to partnership may result in termination of the partnership agreement:
   • a “Willful” or “Failure-to-Abate” citation received subsequent to partnership will always result in termination of the partnership agreement.
   • a “Repeat” violation may result in termination of the partnership, agreement depending on the circumstances of the repeat violation.
   • an OSHA inspection resulting in numerous violations or in high gravity “Serious” violations may also result in termination of the partnership agreement.