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| OSHA Strategic Partnerships Program >
Region 2
> #281
Partnership Agreement |
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AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
PUERTO RICO AREA OFFICE
AND
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE,
SAN JUAN NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
SAN JUAN, PR
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The NPS and OSHA enters into this Agreement pursuant to the authority of the
NPS Organic Act of 1916, 16 USC 1-4, sections 19 and 24 of the Occupational
Safety and Health Act of 1970 and Executive order 12196 that allows OSHA to
give help to specific sites categorized as National Parks, National Recreation
Areas, and National Seashores. This agreement describes the scope of
assistance that will be provided by the Puerto Rico OSHA Area Office to the
San Juan National Historic Site that has been collaboratively selected by NPS
and OSHA.
I. BACKGROUND
In the past, the National Park Service (NPS) has 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) asking for help in improving the employee safety
and health management system at establishments with high lost time case rate (LTCR).
II. OBJECTIVES
- Develop and implement an effective comprehensive safety and health
management system in accordance with 29 CFR Part 1960 - Basic Program
Elements for Federal Employee Occupational Safety and Health Programs,
and OSHA's 1989 Safety and Health Management Guidelines.
- Reduce the total case rate by 3% per year, while at the same time
increasing the timeliness of reporting new injuries and illnesses to ESA/OWCP
for this park by 5% per year.
- Identify and correct the primary causal factors in employee injuries and
illnesses.
- Improve employee productivity and quality of life by providing safe and
healthful occupational environments.
- Improve the safety and health management system to become qualified and
eligible to participate in OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP).
III. STATEMENT OF AGREEMENT
OSHA, the NPS, and AFGE, agree to work in partnership to improve the
employee safety and health at San Juan National Historic Site, San Juan, PR.
Accordingly, they make the following commitments:
- The Puerto Rico OSHA Area Office agrees to:
- Help identify programmatic needs at this site by reviewing the NPS
Occupational Safety and Health Program and provide practical help in
implementing the program.
- Help identify the primary causal factors in injuries and illnesses
at this site and develop countermeasures for correcting those hazards.
- Provide access to training resources including:
- One safety management training session for division chiefs.
- Access to OSHA Training Institute Courses (OTI).
- Guidance to other available sources of training.
- Three seminars (2 hr maximum each) on specific safety and health
topics.
- Guidance on visitor safety issues.
- Help mentor NPS safety and health professionals and offer technical
assistance at this site by arranging an Agency Technical Assistance
Request (ATAR) so that NPS safety and health professionals could
accompany OSHA compliance officer of inspections for training
purposes. Technical assistance may include:
- Practical abatement assistance.
- Technical equipment loans.
- Air monitoring assistance.
- Accept the findings, if satisfactory, of NPS investigations and
inspections of complaints and referrals that would normally be handled
by OSHA. These will be conducted in accordance with OSHA Instruction
CPL 2.103: Field Inspection Reference Manual (FIRM).
- The Superintendent of San Juan National Historic Site agrees to:
- Provide a written policy statement from the Superintendent as a part
of the introduction to the NPS Occupational Safety and Health Program
that identifies safety as the first priority for every job.
- Post copies of this signed agreement and the written safety policy
at key locations.
- Have top management officials, including division heads and union
leadership; attend a program presented by OSHA on basic safety
management.
- Begin a comprehensive training program designed to achieve the goal
of educating all employees on the current safety record and need for
improvement.
- Commit to implementing the NPS Occupational Safety and Health
Program and achieving the objectives of this agreement.
- Encourage employee participation in developing and managing the
safety and health management system through:
- Hazard identification and abatement;
- Employee training;
- Participation in implementing a comprehensive safety and health
management system at the establishment;
- Employee attendance at all related meetings;
- Support of existing safety and health committees.
- Make sure that employees are not subject to restraint, interference,
coercion, discrimination, or reprisal for filing a report of an unsafe
or unhealthful working condition, or other participation in the NPS
Occupational Safety and Health Program or this agreement.
- Implement a system of accountability for safety that includes
rewards, consequences, behavior modification, and inclusion of safety
in all performance standards.
- Improve safety and health related communications within the
establishment and with other similar sites, including sharing safety
programs, accident investigation results, risk management information,
and methods of abatement.
- Provide adequate resources to effectively implement the safety and
health management system. However, nothing contained in this Agreement
will be construed as obligating either OSHA or the park unit to expend
in any one fiscal year any sum in excess of appropriations made by
Congress.
- Implement a system of internal safety and health self audits
including action items and follow-up.
- Ensure union participation as per section III C of this agreement.
- AFGE will:
- Inform workers through the designated employee representative about
the agreement.
- Make sure that park employee representative participates, as
appropriate, in the annual inspections conducted by NPS safety and
health officials.
- Make sure that park employee representative participates, as
appropriate, in NPS investigations and inspection of worker complaints
and any OSHA referrals and sign off on the response to OSHA or, if
they choose no to sign off, provide a written explanation documenting
why. (Reference Section III A 9)
- Ensure appropriate employee participation in the agreement as
outlined in Section III, B3, B4, B5, B6 and B11.
IV. TERM OF AGREEMENT
This agreement will become effective 90 days after signing and continue
for a period of five (5) years. The partners may modify this agreement at
anytime by simple letter signed by signatories. The partners may renew this
agreement at the end of the term by simple letter of renewal signed by the
signatories.
V. PARTNERSHIP MANAGEMENT TEAM
A Partnership Management Team (PMT) will oversee and coordinate this
partnership. The PMT will include the Puerto Rico Area Office Area Director,
Puerto Rico Superintendent of the San Juan National Historic Site and/or their
respective representative(s), and the American Federation of Government
Employees (AFGE) employees' representative(s). The team will determine
partnership procedures, which will include measures to be used and data to be
collected, hold quarterly conference calls and meet at least annually to
evaluate the effectiveness of the agreement.
VI. FUNDS
It is not anticipated that any funding will be transferred between OSHA
and the NPS. However, should there be a need for transfer of funds to
accomplish the objectives of this agreement it will be done according to the
policies of the agencies and the respective departments of which these
agencies are a part.
VII. TERMINATION
This Partnership shall remain in effect as indicated in Section IV unless
NPS or OSHA notifies the other partner in writing of its intent to from the
partnership, in which case the Partnership will terminate in thirty (30) days
following the receipt of such written withdrawal notice.
APPENDIX I
Frequently Used OSHA Terms
Agency: The highest operational level of an organization. For example,
the Department of Labor is an agency.
Agency safety and health official: The agency or sub agency safety and
health manager (not the Designated Agency Safety and Health Official).
Agency Technical Assistance Request (ATAR): A request by a Federal
agency for onsite assistance, which may include hazard abatement advice,
training, a partial or comprehensive inspection, and program assistance.
Baseline Questionnaire: A comprehensive questionnaire prepared to
assess an agency/sub agency compliance with 29 CFR 1960, Basic Program
Elements for Federal Employee Occupational Safety and Health Programs and
Related Matters.
Catasrophe: The hospitalization of three or more employees resulting
from a work-related incident.
Complaint: Notice of an alleged hazard over which OSHA has
jurisdiction, a violation of the Act or 29 CFR Part 1960, Basic Program
Elements for Federal Employee Occupational Safety and Health Programs and
Related Matters, reported by a past or present employee, employee
representative, or any other individual knowledgeable of the alleged hazardous
condition.
- Complaint Inspection: A complaint inspection is an inspection
that is initiated primarily as a result of a complaint, is conducted by an
OSHA compliance officer at the agency's worksite, and meets at least one
of the criteria listed below.
- The complaint was reduced to writing, is signed by a current
employee or employee representative, and states the reason for the
inspection request with reasonable particularity. In addition, there
are reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of a safety or
health standard or danger exists.
- The complaint alleges that physical harm, such as disabling injuries
or illnesses, has occurred as a result of the complained of hazard(s)
and there is reason to believe that the hazard or related hazards
still exist.
- The complaint is based on an allegation of an imminent danger
situation.
- The complaint identifies an establishment or an alleged hazard
covered by a local or national emphasis program.
- The employer fails to provide an adequate response to a complaint
investigation, or the complainant provides evidence that the agency's
response is false or does not adequately address the hazard(s).
- The establishment that is the subject of the complaint has a history
of egregious, willful, or failure-to-abate notices, within area office
jurisdiction and within the last three years. The Area Director may
determine not to inspect a facility when good quality abatement
evidence has been provided and programs have been implemented to
prevent a recurrence of hazards.
- Complaint Investigation: A complaint investigation is conducted
for other complaints that do not meet one of the above complaint
inspection criteria. It does not include an on-site-inspection of the
workplace.
Estasblishment: A single physical location where business is
conducted or where services or operations are performed. Typically, an
establishment refers to a field activity, regional office, area office,
installation, or facility.
Establishment parties: The senior local union official(s) and the
superintendent or his/her designee at the establishment level.
Fatality: An employee death resulting from a work-related incident or
exposure in general from an accident or illness caused by or related to a
workplace hazard.
Follow-up Inspection: An inspection conducted primarily to determine if
the previously cited violations have been corrected.
High gravity serious: A greater probability of death or injury
involving permanent disability or chronic, irreversible illness.
Monitoring Inspection: An inspection conducted to ensure that hazards
are being corrected and employees are being protected whenever a long period
of time is needed for an establishment to come into compliance, or to verify
compliance with the terms of granted alternate standards.
OSHA Policy: Guidance given by OSHA Instruction CPL2.103, dated
September 26, 1994, "Field Inspection Reference Manual"; OSHA
Instruction FAP 1.3, May 17, 1996, "Federal Agency Safety and Health
Programs"; or information in these documents as superseded by more
current guidance given in OSHA Notices, memos, etc.
Referral: Notice to OSHA of an alleged hazard, a violation of the Act,
or a violation of 29 CFR Part 1960, Basic Program Elements for Federal
Employee Occupational Safety and Health Programs and Related Matters,
given by any source not listed for complaints. Referrals include media reports
and cross referrals between an OSHA safety compliance officer to a health
compliance officer and vice versa.
Signing Ceremony: A ceremony held by the Assistant Secretary for OSHA
or his representative attended by the signatories to the agreement.
Sub agency: The operational level below the agency level. For example,
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a sub agency of the
Department of Labor.
Sub agency parties: The senior local union official(s) and top-level
management at the sub agency level.
Three top causes: The three top injuries and illnesses at the sub
agency level will be identified by OSHA's Office of Federal Agency Programs
and their causes will be identified by working cooperatively with top
agency/sub agency safety and health officials and through workers'
compensation (OWCP) data.
SIGNATURES
For OSHA:
_______________________________
Patricia K. Clark
Regional Administrator
Date:___________________________
_______________________________
Jose A. Carpena,
Area Director, Puerto Rico Office
Date:___________________________
For NPS:
_______________________________
Walter J. Chavez, Superintendent
San Juan National Historic Site
Date:___________________________
_______________________________
Mr. Pedro Romero
National Representative AFGE
Fifth District Carribean Area
o/b/o Local 2614
Date:___________________________
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