I. PURPOSE AND SCOPE
In an effort to eliminate serious hazards and achieve a high level of worker safety and health on
the Rt. 139 Project covered under NJDOT Contract number 2/001970190, D’Annunzio & Sons, Inc. (D’Annunzio)
and the signatory groups have developed a comprehensive partnering agreement. Participants include
project stakeholders from government, industry employers and labor. This partnering agreement will
facilitate the process of identifying project health and safety performance goals; developing plans
for achieving those goals; cooperation in hazard control implementation; measuring and establishing
a vehicle to communicate the successes and ultimately learning from the process. Beyond the confines
of the Rt. 139 Project, it is projected that this partnership agreement will foster a sustainable
working relationship between OSHA, D’Annunzio, NJDOT, and New Jersey area contractors.
This partnering agreement shall be limited to the OSHA Parsippany Area Office, D’Annunzio, NJDOT and
associated project employers who have agreed to participate. Over the life of the construction
project contractors will employ approximately 70 individual construction tradespersons at peak
construction. Work currently in the scope of construction will include:
- 14TH Street shoulder widening consists of drilled shaft foundations, reinforcing steel, cast
in-place concrete pier columns and caps, bearings, structural steel, stay in place forms, cast in
place high performance concrete decks and parapets roadway lighting.
- 14TH & 12TH Street viaduct rehabilitation consists of concrete deck and parapet demolition,
removal of existing structural steel, replace existing bearings, set new structural steel, install
stay in-place forms, reinforcing steel, deck joints, place new high performance concrete deck and
parapets, micro piles, rapid set latex concrete overlay, retaining walls, roadway lighting, roadway
striping, misc. substructure concrete and steel repairs and substantial seismic retrofit.
This partnership is consistent with OSHA’s long-range efforts to develop a contractor / labor /
government partnership approach to safety and health management. It allows for better use of OSHA
resources, innovation in safety and health management, and encourages more participation in the
safety and health process from the construction and trade council and its affiliates.
II. IDENTIFICATION OF PARTNERS
The following parties are signatories to this partnership:
- D’Annunzio & Sons, Inc.
- New Jersey Department of Transportation
- USDOL-OSHA Parsippany Area Office
- Heavy & General Construction Laborers Local 472
- Hudson County Carpenters Local 6
- Teamsters Local 408
III. GOALS AND STRATEGIES
The partnership’s overarching goal is to reduce injuries and illnesses through a cooperative
relationship between D’Annunzio and OSHA. This goal will be accomplished by implementing and
following the plan outlined below and evaluating these actions as indicated:
- Foster the development, implementation and maintenance of effective comprehensive safety and
health programs in accordance with OSHA’s 1989 Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines.
These programs will be evaluated using Appendix D (or equivalent) during OSHA verification
inspection.
D’Annunzio will maintain a comprehensive site safety and health management system that meets or
exceeds the 1989 guidelines. Further, D’Annunzio will evaluate site subcontractors’ safety and
health programs to ensure that they are being maintained under the terms of this partnership
agreement.
- Achieve participant recordable illness and injury rates below the National average for the
construction industry. A Partnership goal is to keep the site Total Case Incidence Rate (TCIR), Days
away or restricted or transferred (DART), and Days away from work injury and illness (DAFWII) rates
below the national average for NAICS Code 2373XX for highway, street and bridge construction which
were 6.4, 3.4 and 2.1 respectively for 2004. Injury and illness incidence will be evaluated annually
by review of the OSHA 300 logs and any other relevant accident reports.
- Identify and correct primary causal factors in worker injuries and illnesses, in particular the
top four causes of construction injuries: falls, struck-by and caught-in incidents, and
electrocution (OSHA’s focused four construction hazards) and a primary health hazard associated with
silica exposure during construction activities.
- Establish and implement a site specific written silica control program for operations such as
concrete breakout, concrete milling, concrete drilling, concrete cutting, etc., where overexposure
to respirable crystalline silica are likely. As part of the program, all potentially exposed
employees will be provided silica awareness training and all employees exposed to excessive amounts
of airborne concentrations of crystalline silica will be provided with appropriate respiratory
protection in accordance with 20 CFR 1910.134. This will include completing employee exposure
assessments and/or working with objective data that can be used as an exposure assessment for a
particular operation. The results will then be used to determine various engineering and
administrative controls necessary to control exposure if overexposure to silica is documented.
D’Annunzio will employ available engineering and work practice controls to reduce exposures to
silica-containing dusts to below the OSHA PEL or to the extent reasonably possible.
Among other sources, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development On-Site
Consultation Program and/or the New Jersey Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund may be utilized to
assist in the identification, implementation, and the assessment of the efficacy of engineering
controls.
To achieve B through D above, D’Annunzio will implement or facilitate the implementation of all
elements of effective safety and health management systems (e.g., worksite analysis, safety and
health training and hazard prevention and control) designed to minimize workplace conditions that
can result in injuries and/or illnesses.
IV. PERFORMANCE MEASURES
The following performance measures will be compiled by D’Annunzio and reported to OSHA and will be
utilized to measure the success of the partnership:
- Aggregate number of employers active in the partnership
- Aggregate number of employees active in the partnership
- Number of site inspections conducted, hazards found (including the four most prevalent
construction hazards and silica), and hazards corrected per month during the partnership term until
the completion of the project
- Number of job safety analyses conducted per month during the partnership term until the completion
of the project
- Number of participant contractor competent persons provided the OSHA 10-Hour Course for
Construction
- Site DART, TCIR, DAFWII rates for each calendar year compared to the national average for NAICs
code 2373XX for each respective calendar year
- Number of partnership participants who developed written safety and health management systems
under this partnership
- Number of partnership participants who improved their written safety and health management systems
under this partnership
- Number of employees involved in the site safety and health management (e.g., employee
participation in self-audits, site inspections, job hazard analyses, safety and health program
reviews, safety training, and mishap investigations)
- Type and number of engineering controls utilized to control exposure to crystalline silica and
their efficacy, including the number of instances exposure was reduced to below OSHA’s PEL for
crystalline silica
V. PARTNERSHIP BENEFITS AND AGREEMENT ON OSP MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS
OSHA and all Contractors agree to work in partnership to improve the employee safety and health at
the Rt. 139 Project. Accordingly they make the following commitments:
- OSHA Non-Enforcement Benefits:
- Help identify programmatic needs at this site by reviewing the documented safety and health
management system and provide practical guidance for implementation. The project’s Safety and Health
Manager, OSHA Compliance Safety and Health Officer(s) and/or Compliance Assistant Specialist will
perform this task.
- Help identify, through the review of OSHA 300, accident or near miss reports, primary causal
factors in injuries and illnesses, in particular the four top hazards at this site, and recommend
the appropriate corrective actions.
- Provide information on training resources including available OSHA Training Institute Courses.
- With the assistance of OSHA’s national Directorate of Construction (DOC), assist partners in
accessing interpretations and clarifications as to the meaning and application of OSHA standards and
policy.
- Participate in training sessions and meetings, as resources, law and OSHA policy permit.
- Designate an experienced safety and health specialist to serve as a resource and liaison for
partnership participants.
- Make available free consultative services to partnership participants.
- OSHA Enforcement Benefits
- Following an OSHA on site enforcement verification inspection, as described in Section VII of
this partnership agreement, participating contractors at this site will be deleted from the
programmed inspection list for 12 months from the date of the verification inspection.
- If citations are issued as a result of an on-site enforcement inspection, when calculating the
initial penalty reduction, OSHA may provide an additional 10% reduction for good faith beyond the
reductions provided in the OSHA Field Inspection Reference Manual (FIRM) where the employer, in
implementing the OSP, has taken specific steps beyond those provided for in the FIRM to implement
the Act and achieve a high level of employee protection. The additional reduction will not apply to
high gravity serious, wilful, failure to abate or repeat citations. In cases where a partner’s total
penalty reduction is 100% or more, the minimum penalty provisions of the FIRM will apply.
- If citations are issued as a result of the verification inspection conduct in accordance with
section IX of this partnership, and the participating contractor cited is found to have all the
elements of a comprehensive safety and health management system, a good faith penalty of 35% shall
be applied to any violations that are not high-gravity serous in nature.
- D’Annunzio agrees to perform the following OSP Management Operations:
- Serve as a safety resource in support of participating Contractors and Subcontractors.
- Provide notice to all Subcontractors that the Rt. 139 Project is subject to this strategic
Partnership with OSHA. All employees will be informed of the partnership and provided a fact sheet
during orientation. (Appendix A).
- Administer the overall partnership program, including but not limited to evaluation of the
subcontractors safety and health program on site to ensure that it is being operated under the terms
of this partnership agreement. Site surveys will also be conducted on a regular basis, with action
taken whenever employee hazards are identified. D’Annunzio will further assure that each
sub-contractor:
- Completes an analysis of all new and acquired work, materials, chemicals, and equipment before
construction activity begins to determine potential hazards and to plan for their prevention or
control.
- Performs a routine examination and inspection of hazards associated with individual jobs,
processes, or phases of construction.
- Has in place a system for employees to notify management, without fear of retaliation, about
conditions that appear hazardous.
- Establishes a system for investigating accidents and near-misses, including procedures or
guidance, reports of findings, and the tracking of hazard correction to completion.
D’Annunzio additionally agrees to:
- Provide safety and health resources to the project as necessary to assist sub-contractors with
all safety and health issues.
- Act as liaison for sub-contractors with OSHA. All sub-contractors and tier contractors will be
able to contact D’Annunzio with questions and D’Annunzio will contact OSHA for responses when
necessary.
- Offer on-going information on safety or health topics of importance for sub-contractors,
specifically on the focused four construction hazards.
- Provide OSHA's interpretations of standards as they apply to local issues; so that contractors
may better understand and properly comply with standards.
- Maintain a site injury and illness log of all injuries and illnesses reported by sub-contractors.
- Manage the following site safety or health issues common to all areas of the site:
- Emergency action plan
- Hazard Communication Plan and inventory of site chemicals reported by contractors and tier
subcontractors
- Fall protection plan and perimeter guards
- Compliance with the NJDOT approved Traffic Control and Staging Plans for the project
All the above plans will be made accessible to all Contractors and subcontractors to reduce the
potential for injury or illness in accordance with this partnership agreement.
- OSHA agrees to perform the following OSP Management Operation that is not included in the
benefits section above:
- Perform an annual partnership evaluation as outlined in Section VIII of this partnership
agreement.
VI. EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE RIGHTS
An integral part of an effective safety and health program is that employee rights, which are
guaranteed under the OSHA Act, will not be infringed upon. This partnership does not preclude
employees and/or employers from exercising any right provided under the OSHA Act (or, for federal
employees, 29 CFR 1960), nor does it abrogate any responsibility to comply with rules and
regulations adopted pursuant to the Act.
It is anticipated that routine worker involvement in the day- to- day implementation of worksite
safety and health programs will be assured, including worker participation in Contractor
self-audits, site inspections, job hazard analyses, safety and health program reviews, and accident
investigations.
VII. INSPECTIONS
- On-site Enforcement Verification Inspections
In order to determine contractor compliance with the terms of the agreement, a verification
inspection will be conducted within 60 days from the signing of the partnership agreement. The
verification inspection will include a comprehensive review of the site safety and health management
system. Recommendations and assistance will be provided by OSHA to insure the partnership
administration is on track. 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: falls, electrical hazards, caught in/between hazards, and struck by
hazards may be done where upon initial inspection of the site the CSHO determines that the
contractor meets the requirements of the Focused Inspection Initiative. Citations and penalties may
be issued, when appropriate, as a result of these inspections.
- Self-Inspections
D’Annunzio agrees to exercise control over any recognized site safety or health hazard to eliminate
the potential for injury or illness in accordance with this partnership agreement. With respect to
site safety or health hazards, the superintendent and/or Safety Director will conduct comprehensive
inspections of the entire project, with Sub-Contractor involvement as agreed, as often as necessary,
but not less than once a month. Superintendent will supplement the comprehensive inspections with
weekly inspections and other inspections as necessary. The Superintendent will report any findings
directly to the Sub-Contractor responsible promptly to facilitate quick abatement of hazardous
conditions.
The Superintendent may delegate the task of inspecting part /or all of the site to a smaller
complement of representatives, provided that representatives of labor and management participate in
the inspection process, and provided further that the findings and recommendations of each
inspection are reviewed at monthly safety and health meetings.
- OSHA Inspections/Investigations
- Complaint/Referral Investigations
This partnership provides for the immediate response to each allegation of a safety or health hazard
brought to OSHA’s attention by any person. Upon a finding that an allegation is valid, the employer
shall promptly abate the hazard. OSHA agrees that a copy of each non-formal complaint/referral
related to the work at the site and filed with OSHA will be forwarded by fax, or by CSHO, to
D’Annunzio’s site office. In accordance with applicable law, the name of a complainant requesting
confidentiality will not be revealed. D’Annunzio agrees to investigate these complaints, regardless
of the employer involved and provide OSHA with a written response according to the following
timetable:
- Non-formal complaints/referrals alleging a serious hazard: 4 hours
- Non-formal complaints/referrals alleging an other-than-serious hazard: 24 hours
Failure to meet these time frames, or providing a response determined by OSHA to be inadequate, will
place the complaint/referral outside the scope of this partnership and OSHA will respond as it would
to any complaint of a similar nature.
- Unprogrammed Inspections
D’Annunzio and the employers engaged in this partnership, recognize and accept that OSHA will fully
investigate incidents involving employee deaths or the hospitalization of three or more employees,
reports of imminent danger conditions, accidents and formal complaints and referrals. These
inspections will be conducted outside the partnership in accordance with normal enforcement
procedures and practices. Hazards identified may result in the issuance of citations and penalties.
- Follow-up Inspections
If OSHA issues citations for serious hazards on any inspection conducted at this project during the
tenure of this Partnership, OSHA may conduct a follow-up inspection to verify abatement.
VIII. 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, if necessary, 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 V of this partnership agreement will be collected and analyzed to
determine the partnership’s progress toward meeting its goals.
IX. LEVERAGING
This partnership seeks to leverage the resources of both D’Annunzio and OSHA, by encouraging
contractors to develop safety and health programs, implement them in an effective manner, complete
self inspections, and evaluate worksite conditions and near misses to prevent accidents. By
combining resources, D’Annunzio and OSHA expect to have a greater and more positive impact on safe
working conditions on this site, than could be achieved otherwise.
X. TERMINATION
This agreement will terminate upon the completion of the project or on March 2009, whichever is
earlier. 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. Any signatory may also propose modification or amendment of the agreement.
Signed on this 24th day of February, 2006
Patricia K. Clark
Regional Administrator
OSHA Region II |
Michael A. D’Annunzio
President/CEO
D’Annunzio & Sons, Inc. |
Philip M. Peist
Area Director
OSHA Parsippany Area Office |
William G. Weissman
Project Executive
D’Annunzio & Sons, Inc. |
Leonard Katz
Assistant Commissioner
Labor Standards and Safety Enforcement
New Jersey Department of Labor and
Workforce Development |
Joseph Grabler
Project Manager
D’Annunzio & Sons, Inc. |
Herman Krieg
Resident Engineer
New Jersey Dept. of Transportation |
Sergio Couto
Senior Project Engineer
D’Annunzio & Sons, Inc. |
Larry Boss
Assistant Resident Engineer
New Jersey Dept. of Transportation |
Sean Donovan
Superintendent
D’Annunzio & Sons, Inc. |
Gordon Harner
Safety Consultant
Applegate Associates |
Matt Becker
Project Engineer
D’Annunzio & Sons, Inc. |
Donald DiLeo
President Business Manager
Teamsters Local 408 |
Mike Bragg
Project Engineer
D’Annunzio & Sons, Inc. |
William Buttino
President Business Manager
Hudson County Carpenters Local 6 |
Patrick Mancini
Business Representative
Heavy & General Construction Laborers
Local 472 |
Michael Dinardo
Ironworker Superintendent
D’Annunzio & Sons, Inc. |
|
APPENDIX A
NJDOT ROUTE 139, CONTRACT 2/001970190
REHABILITATION OF 12TH & 14TH STREET VIADUCTS
JERSEY CITY, HUDSON COUNTY, NJ
PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
Fact Sheet |
A strategic partnership agreement has been developed jointly by the United
States Department of Labor - Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Parsippany Area Office
(“OSHA”), and D’Annunzio & Sons, Inc. The common objective and goal of the program is to develop a
contractor / government partnership that encourages all construction contractors to improve their
safety and health performance, assist them in doing that, strive for the elimination of serious
accidents in the construction industry, and to recognize those contractors with exemplary safety and
health programs. The specific impetus behind the agreement is to provide a safe and healthful work
environment for workers engaged in construction activities for the project.
Expected outcomes of this partnership include: developing criteria for a model multi-employer
worksite safety and health program which specifically identifies the responsibilities of each
Subcontractor; making safety and health materials available to all Subcontractors onsite; planning
for safety and health in all aspects of the project; providing visible safety and health leadership;
achieving participant recordable illness and injury rates below the national average for the
construction industry; and focusing OSHA enforcement activity on those Subcontractors who have
little or no regard for the safety and health of their workers.
The agreement provides incentives to participating Subcontractors who voluntarily improve their
safety and health performance. Incentives will include special recognition from OSHA and focused and
reduced enforcement efforts by OSHA.
This agreement is consistent with OSHA’s long-range effort to develop a contractor / government
partnership approach to safety management. It allows for better use of OSHA resources, it allows for
innovation in safety management and it encourages more participation in the safety process by each
stakeholder.
As part of this partnership, D’Annunzio has assured OSHA that you will adopt the following actions
as part of your safety program:
- Complete an analysis of all new and acquired work, materials, chemicals (including exposure to
crystalline silica during concrete work), and equipment before construction activity begins to
determine potential hazards and to plan for their prevention or control.
- Perform a routine examination and inspection of hazards associated with individual jobs,
processes, or phases of construction.
- Have in place a system for employees to notify management, without fear of retaliation, about
conditions that appear hazardous.
- Establish a system for investigating accidents and near-misses, including procedures or
guidance, reports of findings, and the tracking of hazard correction to completion.
- Comply with all current OSHA standards.
- Ensure that supervisors provide visible leadership in implementing the safety and health
program.
- Implement a 6-foot Fall Protection Policy or a 100% Fall Protection Policy at the prescribed
heights in accordance with specific OSHA Regulations.
- Report all site injuries and illnesses to D’Annunzio immediately so that the site injury and
illness log may be accurately maintained.
- Report all program deficiencies or damage to protective equipment, specifically site fall
protection, to D’Annunzio immediately upon discovery and to take appropriate interim protective
measures for protection of your employees
- Have a person on site that is responsible for, possesses the authority over, and is capable of
effectively implementing the overall site safety and health program.
- Ensure that employee training covers applicable site hazard and the means to correct them, as
well as pertinent standards and regulations.
- Strive to ensure that there is a designated safety representative or other personnel serving in
the capacity as a competent person on the project. In addition trades foreman will complete an
OSHA 10 hour course for construction (or its equivalent), as soon as practicable.
- Have written emergency response procedures that are communicated to project workers. The
procedures will list emergency telephone numbers, emergency routes, emergency exits, staging
areas, requirements for personal protective equipment, and training and evacuation drills
Philip M. Peist
Area Director
OSHA Parsippany Area Office |
Michael A. D’Annunzio
President/CEO
D’Annunzio & Sons, Inc. |
|
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