OSHA Strategic Partnership Program<< Back to Region III

SCOPE / BACKGROUND
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, The National Institutes of Health (NIH), The Jacobs Project Management Company, and The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mutually recognize the importance of a safe and health conscious work environment in the construction industry. The partnership between Whiting-Turner, NIH, Jacobs and OSHA has been established to encourage contractors to improve their safety and health awareness, to provide assistance in their efforts, and recognize the contractors with exemplary safety and health programs.

This partnering agreement for the second phase of the Porter Neuroscience Research Center (PNRC II) project, located at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, will be limited to NIH, Whiting-Turner, Jacobs Project Management Company and participating specialty/trade contractors on site. The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company will strongly recommend specialty/trade contractors to join the partnership at the time they mobilize on the NIH campus. The partnership will provide benefits to Whiting-Turner, Jacobs Project Management Company and specialty/trade contractors, which include special recognition from OSHA and priority in compliance assistance programs.

The PNRC II project for NIH consists of an expansion to the Vivarium facility currently operating in Phase I, and will provide Behavioral, Tissue Culture and Electrophysiology Laboratories. Phase II will also contain Lab Support spaces with associated break rooms, meeting rooms, offices, lockers, and an Imaging Suite. Non-Laboratory areas will contain seminar rooms, conference rooms, and a café. The programmed gross square footage for Phase II is 307,245 sq. ft.

IDENTIFICATION OF PARTNERS
The following are identified as partners subject to this agreement:
  • The National Institutes of Health
  • The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
  • The Jacobs Project Management Company
  • The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Baltimore/Washington Area Office
PROJECT OVERVIEW
This project is a 307,245 sq. ft. expansion to the PNRC Phase 1 building. The following types of construction will be performed:

  • Demolition
  • Survey
  • Sediment and Erosion Control
  • Excavation
  • Sheeting and Shoring
  • Site Utilities
  • Concrete
  • Steel Erection
  • Landscaping
  • Hardscaping
  • Millwork
  • Structural Pre-Cast
  • Miscellaneous Metals
  • Structural Studs and Sheathing
  • Glazing
  • Metal Panels and Siding
    • Roofing
  • Masonry
  • Duct bank Infrastructure
  • Insulation
  • Scaffolding
  • GWB and framing
  • Ceilings
  • Overhead Doors
  • Storm Water Improvements
  • Louvers
  • Site Retaining Walls
  • Epoxy Flooring
  • Doors, Frames and Hardware
  • Floor Finishes
  • Spray Fireproofing
  • HVAC
  • Mechanical
  • Electrical
  • Elevators
  • Fire Protection
  • Plumbing
  • Casework
  • Site work
  • Geothermal
  • PV Array

GOALS / STRATEGIES / MEASURES

Goals

Strategies
Performance Measures

1) Developing a contractor/government Partnership that will encourage involvement of the general and sub-contractors in the improvement of safety and health performance by reducing the annual number of injuries, illnesses and fatalities by 5% for each partnership agreement.
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company will require its sub-contractors to develop and implement written safety and health management practices in order to achieve the desired reduction of jobsite incidents
Verify by reviewing the number of subcontractors that have implemented written safety and health management system and recognize those with exemplary systems.

2) Implement innovative strategies to eliminate serious accidents, including the four primary construction hazards (falls, struck-by, caught in, and electrical);
 
Provide weekly toolbox safety meetings, confirm that all employees have the mandatory 10 hour OSHA training courses.
Implement and enforce an ongoing safety site audit program (to include daily site walk through), perform Job hazard Analysis (JHA) of the non-routine tasks to be performed.

After conducting hazard awareness training/JHAs
compare the number of hazards identified during the daily, weekly and monthly audits.
Track all injuries and illnesses daily, including those which require only first aid.
Maintain a monthly tracking log of hazards found during the site audits and daily site walk through and document corrective actions.

3) Identify opportunities for enhancing safety and health practices related to the operation and maintenance of cranes and other material handling equipment involved in the project.
 
Identify opportunities for enhancing safety and health practices related to the operation and maintenance of cranes and other material handling equipment involved in the project.
Document the number of employees and the number of training hours received
The goals, strategies and performance measures above will be implemented to meet the following objectives of this Partnership:

  1. Reducing the number of at-risk conditions and behaviors that have the potential to result in worker fatalities, injury/illness, property damage and environmental impact to the lowest reasonable level.
  2. Reducing the number of injuries affecting The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and participant subcontractors, emphasizing those resulting from the four primary construction hazards (see above); abating hazards (conditional and behavioral) identified from weekly safety and health inspections and having no repeat occurrences of such issues upon re-inspection.
  3. Reducing the Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR) and Days Away, Restricted and Transferred (DART) rate to 5% below the current national average for NAICS Code 2362, Nonresidential building construction, based upon the Bureau of Labor Statistics data available for the most current year. The 2009 BLS TCIR and DART rate for NAICS 2362 are 3.6 and 1.7 respectively.
  4. Zero incidents related to crane safety, including injuries to personnel. 
STATEMENT OF AGREEMENT
OSHA agrees to:
  1. Help identify programmatic needs at this site by reviewing the documented safety and health management system and providing practical guidance for implementation.  The review will be performed by the project Safety and Health Manager and a Compliance Safety and Health Officer (CSHO).
  2. Help identify, through the review of OSHA 300 logs, accident or near miss reports, primary causal factors in injuries and illnesses, in particular the focused 4 hazards at this site, and recommend the appropriate corrective actions.
  3. Provide information on training resources including available OSHA Training Institute courses and information on other available sources of training.
  4. Assist partners in assessing OSHA interpretations and clarifications as to the meaning and application of OSHA standards and policy.
  5. Participate in training sessions and meetings as resources permit.
  6. Designate an experienced safety and health specialist to serve as a resource and liaison person for the partnership.
  7. Meet with The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company quarterly partnership to review issues and to examine updated DART rates and the injury and illness experiences of its contractors at this site.  OSHA shall provide feedback on any noted incident trends and patterns.
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company agrees to:
  1. Serve as a safety resource in support of all of the project’s contractors and subcontractors.
  2. Provide notice to all contractors and subcontractors that the PNRC II Project is subject to this strategic partnership with OSHA.  All employees will be informed of the partnership and provided a fact sheet during orientation.
  3. Administer the overall partnership program including, but not limited to, the initial contact and evaluation of subcontractor applications to determine whether the subcontractor meets the criteria specified within this partnership initiative under Section VI, Contractor Eligibility.
  4. Notify the Baltimore/Washington OSHA Area Office on a regular and recurring basis of the names of subcontractors that have met the partnership criteria.
  5. Maintain a dedicated competent Site Safety and Health Coordinator available to assist contractors and subcontractors with all safety and health issues.
  6. Act as liaison for subcontractors with OSHA. 
  7. Offer weekly information on safety or health topics of importance for contractors, especially on the focused four construction hazards.
  8. Maintain a site injury and illness log of all injuries and illnesses reported by all contractors and tier subcontractors.
  9. Meet with OSHA quarterly to examine the injury and illness experience of the partnership’s participants and to make corrections and adjustments as needed.
  10. Manage the following site safety or health issues common to all areas of the site and be accessible to all contractors and subcontractors to reduce the potential for injury or illness in accordance with this partnership agreement:
    • Emergency action plan
    • Hazard communication plan and reposition of site chemicals reported by contractors and tier subcontractors
    • Fall protection plan and perimeter guards
    • Personal protective equipment, including equipment specified by NFPA 70 E, where applicable
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and its subcontractors agree to:
  1. Apply all relevant components of their respective comprehensive safety and health programs to the PNRC II Project.   These programs shall include:
    1. 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.
    2. Routine examination and analysis of hazards associated with individual jobs, processes, or phases of construction.
    3. Routine self-inspections and hazard abatement.
    4. A system for project workers to notify management, without fear of retaliation, about conditions that appear hazardous.
    5. A system for investigating accidents and near-misses, including procedures for guidance, reports of findings and the tracking of hazard correction to completion.
    6. A system to analyze trends through a review of site injury and illness data, and the hazards identified through inspections so that patterns of common causes can be identified and eliminated.
  2. Comply with all current OSHA and EM 385 standards.
  3. Have supervisors provide visible leadership in implementing the safety and health program. This includes:
    1. Supervisors establishing clear lines of communication with project workers.
    2. Supervisors setting an example of safe and healthful behavior.
    3. Creating an environment that allows project workers access to their top management and for contractor management to have access to the prime contractor’s management.
  4. Report all site injuries and illnesses to The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company immediately so that the site injury and illness log may be accurately maintained.
  5. Report all program deficiencies or damage to protective equipment, specifically site fall protection, immediately upon discovery and to take appropriate interim protective measures for protection of their employees.
  6. Contractors and subcontractors will submit to Whiting-Turner, at least quarterly, records of their site recordable injury and illness rates, days away from work rates, restricted workdays, and the contractor’s OSHA history.
  7. All contractors and subcontractors must 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.
  8. All contractors and subcontractors must complete a successful assessment of their site safety and health program. This assessment shall consider:
    1. Contractor has implemented a comprehensive written safety and health program based on ANSI A10.38-1991 or the OSHA 1989 Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines, and has site specific safety plans for all of the contractor’s work sites
    2. Contractor maintains a copy of its specialty contractor’s safety and health plan, hazard communication plan, and enforces a fall protection policy that is consistent with this Agreement.
    3. Contractor has designated safety personnel at each site who conduct documented safety inspections of all work on the contractor’s projects through training and experience, can recognize hazards and have authority to take prompt corrective action. Training equivalent to the OSHA 30-Hour Construction Outreach Course is satisfactory. 
    4. Contractor has trained all field supervisory personnel and has provided additional training for competent persons in such areas as scaffolding, excavation, fall protection, crane operations, etc. (This additional training will be dictated by the type and scope of the work the contractor routinely conducts).
    5. Contractor provides safety and health program orientations for all new employees and trains employees for hazard recognition specific to the contractor’s work sites.
    6. Contractor has evidence of employee involvement including, but not limited to, participation in self-audits, site inspections, job hazard analyses, safety and health program reviews, safety training and mishap investigations.
    7. Contractor conducts and documents weekly employee safety meetings.
    8. Contractor conducts and documents self-audits.
    9. Contractor has a written enforcement program.
  9. Verification by Whiting-Turner Project Safety Manager that a comprehensive written site specific safety and health program exists or that it will be implemented prior to starting work, which is at least equivalent to the criteria referenced herein, including the contractor’s or subcontractor’s implementation of policies and procedures to ensure that safety rules and procedures are enforced at the site. All submitted and reviewed safety plans will be available for review by the project safety & health management team. All plans will be maintained in the Project Safety Managers office.
  10. Subcontractors ensure or document that their policy and procedures hold supervisors and workers accountable for following established safety and health rules and OSHA regulations.
  11. Ensure that employee training covers applicable site hazards and the means to correct them, as well as pertinent standards and regulations.  Provide appropriate safety information and training to non-English speaking employees in their native language.
  12. Ensure that within 3 months after obtaining acceptance into this partnership program that the designated safety representative and other person(s) serving in the capacity as the competent person on the project will have completed the OSHA 30-hour course for the construction industry (or its equivalent).
  13. Provide safety related data or statistics, as requested, concerning such issues as man-hours worked, lost work day injuries, accident records and OSHA inspection results, and provide a summary of and analysis of pertinent safety and health related information for review by OSHA.  The purpose of such summary information will assist in preparing an annual report necessary for evaluating the merits of the program and making recommendations for continuous improvement.
  14. Employee involvement in the structure and operation of the program and in decisions that affect their safety & health, to make full use of their insight and energy. Key trades that have manpower of 40 or more employees onsite are invited to have a safety & health representative which will be part of a Project Safety Committee. Establish a Tradesmen and Whiting-Turner Project Safety Committee.
  15. Ensure that site personnel prior to mandatory safety orientation have completed the OSHA 10-hour course for the construction industry (or its equivalent). Documentation submitted by contractor.
  16. Ensure that all employees attend the WT/NIH Contractor Safety Orientation which will highlight NIH’s campus special requirements. WT will incorporate important information from the NIH orientation into the mandatory Project Safety Orientation.
CONTRACTOR ELIGIBILITY
Subcontractors wishing to take advantage of this opportunity to partner with OSHA must:
  1. Sign a letter of agreement with The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company indicating their intent to participate in this partnership initiative and to take steps to adopt into their safety program all of the provisions of the partnership agreement.
  2. Verify that a comprehensive written safety and health program exists or will be implemented within 30 days of signing the agreement, which is based on the OSHA 1989 Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines (or their equivalent), and has site specific safety plans for all of the contractor’s work sites.
  3. Certify that their policy and procedures hold supervisors and workers accountable for established safety rules and OSHA regulations.
  4. Provide the level of training required by OSHA regulations to their workers either through their own training personnel or other consultants or trainers.
  5. Ensure that as soon as possible, but not longer than 3 months after obtaining acceptance into this partnership program, field supervisory personnel or other personnel serving in the capacity of competent person will have completed the OSHA 30-hour course for the construction industry (or its equivalent). Records of training certification will be provided to The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and made available for review.   
  6. Provide periodic safety-related statistics (man hours worked, lost workday injuries, accident records, OSHA inspection results, and training records). The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company is to provide a summary and analysis for review by OSHA to track the progress of the partnership in meeting its goals to reduce injury and illness rates and to prepare an annual report to evaluate the merits of the partnership.   
  7. Ensure that site personnel prior to mandatory safety orientation have completed the OSHA 10-hour course for the construction industry (or its equivalent). Documentation submitted by contractor.
VERIFICATION PROCEDURES
In order to assist in measuring the success of this partnership, an initial onsite non-enforcement verification inspection will be conducted by OSHA after the signing of this agreement and annually thereafter in accordance with OSHA’s Directive for the Strategic Partnership Program, OSHA Instruction CSP 03-02-002.  The onsite non-enforcement verifications will consist of a review of written program elements and an inspection of site construction hazards.  If OSHA identifies serious hazards that the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company refuses to correct, OSHA will make a referral for an enforcement inspection.

Annual verifications will be timed and conducted to adequately evaluate employee exposure to hazards. 

Employees and/or employee representatives will be provided the opportunity to be involved in all onsite non-enforcement verification inspections.  If employee and/or employee representatives cannot actively participate in the site verification inspection, then employee interviews conducted during the non-enforcement verification audits will be utilized to determine the sites progress in meeting the goals and objectives stipulated within this agreement.    

The top causes of injuries and illnesses will be determined by all parties prior to and during the initial OSHA verification inspection. Corrections will be identified by all parties and implemented by the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company.  Injury and illness incidence in targeted areas will be evaluated through the OSHA 300 log and any other relevant accident reports.

Additionally, OSHA will meet with the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company quarterly to review partnership issues and to examine updated DART rates and the injury and illness experience of the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and its contractors at this site. OSHA shall provide feedback on any noted incident trends and patterns.

BENEFITS
In good standing, The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company will receive the following benefits from OSHA:
  1. Special recognition, which may include but is not limited to, press releases issued by OSHA and recognition on OSHA’s web page designating The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company as a participant in the OSPP.
  2. Availability of informational materials such as safety and health publications and electronic educational resources.
  3. After the signing of the OSPP, an initial onsite non-enforcement verification inspection will be conducted by OSHA in accordance with OSHA’s Directive for the Strategic Partnership Program (OSHA instruction CSP 03-02-002.)  Following the initial onsite non-enforcement inspection conducted by OSHA a review of the written program of the construction site hazards. If OSHA identifies serious hazards that Whiting-Turner or its subcontractors refuse to correct, OSHA will make a referral for an enforcement inspection.
  4. OSHA will not issue penalties to participating contractors for other-than-serious violations, provided the violations are immediately abated. 
  5. Priority status to The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, and specialty or trade contractors for compliance assistance and outreach activities including the OSHA 10- Hour Construction Course, as resources allow.
  6. If cited, The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, and specialty or trade contractors that join in the partnership may be provided the reductions provided in the Field Operations Manual (FOM), for good faith. This reduction will not apply to high gravity serious, willful, failure to abate or repeat citations.
OSHA INSPECTIONS
This partnership provides for the immediate response to each allegation of a safety or health hazard brought to its attention by any person. Upon a finding that an allegation is valid, the employer shall promptly abate the hazard.

Formal Complaints and Other Investigations:

OSHA personnel will continue to conduct investigations resulting from program scheduling, formal complaints, referrals, fatalities, catastrophes, other accidents or significant events. OSHA will also investigate contractors whose employees are exposed to or are creating plain view hazards at partnering worksites. These investigations will be conducted outside of this partnership agreement in accordance with established OSHA enforcement policy. Violations documented during such investigations may result in the issuance of citations and penalties.

EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
This partnership does not preclude employees and/or employers from exercising any right provided under the OSH 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.

EVALUATION
An annual evaluation of this partnership will be conducted annually. 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 The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company to gather required participant data to evaluate and track overall results and success of the partnership.

After the first year of the partnership, subsequent evaluations are to be conducted annually prior to the anniversary of the signing.

TERMINATION
This agreement will terminate upon completion of the project but no later than three (3) years from the date of signing. If either OSHA or The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company 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.

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice Form Approved OMB# 1218-0244 Expires 06-30-2012. Public reporting burden for the time needed to develop the Partnership requirements, craft agreement language, and conduct an internal review process is estimated to be an average of 11 burden hours per respondent.

SIGNATORIES (The following parties agree to the terms and conditions of this agreement.)


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Mr. Michael Walterschied
Area Director
Baltimore / Washington Area Office
Occupational Safety and Health Administration

__________________________________
Mr. Jeff Jenkins
Vice President
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company


____________________________________

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Mr. Dan Wheeland, PE
Director
Office of Research Facilities Development and Operations (ORF)
National Institutes of Health



__________________________________
Alfred Johnson, PhD
Designated Agency Safety and Health Official
Director, Office of Research Services (ORS)
National Institutes of Health


____________________________________

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Mr. Jean (Fred) Khoshbin, RA
Assistant Director for Design and Construction
Division of Property Management, ORF
National Institutes of Health



__________________________________
Mr. Brian Temme, PE, CCM
Manager of Projects
Jacobs Project Management Company


____________________________________

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Mr. Warren Strozyk
Sr. Superintendent
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company



__________________________________
Mr. James W. McDaniel, CHST
Project Safety Manager
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company


____________________________________

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Mr. Kyung Kim
Project Officer
Division of Property Management, ORF
National Institutes of Health



__________________________________
Mr. Frank Kutlak, RA
Project Officer
Division of Property Management, ORF
National Institutes of Health


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LCDR Derek Newcomer, CIH, CSP
Chief, Technical Assistance Branch
Division of Occupational Health and Safety,
ORS National Institutes of Health


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