|
Region IV > #610 Partnership Agreement |
 Printing Instructions |
|
|
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY and HEALTH ADMINISTRATION’S
MOBILE AREA OFFICE
WHITE-SPUNNER CONSTRUCTION, INC.
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA SAFE STATE ONSITE SAFETY AND HEALTH CONSULTATION
PROGRAM
ALABAMA AGC
 |
I. PURPOSE/SCOPE
This partnering agreement was developed jointly by the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA), the University of Alabama Onsite Safety and Health
Consultation Program (Safe State) White-Spunner Construction, Inc. (White-Spunner
Construction) and the Alabama Chapter of the Associated General Contractors (AlabamaAGC).
The common objective and goals of the agreement are to reduce injuries and
illnesses, increasing safety and health training, sharing of best work
practices, increasing employers with safety and health management systems, and
compliance with applicable OSHA standards and regulations.
To facilitate the goal of reducing occupational related fatalities and serious
injuries within the construction industry OSHA, Safe State, White-Spunner
Construction and AlabamaAGC will implement an agreement under the OSHA Strategic
Partnership Program (OSPP). This agreement will address the prevention of the
workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities, as well as the development and
implementation of effective safety and health management systems.
This agreement will cover the White-Spunner Construction Corporate Office
Project in Mobile, Alabama. The project will consist of their corporate office
that will be a 2 story 40,000sq ft office building. Building Construction will
start in August 2007 with a finishing date scheduled for August 2008. White-Spunner
Construction expects to reduce exposure to hazards, serious injuries and
fatalities by focusing its efforts and the combined resources of OSHA, Safe
State and the AlabamaAGC.
II. IDENTIFICATION OF PARTNERS
This Partnership is consistent with OSHA’s long-range efforts to develop a
contractor/ government partnership approach to safety management. It allows for
better use of OSHA resources and innovation in safety management and encourages
more participation in the safety process from the construction community. The
partners in this agreement will include: The OSHA; White-Spunner Construction;
Safe State; and the AlabamaAGC.
III. GOALS AND MEASUREMENTS
The primary objective of this partnership is to create a working relationship
that focuses on preventing work-related fatalities, controlling or eliminating
serious workplace hazards, and establishing a foundation for the development of
an effective safety and health program. The goals employed to achieve these
results will include the following:
A. GOALS
Participants in this Partnership will strive to:
- Reduce the Total Case Injury Rate (TCIR) and the Days Away Restricted or
Transfer (DART) Rate by 10 percent, compared to the currently BLS rates for the
industry, there by providing a safe and healthful work environment for employees
at the Project.
- Continually improve safety and health at the worksite by ensuring that best
practices are shared with all subcontractors.
- Increase the number of employees, employers and supervisors that are provided
effective safety and health training, such as the OSHA 10-hour course.
- Effectively control workplace hazards by increasing the number of
construction companies with safety and health management systems.
B. MEASUREMENTS
White-Spunner Construction will serve as the primary data collector for this
agreement. Outcome measures compiled under this agreement will include:
- The measurement system will use OSHA recordable injuries and illnesses to
determine the Days Away, Restricted or Transferred Rate (DART) and Total Case
Injury and Illness Rate (TCIIR) for the site compared to the average for the
construction industry nationally. Rates for fall and amputation injuries will
also be tracked and computed.
- Activity measures shall include the applicable number of employers,
supervisors and employees trained. White-Spunner Construction Inc. will maintain
the records of 10-hour training certifications. All contractors will be required
to conduct weekly toolbox talks, or participate in White-Spunner Construction
weekly training sessions. The time, place, attendees and topics/hazards
discussed shall be documented.
- White-Spunner Construction will track the number of subcontractors with
effective safety and health management systems and evaluate the systems.
- On a monthly basis White-Spunner Construction will collect data to analyze
the number of hours worked, number of injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
- On a monthly basis White-Spunner Construction will collect data to analyze
serious violations found as a result of onsite audits, jobsite inspections, and
OSHA inspection activity.
- White-Spunner Construction will maintain records of the jobsite safety and
health inspections, including the total number of hazards identified and
corrective action (accomplished by the general contractor and by each
subcontractor). The jobsite inspections reports will indicate the number of
hazards observed, corrective actions, as well as safety and health management
system improvements. This data will be provided to OSHA for the annual
partnership evaluation report.
- Measurement factors will be compiled monthly by White-Spunner Construction
and the information will be provided OSHA for the annual partnership evaluation
report.
IV. MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION
A. White-Spunner Construction Inc. will:
- Establish a jobsite safety committee, consisting of a representative of all
contractors on site, and implement the safety committee’s Zero Injury Safety
Goal and a comprehensive safety and health management system, which includes:
- Management commitment and employee involvement;
- Hazard analysis;
- Hazard control;
- Arrangement of training assistance for other stakeholders on site.
- Mentor subcontractors in safety and health management systems. Subcontractors
shall include all multi-tiered subs that arrive for work on the site.
- (Where the potential for airborne silica exposure exists) Require the use of
wet cutting, and/or dust collection system, and when needed, the mandatory use
of approved respiratory protection. Personal air monitoring will be conducted to
assess employee exposure levels. Where the potential for other health issues
exist (i.e., carbon monoxide, lead, hexavalent chromium, or large-scale use of
chemicals in the building interior during floor finishing), White-Spunner
Construction will coordinate with the subcontractor responsible for creating the
hazard and ensure that air monitoring is accomplished to assess employee
exposure levels. Sampling results will be compiled and tracked by White-Spunner
Construction.
- Have the authority to enforce safety rules and regulations. This authority
will include provisions to hold contractors and employees accountable and, if
necessary, remove contractor employees, supervision from the job site.
- Ensure that a risk assessment is performed by a competent person on all fall
hazards. The probability and severity of occurrence for each identified hazard
will be evaluated to eliminate or reduce the risk through engineering or
administrative controls to a level as low as possible.
- Implement a 100% fall protection program where participant requires and
enforces the use of conventional fall protection such as fall arrest systems,
safety net systems, or guardrail systems, when their employees or
subcontractors’ employees are performing work that is in excess of 6 feet above
a lower level.
- To the extent feasible, serious ergonomic hazards will be identified and
corrected.
- Ensure that ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) are used to protect all
electrical circuits that are installed for work. All contractors will ensure
that employees are protected by the use of a GFCI at all times.
- (White-Spunner Construction - Superintendent and Safety Director) Oversee
safety and health at the site, serve as a point of contact and monitor the
achievement of the partnership goals.
- (White-Spunner Construction - Superintendent and Safety Director) Ensure
that daily Safety Audits are conducted. Since this is a multi-employer worksite
and all workers are to work together on safety issues, White-Spunner
Construction upon request, will review subcontractors daily log books, and note
any hazards found, and then review them with all committee members at the weekly
coordination/Subcontractor meeting.
- Conduct and document job site safety meetings/toolbox talks on a weekly
basis.
- Submit monthly accident reports to the partners, including first aid,
injury, property damage and near miss reports.
- Coordinate and conduct a comprehensive site audit on a weekly basis, led by
White-Spunner Construction - Superintendent. Safety Committee/Subcontractor
Members will participate in the site safety audit. If non-compliant activity or
hazards are discovered which require immediate correction action, White-Spunner
Construction will document the corrective action taken and share this
information with OSHA and the Safe State during the monthly update meetings.
- Audit the partnership and make recommendation for improvement.
- Share the results of jobsite inspections and information concerning near
misses with all workers. Near misses and daily safety audits will be discussed
during Tool Box Talks.
- Ensure that no employees are allowed to work directly below a suspended load
except for: employees engaged in the initial connection of steel; employees
necessary for hooking or unhooking the load. The following criteria must be met
when employees are allowed to work under the load: materials being hoisted shall
be rigged to prevent unintentional displacement; hooks with self-closing safety
latches or their equivalent shall be used to prevent components from slipping
out of the hook; all loads shall be rigged by a qualified rigger. Appropriate
use of tag lines will be utilized to prevent work below suspended loads.
- Require the use of appropriate personal protective equipment. Hardhats are
mandatory, and eye protection will be worn whenever operations present potential
eye injury from physical, chemical, or radiation agents. Employees working at
night shall wear high-visibility reflective clothing.
- Ensure that all signs and warnings will be posted in English and Spanish, as
well as any other appropriate languages.
B. OSHA will:
- Serve as a resource and liaison for partnership participants and also assist
with safety and health training, as resources permit.
- Give priority to the construction project when technical assistance is
needed.
- Audit the monthly reports/documents and make recommendations for improvements
in the meeting Partnership goals.
- Conduct inspections in accordance with section VIII of this partnership.
C. SUBCONTRACTORS will:
- Appoint a representative to the site Safety Committee responsible for
resolving job safety matters and serving as a liaison to White-Spunner’s
Construction’s Superintendent.
- Participate in the weekly Safety Committee/Subcontractor meetings and safety
audits and conduct jobsite safety inspections for those employees under their
control. This will be in addition to the general inspections that are to occur
daily. If non-compliant activity or hazards are discovered, immediate correction
is required. Documentation of abatement methods and verification must be
submitted to White-Spunner Construction’s Safety Director.
- Share the results of jobsite inspections with all workers by posting them in
the project office.
D. ON-SITE SAFETY AND HEALTH CONSULTATION PROGRAM will:
Give priority consideration to requests for services to small contractors who
are engaged in work at the project.
E. ALABAMA AGC will:
- Provide a location for safety classes;
- Assist with safety and health training, ie: 10 Hour OSHA Course
- Assist in provision of safety class materials;
- Provide Tool Box Safety Talks;
- Provide bi-lingual signs for the jobsite;
- Assist with bi-lingual safety training;
- Serve as a resource and liaison for partnership participants.
V. SAFETY AND HEALTH MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
White-Spunner Construction will use its system to collect and analyze injury and
illness trends (including near-miss incidents) by all contractors performing
work at the site. This data will be used as a tool to ensure continual safety
and health improvement at the site. The management of this agreement will be
accomplished by White-Spunner Construction by implementing a comprehensive
jobsite safety and health management system which includes:
- White-Spunner Construction will complete a risk assessment prior to exposing
employee to potential safety and health hazards.
- Work with OSHA, Safe State and committee members to provide the resources to
conduct initial monitoring for ALL toxins, carcinogens, or hazardous substances
currently emphasized by OSHA and which present inhalation hazards, such as
silica, lead, cadmium, and/or isocyanates. Employee exposures will be assumed
and respiratory protection worn until the results of the initial monitoring
studies are received and demonstrate no exposure problems or prior surveys show
no hazard exists. White-Spunner Construction will endeavor to ensure that no
work with these materials will occur, thus preventing any exposure.
- Daily audits will be performed by all contractors on site. In addition, on a
weekly basis, a comprehensive audit of the jobsite will be performed, with a
representative of all contractors currently working on-site as participants. Any
hazards found during the audits will be corrected promptly. When hazards can not
be corrected immediately appropriate interim control measures must be
implemented and the condition will be tracked until abatement is completed.
Additionally, employees exposed to these hazardous conditions will be informed
of the hazard. A record will be kept of all hazards found during the weekly
audits and the number of hazards corrected as a result.
- Implement an aggressive Fall Protection Plan to include fall protection in
all cases where work is being performed 6 feet or more above lower surfaces.
- Ensure employees receive training as follows:
- Supervisory personnel will possess an OSHA 10-hour card or its equivalent.
White-Spunner Construction will work with all subcontractors to provide their
safety designee with an OSHA 10-hour card, or its’ equivalent. This 10-hour
training will be mandatory.
- All employees will receive a site-specific construction safety orientation
covering jobsite safety and health issues, procedures relative to the work being
performed, as well as the requirements outlined in the partnership agreement. In
addition, employees shall receive training on the content of the risk assessment
for operations they will encounter. This may require periodic retraining of
employees on the content of the risk assessment as they become relevant due to
entering new phases of construction. This material will be provided by White-Spunner
Construction to the subcontractor’s designated safety representative for
completion.
- Safety and health training will be provided to all workers in a language they
understand. Bi-lingual Instructors will be contracted to perform this training.
A list of instructors will be provided by White-Spunner Construction to all
subcontractors to ensure that all workers are effectively trained.
- Other hazard-specific training will be conducted on an as-needed basis.
- Subcontractors can utilize other instructors as long as they can show a valid
certification card showing completion of the course. White-Spunner Construction
contractors have primary responsibility for providing this training. White-Spunner
Construction and/or OSHA will provide assistance, as resources allow. White-Spunner
Construction will conduct OSHA 10-hr safety training courses to assist in the
training of personnel, to the extent scheduling permits.
- Subcontractors with written safety and health management systems must submit
them to White-Spunner Construction for evaluation. Companies without safety and
health management systems may adopt White-Spunner Construction’s, or developing
an adequate safety and health management system with the assistance of the Safe
State.
- Ensure health-related issues which occur during the course of the project are
adequately addressed by White-Spunner Construction and/or the affected
subcontractors. OSHA and Safe State will assist in the effort to the extent
their resources permits. All health-related issues will be discussed monthly
during the partnership meetings.
- An effective hearing conservation program, including noise monitoring and
engineering controls, where possible, will be implemented by White-Spunner
Construction Safety Department.
- An effective environmental monitoring program will be implemented to control
airborne hazards, such as silica, and will include personal monitoring, employee
training, implementation of engineering controls where possible, and the use of
respiratory protection when necessary. Previous site-based data will be
considered acceptable.
- Ensure compliance when working on live electrical equipment, including
training and the availability and use of personal protective equipment. A permit
system will be implemented whenever work around live electrical systems will be
done to ensure the implementation of appropriate protective measures prior to
exposure. The permit form will include requirements for pre-task review and
lockout/tagout procedures to be followed.
- Ensure all equipment capable of amputations is adequately guarded.
VI. ANNUAL EVALUATION
The program will be evaluated on an annual basis through the use of the
Strategic Partnership Annual Evaluation Format as specified in Appendix C of
OSHA Instruction CSP 03-02-002, OSHA Strategic Partnership Program for Worker
Safety and Health.
It will be the responsibility of White-Spunner Construction Contractors to
gather required participant data to evaluate and track the overall results and
success of this partnership agreement. This data will be shared with OSHA. It
will be the responsibility of OSHA to write and submit the annual evaluation.
VII. BENEFITS
Participant benefits from OSHA may include:
- Maximum penalty reductions allowed in the OSHA Field Inspection Reference
Manual (FIRM) for good faith and history. When calculating the initial penalty
reduction, OSHA may provide an additional 10% reduction for good faith; beyond
the 25% reductions provided in the FIRM where the employer, in implementing the
OSP, has taken specific significant steps beyond those provided in the FIRM to
implement the Act and achieve a high level of employee protection (see FIRM,
Chapter IV.C.2.1.5 (b)). This additional reduction will not apply to high
gravity serious, willful, 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 (see FIRM, Chapter IV.C.2.b).
- In the event that a citation with penalties is issued, the Regional
Administrator has the authority to negotiate the amount of an additional penalty
reduction as part of the informal conference settlement agreement.
- Upon successful completion of one onsite enforcement verification inspection
within 3 months of the implementation of this agreement, the site will receive a
deferral from general scheduled inspections for a period of twelve months.
- Priority Consultation service and assistance for small employers working on
the construction site from the Safe State.
VIII. OSHA INSPECTIONS AND VERIFICATION
- Verification Inspections: OSHA will conduct the initial verification
inspection no sooner than three-months after partnership participants formally
enter into this agreement. During this period participants should develop and
implement the safety and health management systems required under this
agreement. After this period, OSHA will conduct the initial onsite enforcement
verification inspection. The verification inspection may be conducted as a
focused inspection, per the appropriate OSHA guidelines. A compliance officer
that is familiar with the White-Spunner Construction Partnership will conduct
the verification inspections.
- Complaint/Referral Investigations: 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.
- OSHA agrees that a copy of each non-formal complaint/referral related to the
work site and filed with OSHA will be forwarded by fax, or by CSHO, to the
White-Spunner Construction Project Management office onsite. In accordance with
applicable law, the name of the complainant requesting confidentiality will not
be revealed. White-Spunner Construction agrees to investigate these complaints,
regardless of the employer involved and provide OSHA with a written response
within 5 working days.
- Accident Investigations: Employers engaged in this partnership recognize that
OSHA fully investigates accidents involving a fatality or serious physical harm.
If during the course of the investigation OSHA determines that the incident
resulted from violations of the OSHA standards, the employer will not be
afforded partnership benefits.
- Once a verification inspection has been conducted at the White-Spunner
Construction Corporate Office Project, which reveals that the site has
adequately assessed, controlled and prevented employee exposure to hazards at
the site, then the site will receive a deferral from programmed inspections for
twelve months, in accordance with the current OSHA Instruction CSP 03-02-002,
OSHA Strategic Partnership Program for Worker Safety and Health.
IX. EMPLOYEE/EMPLOYER 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 rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the Act.
X. TERMINATION
It is understood that this agreement shall be in effect until completion of
construction activities at the White-Spunner Construction Corporate Office
Project Site. Should any “signatory” stakeholder choose to withdraw prior to
project completion, a written notice shall be given stating the reason(s) and
providing 30 days notice to the other party(s).
If OSHA chooses to withdraw its participation in the partnership, the entire
agreement is terminated. Any party may also propose modification or amendment of
the agreement.
Changes to the partnership agreement may be implemented if all parties are in
agreement that it is in the best interest of all members involved.
XI. SIGNATURE PAGE
Agreement Signing Date: _____________________
Ken Nishiyama-Atha
Date
Mobile OSHA Area Office
Occupational Safety and
Health Administration |
|
Tommy Rowe
Date
Executive Vice President
White-Spunner Construction, Inc |
|
Dr. William Weems
Date
Safe State Program
University of Alabama |
|
Torrey Garrison Date
Corporate Safety Director
White-Spunner Construction, Inc. |
|
Charlotte Kopf Date
Alabama AGC |
|
|
|
|
|
Back to Top
