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 STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, THE HOLDER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY AND GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY – SAFETY, HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL DIVISION FOR THE SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT |
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This agreement was developed jointly by Holder Construction Company and the Savannah Area Office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Georgia Institute of Technology – Safety, Health and Environmental Division (Georgia Tech). The common objectives and goals of the agreement are to provide a safe and healthful work environment for employees engaged in construction activities on the Savannah State University Construction Project. This partnership is a voluntary agreement and is an alternative to the OSHA’s traditional enforcement procedures. This agreement is consistent with OSHA’s long-range efforts to develop to improve health and safety in the construction industry and effectively utilize OSHA’s resources. This partnership will involve the construction of a new Academic Building by Holder Construction Company on the campus of Savannah State University, in Savannah, Georgia. Since 1960 Holder has been in operation as a national commercial construction services firm. Holder is committed to providing a healthy, safe, clean working environment for its employees. As evident by this partnership, the Holder emphasizes continual improvement in the area of safety and health, as well as quality. The partners in this agreement will include the following: The overall goal of the partnership is to create a working relationship that will focus efforts on preventing work related fatalities, controlling or eliminating serious workplace hazards and injuries. The worksite will implement the following secondary goals and objective to achieve an accident-free workplace:
3.3. Goals, Strategies and Performance Measures
Holder Construction Company and all contractors/subcontractors agree to develop, implement, and maintain effective comprehensive safety and health management systems in accordance OSHA’s 1989 Safety and Health Management Guidelines as follows: 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. Additionally, this partnership will not affect the employee’s rights under the OSHA Act and OSHA regulations, including walk around rights during an OSHA inspection. Employees shall be involved in the implementation of the worksite safety and health programs including: audits, site inspections, job hazard analysis, and investigations. A partnership committee will be formed to manage the operation of this partnership agreement. It will consist of the Holder Safety Representatives and the OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist. A Holder Safety Representative will serve as the chairperson, the Site Safety Coordinator and as OSHA’s primary contact. The Holder Safety Representative will review contractor compliance and involvement in the partnership, analyzes job site audits, make partnership improvements, evaluate partnership modifications, achievements and success. Holder Construction Company staffing during the project will consist of three full time safety coordinators and a full time superintendent to assist in safety management. Participating companies agree to have a full time safety official whose job will be to manage the safety and health program, reduce injuries/illnesses, and ensure compliance with OSHA standards. This official will have the authority to ensure safety and health corrections and to shut down operations that pose an imminent danger risk. Georgia Tech will provide training and assistance to employers regarding the development of an effective Safety and Health Management System (SHMS) including: management commitment, employee involvement, hazard recognition, hazard elimination and control, training, and annual performance reviews to ensure continuous improvement. OSHA will also provide tools to assist in the development and implementation of these SHMS. Following the outreach/training sessions, Holder Construction Company will be responsible for identifying the number of participants that have developed a new program or enhanced their existing safety and health program. OSHA and Holder will review the data and verify the information as necessary. The partnership will result in an increase in the number of contractors that develop safety and health programs or enhance their existing program. Georgia Tech and OSHA will provide outreach/training sessions to increase the awareness of management and labor to potential hazards commonly found around institutional building construction projects. Following the outreach/training sessions, Holder Construction Company will work with contractors to develop tools to eliminate and control hazards. The partnership will result in an increase in the number of workplace hazards eliminated or controlled at the site through voluntary efforts. Holder Construction Company will be responsible for identifying the number hazards voluntarily eliminated or controlled. 6.1 Occupational Safety & Health Administration: Holder Construction Company and its sub-contractors will remain subject to OSHA inspections and investigations in accordance with agency procedures. OSHA will continue to investigate fatalities and catastrophes that occur at member companies. OSHA will continue to investigate all complaints and referrals received in accordance with OSHA Instruction CPL 2.115, Complaint Policies and Procedures. A. Self-Inspections The Holder Construction Company agrees to exercise control over any recognized site safety or health hazard identified during comprehensive self-inspections, and to eliminate the potential for injury or illness in accordance with this partnership agreement. The on-site safety representative will conduct monthly comprehensive inspections of the entire project with contractor involvement, as agreed. The on-site safety representative will supplement the comprehensive inspections with weekly inspections and periodic inspections, as necessary. The on-site safety representative will report any findings directly to the appropriate contractor/subcontractor. The on-site safety representative may delegate the task of inspecting part or all of the site to a smaller complement of representatives, provided that representatives of organized labor (if present on the site) 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. If any site employer does not meet the aforementioned criteria, the inspection of their work and safety and health performance shall proceed in accordance with traditional OSHA guidelines for comprehensive inspections. B. OSHA Enforcement Complaint/Referral Investigations This partnership provides for immediate employer response to each allegation of a safety or health hazard brought to its attention by any employee or employee representative. Upon a finding that an allegation is valid, the employer shall promptly abate the hazard. 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 and annually thereafter. These inspections will follow Focused Inspection protocol (per the appropriate OSHA guidelines) and will be conducted in accordance with paragraph XIV B.4 of OSHA CSP 03-02-002: OSHA Strategic Partnership Program for Worker Safety and Health by a compliance officer familiar with this agreement. Violations of standards, regulations or the General Duty Clause found during verification inspections may result in citations. Inspections conducted in response to complaints and referrals may qualify as a verification inspection, if in addition to addressing the complaint or referral items the compliance officer completes the focused inspection protocol for the entire work site. All employees’ rights under the OSH Act will be afforded. If OSHA determines that any site subcontractor, under the control and direction of Holder Construction Company, does not meet the requirements set forth in this partnership agreement, the OSHA inspection of this subcontractor’s work will proceed in accordance with the traditional OSHA protocol for comprehensive inspections. The following are benefits for the Holder Construction Company and their subcontractors when and only when they are working at Savannah State University Construction Project: a) A 12-month deletion from programmed inspection lists. This will occur after completion of the initial onsite consultation visit by the Georgia Tech Onsite Consultation Program, and an onsite enforcement verification inspection by the OSHA Savannah Area Office. b) Participation in the partnership will result in eligibility for the maximum good faith penalty reductions of 25%, except for willful, repeat, and failure-to-abate violations and fatality investigations. c) No penalties for non-serious violations except for recordkeeping violations and failure to timely report fatalities. d) Technical assistance and training by OSHA and the Georgia Tech Onsite Consultation Program. The partners will conduct a joint evaluation one year after the signing of the partnership to determine if the partnership should be modified, discontinued, or improved. The evaluation will be accomplished by OSHA based on data provided by the Holder Construction Company and the Georgia Tech Onsite Consultation Program. The evaluation will follow OSHA Directive Number CSP 03-02-002, Strategic Partnerships for Worker Safety and Health and effectively evaluate the contractor’s success toward achievement of the established goals. Additionally, Holder Construction Company agrees to collect data designed to reflect the impact of the outreach/training activities and all signatories agree to an initial commitment of time to complete all aspects of the partnership. The resources used will be validated by the expected positive impact in the form of better safety and health programs and the control of predictable hazards in the workplace. The partnership is expected to run until March 2009. However, if OSHA, the Holder Construction Company or Georgia Tech Onsite Consultation Program wishes to withdraw their participation prior to the established expiration date, the Partnership will be considered null and void upon receipt of a written notice of the intent to withdraw. If OSHA chooses to withdraw its participation in the partnership, the entire agreement is terminated. A signatory may also propose modification or amendment of the agreement.
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