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 Strategic Partnerships
GEORGIA AQUARIUM EXPANSION PROJECT
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

BETWEEN

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY and HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
ATLANTA WEST AREA OFFICE

AND

The Georgia Tech Research Institute's Occupational Safety and Health
Programs Office

AND

BRASFIELD & GORRIE, LLC

  1. PURPOSE/SCOPE

    This partnering agreement was developed jointly by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Georgia Institute of Technology Onsite Safety and Health Consultation Program (Georgia Tech) and Brasfield & Gorrie. The common objective and goals of the agreement are to reduce injuries and illnesses, increasing safety and health training, sharing of best work practices and increasing the number employers with safety and health management systems. 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.

    To facilitate the goal of reducing occupational related fatalities and serious injuries within the construction industry OSHA, Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and Brasfield & Gorrie will implement an agreement under the OSHA Strategic Partnership Program (OSPP). This agreement will cover the expansion of the Georgia Aquarium. The Georgia Aquarium is currently a 550,000 square-foot facility; after improvements are made, the building will increase its space to more than 620,000 square feet. The project will improve the overall special events and guest experiences through an expansion of the facility with the addition of a 6th gallery which will consist of the newly constructed Dolphin tank.

    By combining its efforts, skills, knowledge and resources OSHA, Brasfield & Gorrie and Georgia Tech expect to reduce exposure to hazards and thereby decrease the possibility of serious injuries and fatalities at the Georgia Aquarium Expansion Project.

     
  2. IDENTIFICATION OF PARTNERS

    The partners in this agreement will include:
    • OSHA
       
    • Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC
       
    • GTRI Onsite Safety and Health Consultation Program
       
  3. 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:

    GOAL STRATEGIES MEASURES
    Reduce the total number of injuries and illnesses cases by 10 percent, thereby providing a safe and healthful work environment for employees at the Project. a) Reviewing the OSHA 300 data of the partnership participants.

    b) Calculating the employer's TCIR and Days away from work, restricted, or job transferred (DART) 1rates.

    c) Comparing this data with the baseline rates for the agreement.    		 a) This goal will be measured by the number of companies participating in the partnership, which reduce their TCIR and DART rates below the baseline for the partnership.

    b) Baseline will be based on the current BLS data for the industry.

    c) The DART rate will also be identified for the three different levels of participation (RED, WHITE and BLUE).
    Effectively control workplace hazards by increasing the number of construction companies with safety and health management systems. Methods to evaluate the partner's performance in this area will include the implementation of comprehensive safety and health management systems, employers that establish effective safety and health management systems Measure the number of participants that develop and implement effective safety and health management systems as a result of participating in the partnership, compared to the baseline for the agreement. The baseline will be established during the initial year of the agreement.
    Increase the number of employees, employers and supervisors that are provided effective safety and health training, such as the OSHA 10-hour course. a) Evaluation of the employers that establish effective safety and health training programs.

    b) Evaluation of the employers that provide employees with OSHA 10-hour/ OSHA 30-hour training.     		a) Measure the number of employers with effective safety and health training programs.

    b) Measure the number of managers, supervisors and employees provide with OSHA 10-hour/ OSHA 30-hour training, compared to the baseline for the agreement. The baseline will be established during the initial year of the agreement.
    Continually improve safety and health at the worksite by ensuring that best practices are shared with all subcontractors. a) OSHA will evaluate the number of inspections and types of violations issued to partnership members.


    b) Brasfield & Gorrie will continuously monitor worksites by conducting audits identifying and correcting serious hazards.    		 Measured by monitoring the number of participants that experience OSHA enforcement inspections, which result in citations with penalties. A comparison will be made between the number of previous OSHA inspections and hazards identified.

     
  4. MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION
     
    1. Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC will:
       
      1. Establish a jobsite safety walk team, consisting of a representative of all contractors on site, implement the safety committee's Zero Injury Philosophy, in that all accidents are preventable and unnecessary, and a comprehensive safety and health management system, which includes:
        1. Management commitment and employee involvement;
           
        2. Hazard analysis;
           
        3. Hazard control;
           
        4. Arrangement of training assistance for other stakeholders on site.
      2. Mentor subcontractors in safety and health management systems. Subcontractors shall include all multi-tiered subs that arrive for work on the site.
         
      3. Where the potential for airborne silica exposure exists, require the use of wet cutting, or soft cutting techniques and/or dust collection system, and when needed, the mandatory use of approved respiratory protection. To the extent feasible, personal air monitoring will be conducted to assess employee exposure levels. Where the potential for other health issues exist (i.e., carbon monoxide, lead, or large-scale use of chemicals in the building interior during floor finishing), Brasfield & Gorrie 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 Brasfield & Gorrie.
         
      4. 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.
         
      5. 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.
        1. Critical risk will not be tolerated. No work will be performed until action is taken to reduce the level of risk to as low as reasonably feasible.
           
        2. Bricklayers performing overhand bricklaying and related work above lower levels must be adequately protected. No monitor system will be allowed.
           
        3. Workers on the face of formwork or reinforcing steel must be protected from falling by personal fall arrest systems, with the use of a positioning device, and/or lanyards.
           
      6. To the extent feasible, serious ergonomic hazards will be identified and corrected.
         
      7. 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.
         
      8. The Superintendent and Safety Director for Brasfield & Gorrie will to serve as a point of contact, monitor safety and health at the site and its progress toward achievement of the partnership goals.
         
      9. Brasfield & Gorrie's Superintendent and Safety Director will ensure that daily Safety Audits are conducted (since this is a multi-employer worksite and all workers are to work together on safety issues). Brasfield & Gorrie, upon request, will review subcontractors daily log books, note any hazards found, and then review them with all committee members at the weekly coordination/Subcontractor meeting.
         
      10. Conduct and document job site safety meetings/toolbox talks on a weekly basis.
         
      11. Submit monthly accident reports to the partners, including first aid, injury, property damage and near miss reports.
         
      12. Coordinate and conduct a comprehensive site audit twice each month led by Brasfield & Gorrie's Superintendent. Safety Committee and Subcontractor Members will participate in the site safety audit. If non-compliant activity or hazards are discovered, immediate correction is required. Brasfield & Gorrie will document the corrective action taken and share this information with OSHA and the Georgia Tech Research Institute during the quarterly update meetings.
         
      13. Audit the partnership and make recommendation for improvement.
         
      14. 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.
         
      15. 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.
         
      16. Require the use of appropriate personal protective equipment. Hardhats are mandatory. Employees exposed to or working with heavy equipment and all flagmen on site shall wear high-visibility reflective clothing. A 100 percent eye protection program will be implemented.
         
      17. Ensure that all signs and warnings will be posted in English and Spanish, as well as any other appropriate languages.
         
      18. Implement a 100 percent Fall Protection Plan for all work preformed 6 feet or more above lower surfaces.
         
    2. Subcontractors will:
       
      1. Appoint a representative to the site Safety Committee responsible for resolving job safety matters and serving as a liaison to Brasfield & Gorrie's Superintendent. Every prime subcontractor will have a person available to participate in the safety committee. Participation in this committee will consist of, but will not be limited to, participation in the Project Team Safety Walkthroughs and monthly safety meetings.
         
      2. 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 Brasfield & Gorrie's Safety Director.
         
      3. Participate in the weekly Safety Committee/Subcontractor meetings and safety audits. If non-compliant activity or hazards are discovered, immediate correction is required. Abatement methods and verification must be submitted to Brasfield & Gorrie's Safety Director who will document the correction taken and share this information during the monthly update meetings.
         
      4. Share the results of jobsite inspections with all workers by posting them in the project office.
         
    3. OSHA will:
       
      1. Participate, to the extent resources permit, in the quarterly Partnership Committee/Subcontractor meetings, but will not participate in the walk around inspection, except that the verification visits may be scheduled as part of the weekly walk around inspection.
         
      2. Serve as a resource and liaison for partnership participants and also assist with safety and health training, as resources permit.
         
      3. Give priority to the construction project when technical assistance is needed.
         
      4. Audit the monthly reports/documents and make recommendations for improvements in the meeting Partnership goals.
         
      5. Conduct inspections in accordance with section VIII of this partnership.
         
      6. Conduct the annual partnership evaluation report in accordance with section VI of this agreement.
         
    4. GTRI's On-site Consultation Program will:

      Give priority consideration to requests for services to small contractors who are engaged in work at the project.
       
  5. SAFETY AND HEALTH MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

    Brasfield & Gorrie 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 Brasfield & Gorrie implementing a comprehensive jobsite safety and health management system which includes:
     
    1. Brasfield & Gorrie will complete a risk assessment prior to exposing employee to potential safety and health hazards. This will be accomplished by the use of the Brasfield & Gorrie Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) form (attached)
       
    2. Work with OSHA, Georgia Tech 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. Brasfield & Gorrie will endeavor to ensure that no work with these materials will occur, thus preventing any exposure. Brasfield & Gorrie will request periodic evaluation visits by its insurance company's Industrial Hygienist and Georgia Tech.
       
    3. Daily audits will be performed by all contractors on site. In addition, twice each month, 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. Items noted on the audit will be annotated on a daily log. When hazards cannot be corrected immediately they will be tracked until abatement is completed. Employees exposed to these hazardous conditions will be informed of the hazard and an effective interim control measures will be implemented. A record will be kept of all hazards found during the comprehensive audits and the number of hazards corrected as a result. (See Brasfield & Gorrie Daily Safety Log attached for an example)
       
    4. Implement an aggressive Fall Protection Plan to include fall protection in all cases where work is being preformed 6 feet or more above lower surfaces.
       
    5. Ensure employees receive training as follows:
      1. Supervisory personnel will possess an OSHA 10-hour card or its equivalent. Brasfield & Gorrie will work with all subcontractors to provide their safety designee with an OSHA 10-hour card, or its equivalent.
         
      2. 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 Brasfield & Gorrie to the Subcontractor's designated safety representative for completion.
         
      3. 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 Brasfield & Gorrie to all subcontractors to ensure that all workers are effectively trained.
         
      4. Other hazard-specific training will be conducted on an as-needed basis.
         
      5. Subcontractors can utilize other instructors as long as they can show a valid certification card showing completion of the course. Brasfield & Gorrie Contractors have primary responsibility for providing this training; however, as resources allow Georgia Tech will also provide assistance. Brasfield & Gorrie plans to hold 10-hr Safety Training Sessions every 4 months to help train all personnel as schedule allows.
    6. Subcontractors with written safety and health management systems must submit them to Brasfield & Gorrie for evaluation. Companies without safety and health management systems may adopt Brasfield & Gorrie's, or develop an adequate safety and health management system with the assistance of the Georgia Tech Research Institute Onsite Consultation Program.
       
    7. Ensure health-related issues which occur during the course of the project are adequately addressed by Brasfield & Gorrie and/or the affected subcontractors, with the assistance of OSHA as its resources permit and Georgia Tech. All health-related issues will be discussed monthly during the partnership meetings.
      1. An effective hearing conservation program, including noise monitoring and engineering controls, where possible, will be implemented by Brasfield & Gorrie Safety Department.
         
      2. 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.
    8. Ensure compliance with the NFPA 70E 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 includes requirements for pre-task review and lock out/tag out procedures to be followed.
       
    9. Ensure all equipment capable of amputations is adequately guarded.
       
  6. 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 Brasfield & Gorrie's Contractors to gather required participant data to evaluate and track the overall results and success of the Partnership program. This data will be shared with OSHA. It will be the responsibility of OSHA to write and submit the annual evaluation.

     
  7. BENEFITS

    Participant benefits from OSHA may include:
     
    1. Maximum penalty reductions allowed in the OSHA Field Operations Manual (FOM) 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 FOM where the employer, in implementing the OSP, has taken specific significant steps beyond those provided in the FOM to implement the Act and achieve a high level of employee protection (see FOM, 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 FOM will apply (see FOM, Chapter IV.C.2.b).
       
    2. In the event that a citation with penalties is issued, the Area Director has the authority to negotiate the amount of an additional penalty reduction as part of the informal conference settlement agreement.
       
    3. Upon successful completion of one verification inspection within 4 months of the implementation of this agreement, the site will be excluded from a scheduled General Inspection for twelve months.
       
    4. Priority Consultation service and assistance for small employers working on the construction site from the Consultation program.
       
  8. OSHA INSPECTIONS AND VERIFICATION
     
    1. Verification Inspections: OSHA will conduct the initial verification inspection no sooner than three months, but within four 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 verification inspection and annually thereafter. The verification inspection will be conducted as a focused inspection, per the appropriate OSHA guidelines. Compliance officers that are familiar with the Georgia Aquarium Expansion Project Partnership Agreement will do verification inspections. Employee rights under the OSH Act will be afforded. During the verification inspections, if OSHA personnel identify serious hazards that site management refuses to correct, the scope of the inspection may be expanded.
       
    2. 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.
       
    3. 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 Georgia Aquarium Expansion Project Construction Project Management office onsite. In accordance with applicable law, the name of the complainant requesting confidentiality will not be revealed. Brasfield & Gorrie agrees to investigate these complaints, regardless of the employer involved and provide OSHA with a written response within 5 working days.
       
    4. 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.
       
    5. Once a verification inspection has been conducted at the site, which reveals that the site has adequately assessed and/or controlled/prevented employee exposure to hazards at the Georgia Aquarium Expansion Project, then the site can be deferred 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.
       
  9. 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.

     
  10. TERMINATION

    It is understood that this agreement shall be in effect until completion of construction activities at the Georgia Aquarium Expansion Project Construction Site, but in no case longer than three-years. 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.

     
  11. GEORGIA AQUARIUM EXPANSION PROJECT - OSP SIGNATURE PAGE


    Agreement Signing Date: _____________________



 
Andre Richards
Area Director,
Occupational Safety & Health
Administration (OSHA)


 


 
Chris Britton
Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC
Division Manager
 


 



 
Patricia Morris
Assistant Area Director,
Occupational Safety & Health
Administration (OSHA)


 


 
Keith Johnson
Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC
Regional Vice President
 


 



 
Daniel J. Ortiz
Program Manager, Georgia Tech
Research Institute's, Safety,
Health & Environmental
Technology Division


 


 
Lisa Capicik
Safety Director
Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC
 


 



 
Clay Whitman
Area Safety Director,
Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC


 


 
John Owen
Senior Superintendent
Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC


 



 
Bobby Graham
Area Safety Director,
Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC


 


 
 


 
 
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