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Identification of Partners

The United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Illinois Area Offices and the Builders Association, Inc. (formerly the Builders Association of Greater Chicago) mutually recognize the importance of providing a safe and healthful work environment for employees of the Nation's construction workforce. In working together as partners, we are committed to achieving a reduction of injuries, illnesses and fatalities in the construction industry through means of open communication, promoting recognition for construction safety excellence, and sharing knowledge of the best industry technology, innovations and work practices that improve safety and health performance.

Purpose/Scope

This partnership represents a voluntary agreement which affords Builders Association (BA) members with an alternative to traditional OSHA enforcement. Expected outcomes of this partnership include:
  1. Reduction of injuries and illnesses in connection with construction activities in Illinois;

  2. Expanded contractor awareness of the value of safety and health management systems;

  3. Enhanced leveraging of OSHA's resources;

  4. Greater compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standards;

  5. Increased Occupational Safety and Health training for construction workers;
Goals/Strategies
  1. Reduce workplace injuries and illnesses by 3 percent annually by developing a comprehensive safety and health management process approach. This approach consists of a joint employee and management safety and health committee to develop and administer the following:
    1. Principles of Commitment;
    2. Comprehensive written safety and health program;
    3. Relevant safety and health training for workers and supervisors;
    4. Inspections of worksites, documenting hazards and near miss accidents;
    5. Disciplinary procedure for violation of safety and health rules;
    6. Reviewing the company program at least annually.
  2. Promote an exposure and hazard free construction worksite through:
    1. Conducting frequent and regular inspections and investigations of near miss accidents;
    2. Developing and enforcing disciplinary procedures for employees violating safety rules.
  3. Increased Occupational Safety and Health training for construction workers:
    1. Training Workers on relevant safety and health issues in the workplace;
    2. Participation in Competent Person Training for supervisor and management;
    3. Regular sponsored "safety talks" on near miss accident and relevant task/hazard topics.
Performance Measures:

Goal Number 1:
This partnership will attempt to reduce the number of incidents that have potential to result in worker injury or illness with a goal of zero fatalities and lost time injuries. In regard to the DART rate, (Incidence rate for recordable cases involving days away from work, days of restricted work activity or job transfer) and the TCIR (Total Case Incident Rate), participating contractors will follow criteria listed below with respect to their Standard Industrial Classification, (SIC).
Gold Members must exceed the national average by 10 percent.
Sliver Members must exceed the national average by 5 percent.
Bronze Members should not exceed the national average.
Participating Contractors will reduce their incident rates by 3% each year. This will be done by performing a comparison of the baseline to the annual incident rate.

Goal Number 2:
Through frequent and regular inspections conducted by a competent person, the identification and correction of hazards will be tracked on a monthly basis. The number of near miss accidents will be tracked on a quarterly basis. The tracked information shall be maintained in a database developed by the Partnership Committee. A quarterly report will be developed from this database to track progress.

Goal Number 3:
Within three months of participation in the partnership, contractors must submit a list of employees who have attended construction safety and health training. Annually, contractors must submit topics covered under safety talks. This information will be maintained in the Partnership Committee's data base.

Annual Evaluation:

Annually each participant will submit to the BA Health and Safety Committee the following information:
  1. Documentation of hazards identified and corrected through worksite inspections;

  2. Documented near miss accidents;

  3. Safety and Health training records;

  4. OSHA form 300A and total man hours worked for the company and those worksites lasting for longer than one year;

  5. Best practices or success stories;

  6. List of topics covered in safety talks and number of employees in attendance.
Periodic Inspections:

Each participating member shall have one of their worksites inspected at least once per year by an independent third party occupational safety and health firm. Said firm must have either a Certified Safety Professional or Certified Industrial Hygienist supervise the inspection1. The results of the inspection will be factored into the annual evaluation.2 For additional assistance in performing worksite inspection contractors can request assistance from the Illinois OnSite Consultation Service.

Criteria for Participation:

In order to qualify for participation, all contractors must comply with the terms of the partnership criteria.

Eligibility Requirements of the Multi-step Partnership: Bronze, Silver and Gold
  1. The BA Partnership will be implemented in three levels: BRONZE, SILVER and GOLD. Contractors, who are accepted into the Bronze, Silver and Gold levels, will receive incentives from OSHA, as listed in section IX of this document.

  2. Entry into the Bronze, Silver and Gold Levels will be based on answering "yes" to all questions on the self audit evaluation (attached as Appendix A) administered by the BA. To determine which level a contractor can become a participant of: the contractor must provide the Safety Committee with evidence of each requirement for each level. The Safety Committee will then determine the contractor's eligible level of participation.


  3. BRONZE: Applicants seeking Bronze status must meet the following requirements:
    1) Develop and implement a written safety and health program.
    2) Conduct weekly employee safety meeting.
    3) Conduct and document self-audits as prescribed.


  4. SILVER: Applicant seeking Silver status must meet the following requirements:
    1) Implement a comprehensive written safety and health program based on the ANSI A10.38-2000 Guidelines or OSHA's 1989 Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines.
    2) Assign at least one trained employee or individual with responsibility for employee safety to administer the firm's safety and health program and to conduct documented safety inspections of ongoing work. Training equivalent to the AGC Safety Management Course will be deemed satisfactory.
    3) Conduct an orientation of all new employees in the safety and health program of the company, and show evidence of effective employee training for avoidance of hazards specific to the contractor's worksite(s).
    4) Conduct weekly employee safety meetings.
    5) Conduct and document self-audits as prescribed.
    6) Show evidence of employee involvement in the safety and health program; for example participating in self-audits, site inspections, job hazard analysis, safety and health program reviews, safety training and mishap investigations.
    7) Develop and maintain a Substance Abuse Program.
    8) Provide all field construction supervisory personnel with proper training.
    9) Maintain an injury/illness rate 5% less than the rate published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).


  5. GOLD: Applicant seeking Gold status must meet the following requirements:

    1) Implement a comprehensive written safety and health program based on the ANSI A10.38-2000 Guidelines or OSHA's 1989 Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines;
    2) Select and perform one of the following (a or b)
    1. Serve as a mentor for contractors on their project who have yet to attain the same level of recognition within the partnership. These mentors could serve as a source of support for those contractors in need of improvement in their safety program. Gold contractors can agree to serve in an educational role by attempting to transfer their knowledge and understanding of safe work practices and safety program implementation to other contractors on their projects, enabling them to make permanent improvements to their safety programs. The services provided to any one contractor will depend on its particular needs. The Gold level contractor and other contractors will jointly identify those needs. The Gold level contractor's experience can be expected to:
      • Identify weaknesses in the other contractor's safety programs and develop strategies for addressing these issues.
      • Assist other contractors in developing methods for identifying areas on non-compliance.
      • Identify areas of non-compliance
      • Identify professional development opportunities for other contractor's personnel.
    2. Contractors will establish an effective policy for dealing with non-complying sub-contractors. The general contractor will document hazards with videos or still cameras and keep track of dates, times, the names of exposed employees, what they did to get the non-complying subcontractors to comply, and the name(s) of management persons spoken to.

      Partnership companies will agree to maintain a copy of the subcontractor's safety and health program, hazard communication program, fall protection plan or the general contractor can require all subcontractors to follow their program in lieu of a subcontractor's individual plan.

    3) Assign a minimum of one employee or individual who will administer the firm's safety and health program. This person must have attended the AGC Safety Management Training Course or equivalent in the previous three years.

    4) Ensure designated personnel at each site conduct documented safety inspections of the Gold participant's work. Personnel, through training experience, must be able to recognize hazards and will have the authority to take prompt corrective action. Training curriculum equivalent to the OSHA 30-Hour Construction Course will be deemed satisfactory.

    5) Train all field construction supervisory personnel in the minimum safety requirements equal to the requirements of the OSHA 10-Hour Construction Course. Additional training will be provided for competent persons, as defined by OSHA.

    6) Provide a safety and health program orientation for all new employees and show evidence of effective employee training for avoidance of hazards specific to the contractor's worksite(s).

    7) Conduct weekly employee safety meetings.

    8) Conduct and document self-audits as prescribed.

    9) Implement a 6-foot fall protection policy.

    10) Maintain an injury/illness rate 10% less than the rate published by the BLS.

    11) Have no willful and repeated serious violations in the last three years, and no fatalities or catastrophes within the last three years that resulted in serious or willful citations.
     
  6. Contractors will be required to develop and implement a safety and health program which includes the following elements:
    1. Management Commitment and Leadership – Provides the motivating force and the resources (time, expertise, financial) for organizing and controlling activities within an organization. In an effective program, management regards worker safety and health as a fundamental value of the organization and applies its commitment to safety and health protection with as much vigor as to other organizational purposes. Management serves as a role model in safety and health matters for employees to emulate. Management commitment requires a leadership role when it comes to such matters as planning, written programs, authority and resources, line accountability and contract worker coverage.


    2. Employee Involvement – Provides the means through which workers develop and/or express their own commitment to safety and health protection, for themselves and for their fellow worker. Employee involvement must be meaningful and without the fear of reprisals. Examples of employee involvement include, but are not limited to:
      1. Conducting site inspections, safety and health audits, job hazard analyzes, and other types of hazard identification.

      2. Developing and using a system of reporting hazards.

      3. Developing and revising the site's safety and health rules and safe work practices.

      4. Participating on workplace teams charged with identifying root causes of accidents, incidents, or breakdowns.

      5. Participating on safety and health committees or joint labor-management committees.

      6. Participation in safety and health reviews.

    3. Worksite Analysis – Involves a variety of worksite examinations to identify not only existing hazards but also conditions and operations in which changes might occur to create hazards.  Worksite analyses can include, but are not limited to the following:  physical inspections of the workplace to observe existing and potential hazards, conducting accident and near-miss investigations of the workplace to determine existing and potential hazards, evaluating trends in injuries and illnesses, and conducting medical symptom surveys of employees.

    4. Hazard Prevention and Control – Triggered by a determination that a hazard or potential hazard exits, the hazards are eliminated, where feasible, by effective design of the job site or task.  Where it is not feasible to eliminate them, they are controlled to prevent unsafe and unhealthful exposure to workers.

    5. Safety and Health Training – Providing all employees with hazard recognition skills, along with the means and methods necessary to protect themselves from potential hazards.

  7. The effectiveness of the safety and health program will be confirmed through a site visit evaluation, performed by the contractors hired independent third party occupational safety and health firm, and consisting of the following elements:
    1. Comprehensive on-site safety and health inspection (Gold Members);
    2. Review of written Safety and Health Program and site specific plan
    3. Review of Training records;
    4. Review of OSHA 300 logs
    Any deficiencies noted in the evaluation that constitutes an OSHA defined serious hazard must be corrected in 30 days and documented by the contractor.


  8. The contractors will have the following "enhanced" safety and health requirements as well as all other provisions of this agreement:
    1. A permit requirement and prior approval from the Employer's "Competent Person" for confined space work, hot work, and excavation work. (Gold Members)

    2. Require the use of fall protection when performing work that is in excess of 6 feet above a lower level3. (Gold Members)

    3. Mandatory use of Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs).

    4. Loads shall not be lifted over the heads of employees.

    5. Employees exposed to vehicular traffic shall wear reflective material.

    6. Appropriate protection shall be provided for all trench and excavation work.

    7. All scaffolding will have guardrails and cross braces.

    8. All machines will have proper safety guards.

    9. Partners will make a commitment to see that all employees, wear any and all necessary (task appropriate) personnel protective equipment (PPE). Employees and management will wear said PPE while accessing, egressing and working on jobsites.

    10. Hard hats are required on all construction jobs.

    11. Provide hand washing or lotion facilities, where feasible, within close proximity to the restroom facilities. The restroom facilities will be clean, in good repair, appropriately supplied, and have a workable inside lock.
       
  9. Contractors will have Competent Personnel on each project that are responsible for, possess the authority to, and are capable of effectively implementing the overall Project-specific safety and health program as well as their employer's safety and health program.


  10. Contractors will designate a Project Safety Representative who has completed OSHA 30-hour or equivalent.
By February 1st of each year, contractors will submit to the OSHA Partnership Committee their summary injury/illness data and records,4 which document their DART (Incidence rate for recordable cases involving days away from work, days of restricted work activity or job transfer) and TCIR (Total case incidence rate) rates for all work for the previous year.

Benefits

Upon acceptance as a partnership participant, the OSHA Area Offices will provide the following incentives to the participants:

BRONZE participants:
  1. Will not be issued citations for non-serious violations, provided the
    violations are abated immediately.
SILVER participants:
  1. Will be given special recognition from OSHA and the BA designating the contractor as a participant in the BA Partnership, such as a certificate of recognition.
  2. Will not be issued citations for non-serious violations, provided the violations are abated immediately.
  3. Will be given the maximum good faith penalty reductions currently available.
GOLD Participants:
  1. Will be given the highest recognition from OSHA and the BA designating the contractor as a participant in the BA Partnership, such as a plaque recognizing Gold level performance.
  2. GOLD participant job sites within the Area Office's jurisdiction will be exempt from programmed inspections within the next 12 months after an OSHA verification inspection is complete.
  3. OSHA will not issue citations for non-serious violations provided the violations are abated immediately or in the presence of the compliance officer.
  4. If cited by OSHA, BA Participating firms may receive the maximum allowable good faith reduction of 35%, in addition to any other penalty factors that may be available.
OSHA Verification (Monitoring)

Participants randomly selected from the partnership member list will have the effectiveness of their safety and health programs verified through an unannounced onsite inspection by OSHA5. The number of OSHA onsite monitoring inspections will be a minimum of 5% and a maximum of 10% of the participants annually, at the Area Director's discretion, providing there are at least 10 partners. At a minimum, there will be one OSHA onsite monitoring inspection annually. In addition, any OSHA inspections of a participant's job site can serve as a monitoring inspection. During the opening conference, the selected inspection sites will be evaluated for a focused or non-focused inspection. It is anticipated that sites qualifying for participation in this program would qualify for a focused inspection6. Inspections shall be conducted in accordance with all current guidelines and National/Regional Office policy.

OSP Management and Operation

This partnership shall be administered by the Builders Association, Inc. Each partner shall designate a representative to sit on the OSHA Partnership Committee. This OSHA Partnership Committee shall be responsible for administration of the partnership, application review, and approval, as well as any resolution of any issues which may arise with the partnership in effect. The Chicago North OSHA area office shall serve as an advisor to the OSHA Partnership Committee.

The OSHA Partnership Committee will hold quarterly conference calls/meetings to track analyze, and share information on partnership activities and results. At least annually, the OSHA Partnership Committee will meet to evaluate the effectiveness of the Agreement. These meetings will include agenda items, such as:
  • Evaluating data and partnership impact
  • Identifying BA members with outstanding safety and health excellence
  • Share information on best practices that improve safety and health performance
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration agrees to:
  • Work with the BA and/or its members to provide free safety and health information, training, and training materials.
  • Provide training materials, through the BA, to help employers understand and comply with OSHA regulations and to implement effective safety and health management systems.
  • Ensure that CSHOs are knowledgeable of partnership requirements and objectives, and encourage them to provide assistance as requested by the BA and/or its members.
  • Not issue penalties for other than serious violations, provided the abatement of violations is observed by the compliance officer.
  • Conduct unprogrammed inspections only in response to reports of imminent danger, fatalities/catastrophes and formal complaints.  OSHA will use telephone or fax to handle all other complaints, except those cases involving serious injuries.  In the event of a serious injury, an inspection may be conducted.  When an inspection of a non-formal complaint is deemed necessary, a copy of the complaint will be provided to the participant’s safety director or other designated representative at the time of inspection.
  • Exempt Gold members from inspections if they have successfully concluded a monitoring inspection and still meet the Gold Level criteria for the elements of their safety and health program. However, the Gold member may be inspected if the compliance officer documents that the Gold member was responsible for any employee exposures to serious hazards such as, falls, struck by, caught in/between or electrocutions.
  • Track, analyze, and share information on activities such as:
    • Current relevant OSHA inspection findings.
    • Relevant regulatory interpretations.
    • Current industry statistics.
BA agrees to:
  • Host committee meeting, quarterly and annually.
  • Administer the program by providing staff support and facility usage.
  • Promote program through monthly newsletter, and other BA sanctioned activities.
  • Act as first point of contact for prospective contractors.
  • Recruit and retain program participants.
  • Provide resources to support program participants and prospective participants.
Employee and Employer Rights

This partnership does not preclude employees and/or employers from exercising any right provided under the OSHA Act, nor does it abrogate any responsibility to comply with rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the Act.

Terms of OSP

This agreement will expire on __December 31__ of 2009.  Should either party choose to withdraw prior to that date, 30 days written notice will be given, either party may also propose modification or amendment of the agreement.

Participation will be terminated if one or more of the following occurs:
  1. A site inspection reveals eligibility requirements are not being met.
  2. A participant has falsified information on the application or supporting records
  3. The participant takes other such actions that may be determined to be grounds for termination by the Area Director.

Signed this ____day of ______ 2007:

 
Diane Turek
Area Director
Department of Labor/OSHA
Chicago North Area Office
Albert Leitschuh
President
Builders Association, Inc.
   
Gary Anderson
Area Director
Calumet City Area Office
Robert L. Smith
Safety Committee Chair
Builders Association, Inc.
   
Kathy O’Connell
Area Director
North Aurora Area Office 		 
   
Nick Walters
Area Director
Peoria Area Office		  
 
1Criteria for selecting periodic inspection will be based on active construction sites, only when contractor representatives are available & coordinated and scheduled with the contractor.
2For a detailed reference on the elements contained in the periodic inspections, please reference the Criteria section in this document.
3BA and OSHA recognize the difficulty to contractor compliance with this rule in residential construction. BA and OSHA will work cooperatively to develop approved alternative applications to the strict adherence to this rule.
4These forms shall be made available through the BA Safety & Health Committee.
5 Regulations prohibit the Area office of OSHA to conduct announced inspections.
6Focused Inspections recognize the efforts of responsible contractors and therefore will limit, ("Focus") inspections on the leading hazards responsible for 90% of accidents. These areas include: falls; struck by; caught in/between; and electrical. (reference Construction Focused Inspections Initiative, January 6, 1995)