OSHA Strategic Partnership Program<< Back to Region V

  1. BACKGROUND & IDENTIFICATION OF PARTNERS

    1. Background

      To facilitate OSHA’s goal of reducing occupational-related fatalities and serious injuries and illnesses within the construction industry, OSHA, Vogel Bros. Building Company, and Wisconsin On-Site Consultation have agreed to enter into a cooperative partnership agreement which will effectively implement all facets of jobsite safety and health and achieve self-compliance through cooperative efforts from labor, management, and OSHA.

      This partnership is designed to address the hazards within the construction industry, and to promote and recognize those jobsites controlled by contractors that have demon-strated an effective safety and health program. The Partnership agreement is an effec-tive tool for ensuring safety on a variety of construction projects across the State of Wisconsin. It will serve to establish a cooperative effort in ensuring safety and maintain-ing an open line of communication between OSHA and contractors on the worksites. The Partnership is consistent with OSHA’s long-range efforts to develop a contrac-tor/government partnership approach to safety management. It allows for better use of OSHA resources and innovation in safety management and encourages more participa-tion in the safety process from the construction community.

    2. Partners

      1. Madison, Wisconsin OSHA
      2. Vogel Bros. Building Company
      3. Wisconsin Occupational Safety and Health Consultation Program
  2. PURPOSE/SCOPE

    This partnering agreement was developed jointly by Vogel Bros. Building Company, OSHA, and Wisconsin On-Site Consultation. The common objective and goal of the agreement is to provide a safe and healthful work environment for employees involved in the construction industry and to help prevent serious accidents and fatalities within the industry through increased training, implementation of best work practices, mentoring of subcontractors, enhanced safety and health programs, and compliance with applicable OSHA standards and regulations.

    This initiative represents a voluntary agreement and affords a partnership alternative to the traditional OSHA enforcement procedures.

    By focusing its efforts and utilizing the skills, knowledge and resources of OSHA and the Wisconsin On-site Consultation, expect to reduce exposure to hazards and the incidence of serious injuries and fatalities at the Mentor Commercialization Upgrade Project in Madison, Wisconsin. Increased communication between the stakeholders and the resultant mutual respect are additional benefits expected to be realized from this cooperative and voluntary partnership.

    According to 2009 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction had a fatality rate of 9.9 per 100,000 employees compared with manufacturing rate of 2.3. Construction has 20% of all the fatalities but employs only 6% of the workforce. In Wisconsin, the total lost workday injury and illness construction incident rate per 100 employees is 5.9 compared to the national average of 4.3. The hazards associated with the construction industry are well documented. OSHA has identified the top four causes of fatalities: falls, being struck by equipment or machinery, electrocution, and caught -in-between equipment. On an average, OSHA has traditionally devoted 50% of its compliance resources to enforcement activity in the construction industry. The goal for the Partnership is to attempt to significantly reduce and/or eliminate any accidents and achieve a total lost workday injury and illness incident rate per 100 employees for the project below the national average of 4.3.

  3. GOALS, STRATAGIES, AND MEASURES

    The overall goal of the Partnership is to create a working relationship that focuses on prevent-ing work-related fatalities, controlling or eliminating serious workplace hazards, and establishing a foundation for the development of an effective safety and health program. This partnership will strive to achieve that goal by establishing a foundation of proactive measures which will include:

    1. Outcomes

      Outcomes of this Partnership will include:

      1. Reduction in partnered employers injuries, illnesses and fatalities, with an emphasis on reducing injuries and fatalities resulting from those hazards that are the four leading causes of death on construction sites (falls, struck-by, caught-in-between and electrocutions) at the Mentor Commercialization Up-grade Project, Madison, Wisconsin;
      2. Development of a model safety and health program;
      3. Creation and dissemination of new safety and health materials to sub-contractors;
      4. Mentoring and training of subcontractors and their employees;
      5. Increased communication between stakeholders and resultant mutual re-spect;
      6. Development of a business/employee/government partnership approach to safety management;
      7. OSHA resources directed towards the construction industry whose safety and health efforts require the most assistance.
    2. Specific Goals

      The overall goal of the 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 pro-gram. This Partnership will strive to achieve that goal by establishing a foundation of proactive measures which will include:

      1. Reduce serious injuries and illnesses and provide a safe and healthful work environment for employees at the Mentor Commercialization Upgrade Pro-ject, Madison, Wisconsin;
      2. Increase the number of safety and health programs implemented among subcontractors;
      3. Increase the number of best practices implemented among subcontractors;
      4. Increase the number of employees, employers and supervisors who have completed relevant safety training.
    3. Strategies

      Strategies to achieve one or all of the above goals:

      1. Participants are encouraged to go beyond OSHA’s minimum requirements, and further reduce exposure to fall, struck by, and caught in-between and electrical hazards.
      2. Implement an aggressive Fall Protection Program to include the use of fall protection in all cases where employees are accessing or working at heights of six feet or greater above lower surfaces.

        Although providing mandatory fall protection at the 6’ level is not required by the cur-rent OSHA construction standards and is not mandated by OSHA as a requirement for participation in any OSHA partnership agreement, the contractors on this partner-ship are committed to providing a greater level of protection to the employees working at this site and will require protection at the 6’ level and above.

      3. Provide for employee involvement in the safety and health program, for ex-ample, participation in self-audits, site inspections, job hazard analyses, safety and health program reviews, safety training, and mishap and near miss investigations;
      4. Ensure employees receive training as follows:
        1. Vogel Bros. Building Co. on-site supervisory personnel will complete the 30-hour OSHA construction course (or its equivalent). Subcon-tractors will take the OSHA 10-hour construction course or its equiva-lent.
        2. All employees will receive a site-specific construction safety orienta-tion covering jobsite safety and health issues and procedures relative to the work being performed and the requirements outlined in this Partnership Agreement. At least 50% of all employees working on site for more than 30 consecutive days will receive a 2nd orientation or re-orientation.
        3. Safety and health training to non-English speaking subcontractors will be interpreted/translated should the need arise. Bilingual foremen will be required to participate in orientations when their non-English speaking workers are on site.
        4. Other hazard-specific training will be conducted on an as-needed ba-sis.
      5. Train employees in the OSHA 10-hour construction course (or its equivalent) to the extent possible, with a goal of at least 25% of the expected average employees being trained. Subcontractors can utilize other instructors as long as they can show a valid certification card showing completion of the course. Vogel Bros. Building Co. has primary responsibility for providing this training. OSHA, On-site Consultation will provide assistance as needed.
      6. Require subcontractors who have written safety and health programs to submit them to Vogel Bros. Building Co. Companies that do not have their own written safety and health programs have the option of adopting the safety and health program of Vogel Bros. Building Co. until one is developed utilizing services provided by other Partnership members. Companies must show active progression in completing their written program.
      7. Provide assistance to all contractors in the development and implementation of site-specific safety and health programs. The assistance will be in the form of training programs, partnership members review of contractors’ written pro-grams and mentoring. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will have a model site spe-cific safety and health program for subcontractors to use in developing their programs. Companies that do not have their own written safety and health programs will be referred to the Wisconsin On-Site Consultation program for assistance
      8. Maintain a days away from work, job transfer or restriction injury/illness rate at 25% below the Wisconsin construction industry average (5.9).
      9. Implement a comprehensive job site inspection program.
      10. Hazards found during the project will be effectively corrected on a day-to-day basis.
      11. Complete job hazard analysis prior to employee exposures, identifying poten-tial hazards to employee safety and health.
      12. Implement a hearing conservation program. OSHA has determined that an effective hearing conservation program consists of the following elements:
        1. Monitoring of employee noise exposures;
        2. The institution of engineering, work practice, and administrative con-trols for excessive noise;
        3. The provision of hearing protection;
        4. Employee training on the hazards of noise and protective measures;
        5. Baseline and annual audiograms;
        6. Procedures for preventing further hearing loss whenever tasks result-ing in high noise levels are identified;
        7. Recordkeeping.
      13. Implement an Industrial Hygiene monitoring program to evaluate ALL toxins, carcinogens, or hazardous substances emphasized by OSHA and which pre-sent inhalation hazards, such as dust, solvents, silica, lead, asbestos, or cadmium. Employee exposures will be assumed and mandatory respiratory protection worn until the results of the initial monitoring studies are received and demonstrate no exposure problems.
      14. Ensure that carbon monoxide alarms are in place to warn employees of ex-posures. Have plans in place for responding to potential overexposures.
      15. Implement a program to address the health and safety concerns of hot and cold weather.
      16. Ensure health-related issues arising during the course of the construction work are adequately addressed internally by Vogel Bros. Building Co. or the Wisconsin On-site Consultation Service. All health-related issues will be dis-cussed monthly during the partnership meetings.
      17. Ensure compliance with OSHA’s Electrical Safe Work Practices and NFPA 70E when working on live electrical equipment, including training and the availability and use of personal protective equipment. A permitting system will be implemented to oversee the implementation of appropriate protective measures prior to exposure.
      18. Ensure all equipment capable of amputations is adequately guarded.
      19. Ensure compliance with the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, 2003 Edition during all roadwork. High visibility clothing will be worn by all on-site employees at all phases of the construction work where exposed to traffic.
      20. All contractors will adhere to a Hot Work Permit policy.
      21. Strive for no injuries on the job and ensure all serious hazards are controlled through safe processes or procedures.
    4. Measurement Systems

      1. The measurement system will use OSHA recordable injuries and illnesses to determine the total lost workday injury and illness rate for the participants and participant sites compared to the average for the construction industry in Wisconsin and nationally.
      2. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will record and track all incidents of near miss re-ports, property damage reports and first aid incidents and provide them to OSHA on a monthly basis at the partnership meetings.
      3. Activity measures shall include the applicable number of employers, supervi-sors and employees trained. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will maintain the re-cords of the 30-hour and 10-hour OSHA training certifications. All contrac-tors will be required to conduct weekly safety toolbox talks.
      4. Intermediate measures will include the number of safety and health programs instituted. The programs will be maintained on site and evaluated by Vogel Bros. Building Co. and/or the OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist.
      5. Outcome measures will be gathered on a monthly basis and will incorporate data to analyze the number of hours worked, number of injuries, illnesses and fatalities, and the number of serious violations found as a result of onsite audits, job site inspections, and OSHA inspection activity.
      6. Documented job site inspections and total number of hazards identified and corrected by the general contractor and by each sub-contractor. The job site inspections will indicate the number of hazards observed and subsequent progress and improvements with their safety and health programs.
      7. Document the total number of individuals monitored for industrial hygiene ex-posure assessments and the types of assessments.
      8. The number of actions of those individuals who undermine Vogel Bros. Build-ing Co.’s safety and health program. The tools for tracking these actions may be the near miss incident reporting and the safety audits.
      9. Actions specific to NFPA 70E and work on live electrical, such as training re-cords, PPE availability and use, and permits.
      10. Measurement factors will be compiled quarterly by Vogel Bros. Building Co. and at the end of the project.
      11. The number of best practices developed or used during the Partnership.
  4. ANNUAL EVALUATION

    The program will be evaluated on an annual basis through the use of the Strategic Partnership Annual Evaluation Format measurement system as specified in Appendix C of CSP 03-02-002, OSHA Strategic Partnership Program for Worker Safety and Health Directive.

    It will be the responsibility of Vogel Bros. Building Co. 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 conduct, write and submit the annual evaluation. .

  5. BENEFITS

    Participant benefits from OSHA may include:

    1. Access to OSHA in an amicable, friendly and proactive fashion
    2. Priority consideration for compliance assistance and offsite technical assistance (phone calls/faxes) by Wisconsin On-site Consultation and OSHA as resources allow.
  6. OSHA INSPECTIONS AND VERIFICATION

    OSHA will conduct one unannounced enforcement verification inspection each year for the term of the project. These inspections will be conducted through normal enforcement inspection activity. Inspections conducted in response to complaints, Local Emphasis Programs, or referrals will qualify as the monitoring inspection if, in addition to addressing the com-plaint/referral item(s), the compliance officer completes the focused inspection protocol for the worksite.

    Vogel Bros. Building Co. will remain subject to OSHA inspections and investigations in accor-dance with agency procedures. OSHA will continue to investigate fatalities and catastrophes that occur at member companies.

  7. EMPLOYEE/EMPLOYER 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.

  8. PARTNERSHIP MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION

    1. VOGEL BROS. BUILDING CO.:

      1. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will maintain a comprehensive safety and health program, 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. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will mentor subcontractors who have not yet de-veloped their own safety and health program. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will have a model site specific safety and health program for subcontrac-tors to use in developing their programs. If necessary, refer them to Wis-consin Onsite Consultation for assistance.
      3. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will require the use of wet cutting techniques and/or dust collection systems in addition to the mandatory use of ap-proved respiratory protection where the potential for airborne silica expo-sure exists. To the extent feasible, personal air monitoring will be con-ducted to assess employee exposures levels. Where the potential for other health issues such as carbon monoxide, lead, or large-scale use of chemicals in the building interior (such as floor finishing’s) exists, Vogel Bros. Building Co. will coordinate and ensure the completion of air moni-toring to assess employee exposure levels. Sampling results will be shared with the Wisconsin Health Consultation Service.
      4. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will 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 em-ployees from the job site.
      5. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will require100% fall protection for all fall haz-ards over six (6) feet:
        1. Warning lines may be used 6 feet from the edge, as long as 100% restraint system will be used to keep workers safe while working out-side the 6 foot warning line from reaching the edge and falling to a lower level.
        2. Bricklayers performing overhand bricklaying and related work six feet or higher above lower levels must be protected as described above. No monitor system will be allowed.
        3. Workers on the face of formwork or reinforcing steel must be pro-tected from falling six feet or more by personal fall arrest systems, with the use of a positioning device.
      6. To the extent feasible, serious ergonomic hazards will be identified and corrected. The Wisconsin Health Consultation Service may be used as a resource, as well as ANSI/ASSE A10.40-2007 Reduction of Muscu-loskeletal problems in Construction.
      7. Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) will be used to protect all electri-cal circuits that are installed for work. All contractors will ensure that em-ployees are protected by the use of a GFCI at all times.
      8. The Project Manager, Site Superintendent and Safety Director for Vogel Bros. Building Co. will be responsible for overseeing site safety, serve as a point of contact and to oversee the Partnership goals.
      9. The Site Safety Manager and/or Safety Coordinator 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, a schedule of all daily site-safety audits will be developed by Vogel Bros. Building Co. and the safety committee. This schedule will be posted near the site safety sta-tion for easy access.
      10. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will conduct and document job site safety meet-ings/toolbox talks on a weekly basis.
      11. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will submit monthly accident reports to the part-ners, including first aid, injury, property damage and near miss reports.
      12. Vogel Bros. Building Co.’s designated Site Safety coordinator will coordi-nate and conduct a comprehensive site audit on a monthly basis. Part-nership Committee Members will participate in the site safety audit when needed. If non-compliant activity or hazards are discovered, immediate correction is required. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will document the correc-tive action taken and share this information during the monthly update meetings. The monthly meeting will also identify unusual or high hazard activities and potential health hazard exposures anticipated for the near future (1-2 months).
      13. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will allow OSHA access to the site during in-spection activities (monitoring and unprogrammed activities such as fa-talities and employee complaints).
      14. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will audit the Partnership and make recommen-dations for improvement.
      15. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will conduct Job Site inspections and select Near Misses will be shared and made available to all workers.
      16. When health-related issues arise during the course of the work, which are beyond the scope of Vogel Bros. Building Co., they will use the ser-vices of the Wisconsin Consultation Program or their insurance carrier. For smaller contractors on the job, referrals will be made through Vogel Bros. Building Co. to the Wisconsin Health Consultation Service. Subcon-tractors will give copies of all industrial hygiene reports to Vogel Bros. Building Co. Construction. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will allow the Wis-consin Onsite Consultation Program access to the site for conducting in-dustrial hygiene monitoring, and will facilitate the industrial hygiene moni-toring of subcontractors on the site.
      17. No employee should be allowed to work directly below a suspended load except for: employees engaged in the initial connection of steel; employ-ees necessary for hooking or unhooking of the load. The following crite-ria must be met when employees are allowed to work under the load: materials being hoisted shall be rigged to prevent unintentional displace-ment; 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. All rigging must be tagged with work load limits or color coded to identify the work load limits. Signalman will be trained in accordance with OSHA construction standards.
      18. All cranes on site will have a current inspection certification.
      19. All cranes on site will be identified as contractor-owned and operated, or leased through a rental agreement that includes the operator or bare rental (does not include the operator).
      20. Whenever a crane is used at the site, a Competent Person (CP) will be identified, and the Project Safety Manager (PSM) will confirm that this person understands and accepts the duties of the CP. Formal channels of communication must be established between the operator and CP.
      21. Vogel Bros. Building Co. Construction’s Safety Program will address the crane and operator requirements.
      22. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will require the use of appropriate personal pro-tective equipment. Hardhats and eye protection will be worn at all times on the worksite. All employees working at the job shall wear high-visibility reflective clothing at all times. Employees over-exposed to noise shall be required to wear hearing protection at all times.
    2. OSHA:

      1. OSHA will participate as available in the monthly Partnership Committee meetings.
      2. OSHA will designate an experienced safety and health specialist to serve as a resource and liaison for partnership participants. The Compliance Assis-tance Specialists from the Area Offices will review contractor safety and health programs, review other pertinent documentation such as steel erec-tion, and assist with safety and health training.
      3. OSHA will give priority to the Mentor Commercialization Upgrade Project construction project located in Madison, Wisconsin when technical assis-tance is needed.
      4. OSHA will audit the monthly reports/documents and make recommendations for improvements in meeting Partnership Goals.
      5. OSHA will conduct inspections in accordance with section VI of this partner-ship.
      6. The Vogel Bros. Building Co. Mentor Commercialization Upgrade Project lo-cated in Madison, Wisconsin will receive unprogrammed inspections only in response to reports of imminent danger, fatalities/catastrophes, observed se-rious hazards, referrals, and signed formal complaints. OSHA will use tele-phone and fax to handle all other inquiries except in cases of reported seri-ous injuries. When an inspection is deemed necessary, a copy of the com-plaint will be provided to the Vogel Bros. Building Co.
    3. Wisconsin Safety and Health Consultation Program:

      1. Wisconsin On-site Consultation Programs will assist with OSHA 10 and 30- hour training as necessary.
      2. Wisconsin On-Site Consultation Programs will work with subcontractors to establish effective safety and health programs. Vogel Bros. Building Co. will have a model site specific safety and health program for subcontractors to use in developing their programs.
      3. Wisconsin On-Site Consultation Programs will provide assistance as neces-sary for the attainment of the training goals outlined in paragraph III.
      4. Wisconsin On-Site Consultation Programs will participate in the monthly Partnership Committee meetings.
      5. Wisconsin On-Site Consultation Programs will provide monthly inspections of the Mentor Commercialization Upgrade Project located in Madison, Wiscon-sin.
      6. Wisconsin On-Site Consultation Programs will audit the Partnership and make recommendations for improvement.
      7. Wisconsin On-Site Consultation Program will conduct ongoing industrial hy-giene monitoring (for noise, aid contaminants and other hazards) of employ-ees of the Vogel Bros. Building Co., and subcontractors on the site.
    4. Subcontractors:

      1. Subcontractors will appoint an on-site Partnership Committee member to act as the person responsible to resolve job site safety matters and be the liaison to Vogel Bros. Building Co.’s Site Safety Manager.
      2. Subcontractors will conduct job site safety inspections for those employees under their control. This will be in addition to the general, non-documented 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 the Vogel Bros. Building Co.’s Site Safety Manager.
      3. Major subcontractors will participate in the monthly Partnership Committee meetings and on safety audits. If non-compliant activities or hazards are dis-covered, immediate correction is required. Abatement methods and verifica-tion must be submitted to Vogel Bros. Building Co.’s Site Safety Manager who will document the correction taken and share this information during the monthly update meetings.
      4. A representative from each major subcontractor will be required to participate in the site safety committee.
      5. Jobsite inspections will be shared and made available to all workers in the project office.
      6. Subcontractors will request services from Wisconsin On-site Consultation if a safety and health program has not been developed or submitted for the pro-ject. Vogel Bros. Building Co. Companies will have a model site specific safety and health program for subcontractors to use in developing their pro-grams.
      7. Subcontractors will participate with the Wisconsin On-Site Consultation Pro-gram when industrial hygiene monitoring is conducted, will facilitate industrial hygiene monitoring of their employees, and will share the results of the in-dustrial hygiene monitoring with the partnership.
  9. Termination

    This agreement will be in effect for one year from the date of signing, or until completion of construction activities. 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.

    Either 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.

  10. Signatures

    The date of this Vogel Bros. Building Co./OSHA/Consultation Partnership Agreement is _______________, 2011.



     

    Kimberly Stille
    Area Director
    US Department of Labor OSHA
    Madison Area



     

    Michael B. Cavanaugh, M.S., CIH
    Program Manager
    Wisconsin Occupational Safety
    & Health Consultation Program
    University of Wisconsin / Madison
    State Laboratory of Hygiene



     

    Peter C. Vogel
    President and CEO
    Vogel Bros. Building Co.