OSHA Strategic Partnership Program<< Back to Region VI - AGC

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) agrees to a partnership with Associated General Contractor Texas Building Branch (AGC-TBB) to enhance workplace safety and health through the strategy of implementing fully written safety and health programs. The overall goal will be to reduce serious injuries and illnesses (using as a minimum one percent per year) and to reduce the occurrence of the four major hazards in the categories of falls, electrocutions, struck-by and caught-between through self audits and prompt corrective actions. Measurements will be obtained from OSHA 300 logs and self inspections.

Selection criteria for participants:
  • Executive Commitment:  Applicants agree to submit a letter of commitment to OSHA through the AGC Partnership Committee stating executive commitment to develop and maintain a safety and health program for construction projects.  The letter should be addressed to the OSHA Regional Administrator and endorsed by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or equivalent. A similar letter should be addressed to managers and employees.
  • Commitment to a Formal Safety and Health Program. Only contractors with an established, effective, and written safety and health programs meeting or exceeding the OSHA Guidelines for Safety and Health Programs published in 1989 are eligible for this program.  Such written programs will effectively address:

    • Employee Involvement

      1. Contractor shall have a comprehensive written Safety and Health Program based on OSHA Guidelines addressing the responsibilities of all contractors, as described in the AGC guide for a basic safety program.

    • Periodic Safety and Health Inspections/Audits

    • Training and Education

      1. Employee training for avoidance of hazards specific to the work site(s)

      2. Providing construction site supervisors with safety training.

      3. Have policies in place that requires sub-contractors to adhere to company safety policy including designated competent persons when required by an OSHA standard.

    • Employment of a Safety and Health Professionals

      • The company safety and health representative must have at a minimum one year of experience in managing an effective construction safety and health program and have had appropriate training in identifying construction hazards and methods to correct identified hazards in order to be a partnering company. The safety and health representative will have the authority to affect safety and health corrections and to shut down operations that pose an imminent danger risk.

    • Annual Evaluation of the Safety Program.  The safety and health representative will prepare an annual review of the company’s safety and health program which will include hazards found and corrected, injury and illness trends, and recommendations for improvements.  The review will be submitted to, or discussed with, the CEO or equivalent
  • Minimum Partnership Benchmarks.  Only companies meeting these criteria are eligible to apply for the AGC-TBB Partnership:

    • TCIR and DART rates at least 10% below the most current rates published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for their industry

    • Have had no willful violations in the previous three years

    • Recommendation by the AGC Texas State Partnering Safety Committee
  • Cooperation with OSHA.  Applicants and participants agree to allow OSHA to conduct annual verification inspections in accordance with this partnership agreement. These inspections may result in citations and penalties being issued to the company. Participants agree to cooperate with OSHA during all inspections and to share information on its safety and health program, program analysis, and recordkeeping data, and any internal inspection/audit results. Participants agree to allow an employee representative to participate on OSHA inspections and to allow interviews with workers. Participants will post notices of imminent danger, when issued by OSHA, and will immediately correct the hazards or voluntarily remove workers from exposure.

    All participating contractors will be evaluated within (1) one month of receipt of their application for this program by OSHA. Once the evaluation inspection is successfully completed, the participating Contractor will be placed on a secondary inspection list in for the State of Texas.  Inspections will be Focus Construction Inspections to verify the partnering Contractor’s performance under the agreement. Should the contractor fail the evaluation inspection and/or have a fatality or catastrophe at any jobsite during the term of the partnering agreement, the contractor may upon review be removed from this program. The contractor will still be subject to inspection(s) in cases of catastrophe(s), fatalities, or formal complaints and local and National initiative inspections (i.e. fall protection, silica, etc.)

  • The partnering contractor may cancel this Agreement upon written notification. When a Safety / Health Representative or Safety / Health Committee is specifically required by a collective bargaining agreement between union(s) and the partnering Contractor, the authorized Employee / Labor / Management Safety / Health Representative(s) may petition OSHA for cancellation of this Agreement. 

  • Upon completion of an inspection where OSHA determines that a Contractor does not meet the requirements of this partnership, The Area Director will contact the local AGC Home chapter Safety Director to discuss the inspection.  Unless the parties are able to agree upon a satisfactory arrangement to insure that the participant member will meet the requirements of this partnership, an employer’s participation will be terminated and OSHA will be informed if one or more of the following occurs:

    1. An inspection reveals a significant deviation from program criteria;

    2. The employer has falsified information on the application or supporting records;

    3. The employer’s injury/illness rate becomes more than 10% below the BLS average. 

    4. The employer takes other such actions that may be determined to be grounds for termination by the AGC Texas State Partnering Safety Committee and OSHA;

OSHA Commitment and Partnership Benefits.  So long as the company is meeting the intent of the partnership, OSHA verification inspections will be limited in scope to a review and evaluation of the safety and health program, analysis of injuries, interviews of select employees, and then an on-site focused inspection to verify compliance. Obvious serious hazards identified during verification inspections will be cited. Successful completion of the annual verification inspection will remove the partnering company from the primary programmed inspection list for a period of one year. OSHA will limit the scope of accident and complaint investigations to information relevant to the accident or complaint (including records) and will not expand the inspection to other areas unless obvious serious hazards are observed.

OSHA will endeavor to support the company with reasonable requested training, technical advice, publications and training material to the employer upon request. Such requests will not cause an OSHA inspection.

Participants will have an opportunity to resolve informal (unsigned) complaints; however, if corrections are inadequate, an inspection may be made to compel compliance. OSHA and the AGC partners will meet periodically to discuss partnership issues.
           
If cited by OSHA, participants in good standing will be eligible for the maximum good faith, size and history penalty reductions currently available in the OSHA FIRM (CPL 2.103 Field Inspection Reference Manual).  When calculating the initial penalty reduction, OSHA will provide an additional 10% reduction for good faith beyond the 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.i.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 percent or more, the minimum penalty provisions of the FIRM will apply (see FIRM, Chapter IV.C.2.b).

During OSHA inspections of non-participant General Contractors, Partnership participants whose program has been previously verified by an OSHA inspection will not be included in the inspection unless the compliance officer documents that the participant is responsible for employee exposure to the focused four hazards listed under Partnership Evaluation.

After successful conclusion of an OSHA verification inspection, those participant Contractor’s sites within the State of Texas will not receive another programmed inspection within the next twelve (12) months.

Participants will receive recognition through press release and/or other publications such as AGC home chapter publications.

Partnership Limitations

It is stipulated that partnering employers remain subject to OSHA inspections and investigations in accordance with established Agency procedures. OSHA will conduct accident investigations and investigations of formal (signed) complaints and informal (unsigned) complaints that do not result in voluntary and adequate corrections by the employer.

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 the Act nor does it abrogate any responsibility to comply with rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the Act.  Employees will not be discriminated against as a result of participation in the safety and health program, submitting complaints, or exercising their rights under the OSH Act.

Partnership Review: Partnership agreement will be reviewed in the event of a fatality, catastrophic event, or poor performance identified in an OSHA evaluation. The review will determine whether the agreement will continue.

Partnership Evaluation: The partnership will be evaluated by the OSHA Area office on an annual basis in accordance with established Agency procedures. Each partnering company will submit to their home Chapter AGC Safety representative the numbers of self inspections and the number of falls, struck-by, caught-between, and electrical hazards identified and corrected, a list of the partnering company’s current active job sites within 10 days of the end of each quarter, and the OSHA 300A Log summary by January 31st each year.  The information will then be forwarded to the designated OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist for evaluation.

Partnership Management: Individual partners will be responsible for providing the required data to the home Chapter AGC Safety Representative for review by the Texas State Partnering Safety Committee.   Once an application is reviewed and approved, the application package will be forwarded to the OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist assigned to the partnership. Annual evaluations will be completed and submitted in a timely manner to the Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs (DCSP) by the designated OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist. Meetings will be held on a regular basis and face-to-face meetings will be held annually as resources permit.

All individual contractor partnerships will extend from October 1st of the qualifying year.  Partners entering the partnership at other times of the year will be rolled into the recurring annual yearly cycle.  Individual partnerships will last for a period of two years.

Partners will maintain a copy of their current partnership agreement at their job sites within the geographical area of the partnership in addition to a sign at the entrance of the construction site (for general contractors) stating “This site is partnering with OSHA to improve safety and health of construction employees throughout the State of Texas”.

Partnering companies in a local AGC Chapter partnership are eligible to apply and participate in the State of Texas Partnering Agreement.  If a contractor is in a local partnership agreement between OSHA and the local chapter of AGC that meets or exceeds this agreement, then that automatically puts the contractor into this agreement.

Partnership Termination

Partnership Termination (OSHA/AGC-TBB)

This partnership will expire five years from the date of signing.

The AGC-TBB participants consist only of signatory participants.  Partnering companies will have individual partnership agreements under the State of Texas Partnering Agreement which will remain in effect through the term of the AGC TBB Partnership.

OSHA or AGC-TBB may terminate participation in this Partnership agreement by providing thirty (30) days written notice to the other party.

Partnership Termination (Partnering Company)

Any partnering company having a fatality or catastrophe during the term of the partnership will be re-evaluated for continued membership by the AGC-TBB Partnership Committee in consultation with OSHA.

A partner removed or disqualified from the Partnership must wait a minimum of one year before re-applying and begin the process in the same manner as a new applicant to the partnership.
  1.  Prior to final termination of an employer’s status, the following will occur:

    1. The employer will be notified in writing of the intent to terminate;

    2. The notice will include an explanation of the reasons for termination;

    3. The employer will have an opportunity to reply to the written notice within a period of thirty (30) days; and

    4. The employer will have the opportunity to make an appearance before the AGC-TBB Texas State Partnering Safety Committee.

    5. The contractor will not be removed from the program until the committee has reviewed the facts and met with an OSHA Regional Representative.

  2. Employer may be terminated if it takes other such actions that may be determined to be grounds for termination by the AGC-TBB.

  3. OSHA and AGC jointly will have the authority to reinstate the employer if it determines that the employer's experience was unusual and not necessarily inconsistent with a sound safety and health program.  In this event OSHA may conduct another verification inspection.

  4. Any party may terminate participation in this agreement by providing thirty (30) days written notice to the other parties.

OSHA will terminate the agreement for any sustained willful violation or any sustained failure-to-abate situations.

OSHA will terminate the agreement for any major identified program discrepancy that is not improved within a reasonable and agreed upon time frame.

OSHA will terminate the agreement in the event of proven and unresolved discrimination against employees who exercise their protected safety and health rights under the OSH Act.

OSHA and AGC jointly will have the authority to reinstate the employer if it determines that the employer's experience was unusual and not necessarily inconsistent with a sound safety and health program.  In this event OSHA may conduct another verification inspection.



Signatures

Dean McDaniel
Regional Administrator, Region VI
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Steve Dishman
Executive Committee
AGC Texas Building Branch


John Lawson
Area Director, Houston North Office
Occupational Safety and Health Administration


Mark Briggs
Area Director, Houston South Office
Occupational Safety and Health Administration


State of Texas Partnering Agreement for General Contractor (AGC) and
Associate Contractor (AGC)
Between the Texas AGC Members and Region 6 OSHA

APPLICATION FORM
 Directions: please complete the following questions by typing or printing legibly.

Company name: ____________________________________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________________________________________

Construction SIC Code: ______________________________________________________________

Company Safety Contact: __________________________ Title: _______________________________

Phone: ___________________________________ Fax: ____________________________________

Trades Employed: ____________________________________________________________________

Average Number of Employees: __________________________Average Number of Supervisors: _______

 

SAFETY PERFORMANCE

List your company’s number of injuries/illnesses from your OSHA 300 Logs for the three most recent years.
                                    Year: _____________Year: _____________Year: _____________

Lost Work Days                    _____________            _____________            _____________
Fatalities                                _____________            _____________            _____________
Restricted Work Days          _____________            _____________            _____________
Medical Only Cases             _____________            _____________            _____________
Total Hours Worked              _____________            _____________            _____________

Does your company maintain a total case injury/illness incidence rate that is 10% less than the most current Bureau of Labor Statistics National Rate for the Construction Industry?
_____________ Yes _____________ No      If yes, what is it? _____________

Please submit the following information:
  1. OSHA 300 logs for the most recent three (3) years and current year to-date.
  2. Complete company written safety program manual.

I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT ALL INFORMATION IS ACCURATE.

______________________________________         ______________________________________
Person Completing Application Form (please print)        Signature

______________________________________          __________________________________
Title (please print)                                                        Date
Phone Number: _________________________

______________________________________          _________________________________________
Corporate Officer of Company (please print)                  Signature

______________________________________          _________________________________________
Title (please print)                                                        Date
Phone Number: __________________________

PLEASE SUBMIT COMPLETED APPLICATION AND ALL REQUIRED ITEMS OUTLINED IN THE APPLICATION TO YOUR LOCAL AGC OFFICE.