The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) agrees to a limited partnership with the Ship Repair Association of Hawaii (SRAH) in the interest of achieving enhanced and voluntary workplace safety and health through the establishment of monitored and maintained safety and health programs for select employers. The overall goal will be to eliminate the risk of catastrophic accidents and to prevent serious injuries and illness to workers by establishment of model workplaces for safety and health. Employers who are willing to meet the criteria of this partnership will receive OSHA assistance and annual verification inspections (in accordance with agreed upon approved protocols) in lieu of programmed inspections.
Selection criteria for participants:
EXECUTIVE COMMITMENT. Any employer wishing to join must have a letter stating executive commitment to develop and maintain a safety and health program for their workplace. The letter should be from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or equivalent. It should make clear such a program is a priority for the CEO and that he (or she) will personally track programs and hold managers accountable for administration of the program. The letter should be addressed to OSHA and endorsed by the SRAH. A similar letter should be addressed to managers and employees and posted in the workplace. The commitment shall be communicated to all employees.
- COMMITMENT TO DEVELOP A FORMAL SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAM. The program will be in writing, will be shared with the employees, will be given to OSHA as part of the selection process, and will address the elements as described below:
- Element 1: Employee Involvement.
Management will ensure employee involvement with the safety and health program in each of the following methods:
- Establishment of a joint employer/employee safety and health committee. The committee should meet at least quarterly to identify safety and health hazards, training needs, and other related issues. Valid ideas and/or recommendations will receive reasonable and timely action. Identified imminent danger hazards (those immediately likely to cause death or serious injury) which are identified by the committee will be immediately corrected. Employees shall be given the opportunity to participate in the selection of their own representatives for the committee.
- An employee representative will be allowed to participate in any scheduled safety inspection/audit - unless performed by independent consultants/contractors.
- Affected employees will be informed of hazards identified during safety and health inspections/audits pending correction in a manner which appears to be the most effective for each company.
- Employee representatives, as part of their regular duties, will be allowed to accompany an OSHA official on any OSHA inspection.
- Company safety and health programs, inspection/audits, hazard information, and informational safety and health posters will be in a manner that can be understood by affected workers.
- Employees will have the right to submit safety and health complaints or recommendations to management. Valid complaints will be corrected within a reasonable time. All complaints will be answered if the complainant is identified.
- Employees will retain the right to submit complaints to OSHA regardless of whether they pursue their complaint within company procedures.
- 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.
- Element 2: Periodic Safety and Health Inspections/Audits.
- Company agrees to conduct periodic workplace inspections/audits for the purpose of identifying and
correcting safety and health hazards.
- Inspections/audits will be conducted as frequently as deemed appropriate by the company and its safety committee.
- The company may utilize the services of a consultant or contractor to perform these inspections/audits in addition to or in lieu of their own inspection/audit.
- An employee representative will be allowed to participate in the inspection/audit of the workplace, unless such inspection/audit is conducted by a consultant or contractor.
- Company agrees to correct all hazards identified in these inspections/audits within a reasonable time.
- All affected employees will be informed of any hazards identified during these audits pending correction.
- Element 3 Training and Education.
Participating companies must agree to:
- Train their workforce in the details of their safety and health program.
- Train workers in their right to a safe and healthful work place and the prohibition against discrimination for reporting unsafe conditions.
- Train workers in the procedures available to them to identify and correct hazards in their work area.
- Train workers on fire emergency and evacuation procedures.
- Train affected personnel on all aspects of confined space entry, including requirements for changing conditions, worker monitoring and reading competent person postings.
- Train selected personnel in basic first aid and CPR.
- Train personnel in hazard communications and personal protective equipment with special attention to respiratory protection and noise.
- Make material safety data sheets (MSDSs) available to any requesting employee.
- Train workers in any other known aspects that will enable them to do their jobs safely.
- Element 4: Employment of a Safety and Health Official within the Company.
Participating companies agree to have a designated employee who has a primary responsibility of safety and health issues. Those responsibilities will include managing the safety and health program, reducing injuries/illnesses, and ensuring compliance with OSHA standards. This official will have the authority to affect safety and health corrections and to shut down operations that pose an imminent danger risk.
- Element 5: Record Keeping/Injury-Illness Analysis.
- Company will maintain records of recordable injuries and illness as required by OSHA.
- Annual summaries of injuries/illnesses will be posted for the information of workers as required by OSHA.
- The safety and health official will analyze injury and illness trends to identify work practice improvements or material modifications necessary to prevent accidents.
- Element 6: Confined Space Entry.
OSHA has identified this activity as potentially dangerous to shipyard workers. Each employer involved in the
partnership will have a program for confined space entry, which will at a minimum stress the following:
- Competent person reports shall be presented in a manner that can be perceived and understood by all
employees. The employer should consider a series of symbols or other easily understood means to communicate the hazards of a confined space to workers who may have difficulty reading.
- Training of all workers who may enter confined spaces on how to understand competent person postings and how to protect themselves from typical conditions involving changing hazards. If symbols are used on these postings, employees will be trained on the meaning of the symbols.
- Establish a means of coordination with other affected employees regarding the posting of confined space entry.
- Element 7: Respiratory protection program.
Each employer who joins the partnership is expected to have their own respiratory protection program and will assign respirators to employees as necessary. As part of the employer's respiratory protection program it will be made clear that respiratory protection equipment will not be carried from employer to employer.
- Element 8: Rescue
Each employer will develop an emergency rescue procedure as required by the OSHA standards. The emergency procedure will be clearly communicated to all workers. This program may consist of using an outside group to facilitate a rescue if a third party clearly accepts that responsibility in advance. If working on federal facilities an agreement with the responsible command or organization may be required.
- Element 9: Safety and Health Program Analysis.
- The safety and health official will prepare an annual analysis of the company's safety and health program which will include a summary of all major hazards found and corrected through inspection and safety committee efforts, those still uncorrected, injury/illness trends, and recommendations for safety and health improvements.
- The analysis will be submitted to the CEO or equivalent. The employer will demonstrate during the annual verification inspection that a process is in place to review and analyze the company's safety and health program.
- Element 10: Cooperation with OSHA.
- Company agrees to allow OSHA to inspect without delay in the event of a catastrophe, fatality, complaint, or referral.
- Company agrees to allow OSHA to conduct annual program verification inspections in accordance with this partnership agreement.
- Company agrees to cooperate with OSHA during all inspections and to share information on its safety and health program. All documents will remain in the possession of the participating company upon the completion of the review.
- Company agrees to allow an employee representative to participate on OSHA inspections and to allow interviews with workers.
- Company will post notices of imminent danger, when issued by OSHA, and will immediately correct the hazard or voluntarily remove workers from exposure.
- OSHA COMMITMENT
- So long as the company is meeting the intent of the partnership, OSHA will conduct focused verification inspections in lieu of programmed inspections.
- OSHA will use compliance safety and health officers trained in 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 a focused compliance inspection.
- 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.
- OSHA will endeavor to support the company in reasonable requested training.
- OSHA will furnish technical advice, publications, and training material to the employer upon request.
Such requests will not cause an OSHA inspection.
- 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.
- OSHA will conduct investigations of formal (signed) and informal (unsigned) complaints that do not result in voluntary and adequate
corrections by the employer.
- 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 TERMINATION.
- Either party may terminate the agreement by written notification to the other party.
- OSHA will terminate the agreement for any sustained willful violation or any sustained failure-to-abate
situations.
- OSHA may terminate the agreement for any major identified program discrepancy that is not improved
within a reasonable and agreed upon timeframe.
- OSHA may 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.
________________________________
Frank Strashiem
Regional Administrator
Occupational Safety & Health
Administration
April 23, 2004
Date |
________________________________
Bill Clifford
President
Ship Repair Association of Hawaii |
|
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