Background:

In March 2008, the Southern Illinois Builders Association (SIBA), a chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America, (AGC) formed the Construction Health and Safety Excellence (CHASE) OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP) to reduce injuries and illnesses on the worksite and increase the number of effective safety and health management systems (SHMS) developed and implemented. There are 22 participants (employers) in the OSP covering 2,668 employees. The expected end date of the OSP is March 2011.

Success Impact:

Training Element of Effective Safety and Health Management Systems Results in Successful Correction of Potential Workplace Hazards

Before being formally accepted into the OSP, all of the applicants had to have an effective SHMS in place that met the OSHA 1989 Guidelines. All accepted participants’ SHMS were verified by OSHA and SIBA’s Safety Committee. The four key elements of an effective SHMS include management commitment; employee involvement; analysis, identification, and abatement of hazards, and training.

During the first year of the OSP, 2,587 employees, managers, and supervisors were trained and close to 177 training hours conducted. Training topics included fall protection, trenching, road construction, scaffolds, confined spaces, and site-inspections. Throughout the year, OSHA delivered safety and health presentations at the SIBA Safety Committee meeting and other annual association meetings. SIBA also delivered OSHA 10- and 30-hour courses and tools box talks to its members. Each of the OSP participants had at least one representative at the worksite that conducted self-inspections on a daily basis. In 2008, there were 950 self-inspections conducted which resulted in 75 hazards or serious violations being identified and corrected.

Injury and Illness Rates below National Average - Days Away, Restricted, and Transferred (DART) Rate, Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR)

Over the past year, the OSP’s Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) was 1.4 which is 50 percent below the 2007 Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) national average for the construction industry. The OSP’s Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR) was 1.9 which is 65% below BLS.

All of these results demonstrate the excellent strides the OSP has made to meet its key goals and objectives which promote the overall awareness and importance of workplace safety and health. In 2009, the OSP plans to increase the number of participants, improve data collection efforts, and meet on a more consistent basis.

Partnership Objectives:

Key objectives of the OSP are to: reduce the number of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities on the worksite due to key industry hazards (falls, struck-by, caught-in/between and electrocutions); increase the number of general or specialty contractors who develop and implement effective SHMS; offer safety and health training to management, supervisors, and employees; and recognize contractors who have developed and implemented effective SHMS.

Origin: Region V, Peoria Area Office

Partners: Southern Illinois Builders Association (SIBA)/Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)

Partnership Signed: March 2008

Industry: Construction (23621)

Employees: 978

Employers: 2,688

Source and Date: James Dillard, Chicago Regional Office and Danielle Gibbs, OSHA National Office (Washington, DC)/May 2009