Background:

In January 2007, James Construction Group (JCG), LLC, OSHA’s Baton Rouge Area Office, and the Louisiana Department of Labor, OSHA Consultation, formed an OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP) to eliminate injuries and illnesses and promote safety and health for the contractors performing work on the Perkins Road Expansion Project. The three-year project consisted of widening Perkins Road from Essen Lane to Siegen Lane which spans approximately three and one half miles. Contractors began by work on the project by laying over 29,000 feet of subsurface drain pipe on either side of the later constructed five new lanes of concrete roadway. The existing Wards Creek Bridge was also demolished and a new bridge was constructed in its place.

Success Impact:

OSP Achieves Key Goal of Reducing Injury and Illness Rates through Increased Safety and Health Training and Self-Inspections

During the project period, the job sustained one OSHA Recordable Injury and one Lost Time Injury due to an offsite vehicle accident caused by a third party. The table below presents the OSP’s injury and illness data between 2007 and 2009:

Self-Inspections and Safety and Health Training Key Focuses of Partnership

The OSP’s successful safety record can be directly linked to the increase in safety and health training that was conducted over the course of the project. A mandatory site-specific Safety Orientation was given to all workers prior to starting on the project to assist them in identifying and abating site hazards. Weekly safety meetings and training sessions were conducted and covered topics such as: Equipment Safety, Fire Prevention, Flagger Training, HAZCOM, PPE, Heat Stress, Traffic Control, Ladder Safety and OSHA’s Big 4 (falls, struck-by, caught-in/between, and electrocutions).

In January 2008, the executive committee for JCG reported to workers that due to the efforts focused on reducing accidents and injuries, the company had experienced lower costs to conduct business. Also, this improvement placed the company in a position to lower the payroll burden insurance rates that are included in bids and charged to projects.

Safety performance onsite continued to improve as indicated by the increased number of reported work hours, surpassing the totals reported over each of the past last eight years, while recordable cases continued to decline. Worker compensation costs also fell. The past three years represented the lowest rate of injuries and illnesses in the company’s history. The construction project was successfully completed in March 2010.

Partnership Objectives:

The key objective of the OSP was to set a high standard for all workers on the project site. Workers at all levels were instructed to take personal responsibility for their safety as well as their co-workers and the traveling public which consisted of approximately 25,000 vehicles per day passing through the work zone. Construction activities which consisted of day and night work did not contribute to a single construction related vehicle accident.

Origin: Region VI, Baton Rouge Area Office

Partners: James Construction Group, LLC; Toomer Electric; and RM Constructors

Partnership Signed: March 8, 2007

Industry: Construction (NAICS 237310)

Workers: 75

Employers: 3

Source and Date: Alexander Novas, Compliance Assistance Specialist, Baton Rouge Area Office, July 2, 2010