Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH)
Action Items/Significant Events
January 28-29, 1999, Meeting

U.S. Department of Labor
Frances Perkins Building
Rooms N-3427 AB&C
Washington, D.C.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

Assistant Secretary Jeffress stated that the ACCSH Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) Work Group should continue its efforts even though it is not developing a proposed standard.

ACCSH Acting Chair Burkhammer announced that his office would act as the single point of contact for scheduling Work Group meetings.

Burkhammer announced that the ACCSH/OSHA Responsibilities Special Report would be rescheduled.

ACCSH voted to recommend the draft Sanitation proposal, as amended, be provided to OSHA.

Burkhammer announced that a two day time frame for future Work Groups would be tried, with no Work Group lasting more than half a day.

Burkhammer requested that Haring-Sweeney be provided assistance on the MSD WorkGroup - Buchet volunteered to be Co-chair, and Payne volunteered to be a WorkGroup member.

Burkhammer recommended to DOC that the next ACCSH meeting be scheduled to takeplace in Hawaii on Monday the 26^th of April, using a condensed agenda. WorkGroups would have to be planned in advance of that date.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON CONSTRUCTION SAFETY AND HEALTH
(ACCSH)

MINUTES of the January 28 - 29, 1999, Meeting

U.S. Department of Labor
Frances Perkins Building
Rooms N-3427 AB&C
Washington, D.C.

The meeting of the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) was called to order by the Acting Chair, Stewart Burkhammer, at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 28, 1999. The following members were present for all or part of the meeting:

Labor Representative Gladys Harrington was unable to attend. Approximately 60 members of the public were in attendance at various times. Acting Chair Stewart Burkhammer introduced himself, welcomed the public, and introduced the Assistant Secretary of Labor, Charles Jeffress.

Jeffress noted that he was impressed with the ambitious agenda scheduled for this ACCSH meeting, and emphasized the need for continued ACCSH advice and assistance. He gave an overview of OSHA priorities for 1999, which include a continuing strong enforcement effort, a sustained use of targeting, and an emphasis on partnerships. He discussed his goals for the rule/standards making process in 1999 which include: publication of a final rule for Steel Erection; publishing the Confined Space proposal; and publishing a PPE (Personnel Protective Equipment) proposal in February, followed by hearing and a final rule promulgation in late 1999. Jeffress also indicated that the General Industry Safety and Health Program rule, which is currently under OMB review will be issued this summer. The Construction Safety and Health Program rule will receive special emphasis after the General Industry rule is issued. Of special concern to OSHA is the fact that, while construction injuries and illness are being reduced, fatalities are not.

In addition to the priorities listed above, and to the development of a focused inspection regime, he is actively pursuing an increase in funding for outreach, education and training as another way to address this problem. In response to a question from a board member, Jeffress stated that the ACCSH Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) Work Group should continue its efforts even though it is not developing a proposed standard, because this is the right place to start determining how to address MSD in the Construction Industry. Discussions between Jeffress and various board member ensued, during which Burkhammer took an action item to provide Swanson with information based on experience with a recent performance based tunnel construction contract between Bechtel and the state of Massachusetts. Other board members expressed the feeling that the lack of contractual language about safety and health in some state and municipal bid documents and proposals causes contractors who include reasonable costs for this to be penalized. Mr. Jeffress agreed to have his staff investigate what language the Army Corps of Engineers and other federal government agencies insert into Requests for Proposals to ensure that safety and health safeguards are factored into proposals.

Jane Williams and Steve Cooper briefed the committee on the results of the deliberations of the Sanitation Work Group. A new standard was drafted because many provisions of the current standard have been deemed to be unenforceable. A copy of the proposed standard was distributed to the board members for review, with the intent of discussing it further on Friday, after the Directorate of Construction report.

Stephen Cloutier reported on the activities of the Safety and Health Management and Training Work Group. The Work Group desires to be given a draft of the General Industry Safety and Health Management and Training standard, and Swanson agreed to check on the availability.

Felipe Devora and Danny Evans briefed the board on the issues raised by the OSHA draft policy and discussed at the Multi-Employer Citation Policy (MECP) Work Group. Issues discussed included: whether OSHA has the right to identify the controlling contractor; multiple fines for the same violation; and whether sub-contractors could be forced to pay fines for violations which they are responsible for, but which are levied on general contractors. They reported that they have developed a rough draft which will be refined and presented to the next ACCSH. Swanson took an action item to provide the Work Group with a breakout of information from recent (December 98) hearings pertinent to MECP.

Michael Buchet briefed the committee on the recent deliberations of the Data Collection Work Group. He observed that the Dodge Report appears to capture approximately 90% of the injuries occurring in the country, but that more work needs to be accomplished to allow the OSHA, BLS, and NIOSH data sets to be integrated and interfaced. In addition, the University of Tennessee econometric model needs to be validated. Buchet also mentioned that NACOSH might be able to assist in accomplishing the Work Groups objectives. The impact of the gradual replacement of SIC's in favor of NAIC's on the overall data collection effort was also discussed, as were recommendations for improving the 170 form. Marie Haring Sweeney and Buchet requested that DOC arrange for a possible future presentation on data collection by Dr. Rengin to the Work Group and/or ACCSH. In response to a question from the board, Swanson reported that the Dodge Reports cover construction projects down to the $1M level.

Noah Connell gave the board a brief update on Subpart R Steel Erection, saying that the directive has been signed, and that because the Stanley Memo is incorporated into the new proposed rule, the Stanley Memo is cancelled. Mark Hagemann gave the board a brief on Tower Erection, noting that appreciating the unique nature of communications tower construction had resulted in the formation of a Task Force to develop interim enforcement guidelines. A directive was issued 15 January 1999, and is an option to complying with existing standards. There are approximately 22,000 workers in this industry segment, and the number is growing. The most important hazards being addressed are safe access, fall protection, radiation, and structural stability. An example of the changes in the guidelines is the height hoist lines can be ridden. The Task Force will continue work during a one year trial period. Burkhammer requested that Devora (Fall Protection Work Group Co-Chair) review the guidelines, talk to the Task Force and report to ACCSH on the Tower Erection guidelines, at which time the board will discuss the issue in more detail.

Bob Masterson briefed the board on recent Fall Protection Work Group activity. After an explanation, and some discussion, he made a motion that "ACCSH recommend to OSHA not to define 'residential construction' in Subpart M as it relates to fall protection, but define materials/processes where conventional fall protection is infeasible or creates a greater hazard." The motion failed to pass with 4 in favor, 6 against.

Marie Haring Sweeney briefed the committee on the 27 January deliberations of the Musculoskeletal Disorders Work Group. She gave an outline of a Best Practices report on Ergonomics which she agreed to present to ACCSH at the next meeting. She emphasized that the report would use plain language, in an attempt to make it useful to OSHA, contractors, and workers, and be easy to read. It will define what musculoskeletal disorders (MSD's) are, where they occur, and what practical approaches can be used to improve the situations. In addition the report will address how MSD risk factors can be evaluated, and appropriate check lists will be included.

Marie Haring Sweeney briefed the committee on responding to recent questions concerning Silica. She reported that she is in the process of compiling responses to the questions that the Solicitor's office recently posed to ACCSH.

Larry Edginton gave a report on the Subpart N - Cranes- Work Group meeting held 27 January. One concern expressed by the Work Group was the issue of referring to industry consensus standards, which might change. He reported that they had identified approximately 10 areas that require further discussion, and that these had been ranked according to most important, greatest hazard, and ease of implementation, among other criteria. This material will be promulgated to interested parties, and will form the basis of discussion at the next Work Group meeting.

Ellen Roznowski briefed the board on PATH Partnerships. PATH is a public/private partnership created to develop, demonstrate and deploy the technologies that will bring about the next generation of American housing, and work to improve the existing housing stock. Information sheets describing PATH were made available, and Roznowski pointed out that more information can be found at the PATH web site (www.pathnet.org).

Arthur DeCoursey briefed the board on Small Business Partnerships and distributed a handout which provided questions and answers on workplace safety aimed at the concerns of small businesses. In addition, he discussed services available to assist small businesses in complying with safety and health regulations.

Elise Handehman, from the Directorate of Occupational Health Nursing, gave a briefing on a new handout on Cold Stress produced by her office in conjunction with the Office of Public Affairs. The committee was very enthusiastic about this product, which they felt was informative and useful, and should be widely disseminated to workers. They were informed that the product is free, and that English versions are available from the Office of Publications at 202-219-4667. There is no copyright, so employers can make as many copies of it as they wish. A Spanish version is in final review and will be available in March.

Burkhammer announced that the ACCSH/OSHA Responsibilities Special Report would be rescheduled, and requested that Haring-Sweeney be provided assistance on the MSD Work Group - Buchet volunteered to be Co-chair, and Payne volunteered to be a Work Group member. He noted that the thirty day notification period for Work Groups was being observed, and that next time a two day time frame for Work Groups would be tried with no Work Group lasting more than half a day. This should make it easier for people to attend more than one Work Group if they so desire. He also announced that his assistant would act as the single point of contact for Co-chairs to schedule Work Group meetings.

Public comment was supplied by Mark Friedman, who brought up the question of whether OSHA would certify safety programs/packages used by companies/organizations. The Solicitor's Office noted that OSHA has in the past issued letters that specify that certain products, when used in accordance with instructions, will comply with OSHA regulations. A discussion followed which pointed to the general belief that certifying safety programs and packages is infeasible. The meeting was adjourned until 0845 the next morning.

Burkhammer reconvened ACCSH at 8:45 a.m. Friday morning, and motioned to accept the minutes of the previous meeting, with a mark-up from Edington, and several other corrections accepted as changes. The motion to accept the minutes with the noted changes was passed unanimously, and Burkhammer provided the mark-up to Swanson.

Burkhammer then introduced Bruce Swanson who gave a report on Directorate of Construction issues. He noted that although the overall OSHA standards writing team had been reorganized, the DOC standards writing team had been left intact, and that Noah Connell had been permanently assigned to DOC. In addition, he noted that DOC offices had moved to the third floor of the Frances Perkins Building.

Steve Cooper briefed the committee on Sanitation Workgroup proposal, and the board discussed various details of the proposal. A general consensus was reached on amendments to the proposal, and a vote was taken on whether ACCSH should recommend the draft proposal, as amended, be provided to OSHA: 11 members approved, 1 member was opposed. Swanson remarked that his team would take the draft and put it through the normal process, and come back to ACCSH with the OSHA version.

Dick Sauger gave the board a brief on the Powered Industrial Truck Training standard. He noted that the public could call 202-693-1888 to get copies. Most discussion centered on how operators are certified to be trained, and what documents need to be maintained. Swanson agreed to provide the draft compliance directive to ACCSH. It was decided to reopen the Truck Work Group, and Cloutier and Masterson agreed to Co-chair.

Stephanie Pratt and Virgil Casini gave a briefing on a NIOSH report on preventing vehicle and equipment related occupational injuries in highway construction work zones. Non-collision accidents are a very serious problem in these zones.

Burkhammer canvassed the board and determined that many of the board members were already planning to attend the International Construction Safety and Health Conference in Hawaii 27 - 30 April 1999. Based on this, he recommended to DOC that the next ACCSH be scheduled to take place in Hawaii on Monday the 26^th of April, using a condensed agenda. Work Groups would have to be planned in advance of that date. Swanson pointed out that the Assistant Secretary would not be available.

After a small number of public comments were made, the meeting was adjourned at 1200 on Friday, 29 January 1999.