ANNUAL ALLIANCE REPORT
Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the
Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA)
June 15, 2004

1. Alliance Background
   
   Date Signed
   
   May 8, 2003
   
   Overview
   
   The Alliance focuses on safety supervision, equipment and material handling, driver and vehicle safety, ladder and lift use, and lock-out/tag-out in the heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) industry. The Alliance's goals include:
   
   Outreach and Communication:
    
   • Identify existing resources and stimulate the development of new training programs and materials as appropriate. OSHA will review and comment on existing ACCA safety and health material periodically, suggesting updating as appropriate.
      
   • Seek opportunities for OSHA representatives to speak, exhibit or appear at the national ACCA conference as well as at chapter meetings or other events.
      
   • Develop and disseminate information through ACCA print and electronic media, including linkage between OSHA's and ACCA's web sites.
      
   • Cross-train OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals in effective approaches for improving the safety and health of workers in the HVACR contracting industry.
      
   • Promote and encourage ACCA members' awareness of and participation in OSHA's cooperative programs such as Compliance Assistance, Voluntary Protection Program, Consultation, and Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP).
      
   • Participate in forums and roundtable discussions on multi-employer worksite issues to help forge innovative solutions to raising construction-industry safety awareness in the workplace.
      
   Implementation Team Members
    

   ACCA:
   John Herzog	VP Public Policy
   Sylvia Shephard	Executive Assistant & Affinity Programs Manager
   Ronnie Head	Safety Committee
   Warren Lupson	Technical Contractor Consultant
   Aaron York, Sr.	Chairman, Safety Committee
   Bob Wasniewski	Safety Committee
   Ray Issac	Safety Committee
   OSHA:
   Todd Briggs	Office of Outreach Services and Alliances (OOSA)
   Jess McCluer	OOSA
   Danezza Quinterro	Office of Construction Services
   Nilgun Tolek*	OOSA

Evaluation Period:

May 8, 2003 - May 8, 2004

2. Implementation Team Meetings

May 9, 2003 November 6, 2003 December 8, 2003

Kick-off meeting, OSHA, Washington, DC Meeting, OSHA, Washington, DC Meeting, OSHA, Washington, DC

3. Events and Products
   
   Outreach and Communication
   
   Events:
   
   February 25-28, 2004: 2004 ACCA Conference and Indoor Expo, New Orleans Marriott, New Orleans, Louisiana.
   
   February 25, 2004: OSHA/ACCA Alliance, Dorinda Folse, Compliance Assistance Specialist, Baton Rouge Area Office, USDOL-OSHA, presented an overview of the OSHA/ACCA Alliance to members of the ACCA Safety and Health Committee. Sandra Stokes, Louisiana Department of Labor, also made a presentation on the OSHA Consultation Program.
   
   Ms. Folse also manned an OSHA tabletop exhibit at the event that had over 1,000 attendees and distributed over 225 copies of the Construction Industry CD-Rom along with other OSHA publications including the English and Spanish Crystalline Silica Exposure card and the Heat and Cold stress Quick Cards.
   
   Products:
    
   • Forklift Safety Information Packet
     
     ACCA distributed 50 copies of the Forklift Safety Information Packet to its members. The information packet, prepared by OSHA, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, is designed to increase awareness of the hazards of powered industrial forklift use by young workers. The packet includes: OSHA's Safety and Health Information Bulletin on "Protecting Young Workers: Prohibition Against Young Workers Operating Forklifts"; NIOSH's "Forklift Alert"; the Wage and Hour Division's "Forklift Stop Sticker" (to be affixed to forklifts as a warning to young workers); and a DOL Compliance Assistance Fact Sheet.
      
   • Editorial Boards
     
     Greg Goater, Isaac Heating and Air Conditioning; Rochester, NY is a member of both the Fall Protection and Motor Vehicle Safety and Health Topics pages Editorial Board.
      
   • OSHA and ACCA Alliance Web Page
     
     The OSHA and ACCA Alliance Web page on OSHA's Web site contains information on the Alliance, Products and Resources, Activities and Events, and Milestones and Successes. The page is updated regularly.
      
   • ACCA Web page - Link to Alliance agreement on OSHA's Web page.
      
   • May 8, 2003 - OSHA distributed a news release announcing the Alliance.
      
   • May 9, 2003 - ACCA distributed a press release announcing the Alliance.
      
   • May 15, 2003 - OSHA included information on the OSHA/ACCA Alliance signing in its bi-weekly e-newsletter, QuickTakes.
      
   • May 15, 2003 - "OSHA Signs Alliance Agreement with Home Builders, HVAC Contractors," Occupational Safety and Health Reporter.
      
4. Results
   
   The OSHA/ACCA Alliance has helped increase ACCA members' understanding of OSHA's cooperative programs, including the Alliance Program and Consultation. This has been done by working with Region VI Compliance Assistance Specialist, Dorinda Folse and Sandra Stokes, Louisiana Department of Labor who made presentations on the OSHA/ACCA Alliance and the Consultation Program, respectively, at the 2004 ACCA Conference and Indoor Expo. Ms. Folse's presentation was titled "ACCA Alliance Program" and focused on the activities of the Alliance which include, ACCA members serving on the Fall Protection and Motor Vehicle Safety and Health Topics page Editorial Board's and willingness to work with other Alliances to create a Motor Vehicle Safety eTool. Ms. Folse also discussed potential future activities which included developing an HVACR Safety and Health Topics page. Ms. Stokes updated ACCA members on the how the Consultation Program works and the benefits the program provides to small businesses.
   
   Overall, ACCA members were very pleased with Ms. Folse's presentation and now have a better understanding of the goals and activities of the OSHA/ACCA Alliance along with the resources that are available through OSHA that help educate employers and employees about the Consultation Program. In addition, Ms. Folse's presentation has also been linked to on the OSHA Alliance Program Web page.
   
   It has taken some time for the Alliance to gel together as a working group. Staff changes at ACCA and changes in Implementation Team members, including new ACCA members and a new OSHA Alliance Coordinator, were some of the reasons why activity in the OSHA-ACCA Alliance was limited in early 2004. As a result of the staff changes, it has taken some time for the new members of the Implementation Team to develop a productive working relationship.

5. Upcoming Milestones
   
   The OSHA/ACCA Alliance Implementation Team has discussed a number of activities that will be undertaken in the upcoming year. ACCA members would like to work on the development of a HVACR Safety and Health Topics page for their members. In addition, ACCA would like to have OSHA staff make presentations on particular safety topics at ACCA Chapter meetings. In the meantime, ACCA members will continue to serve on the Fall Protection and Motor Vehicle Safety and Health Topics page Editorial Board's and will help work with other Alliances should the Agency pursue developing a Motor Vehicle Safety eTool.
   
   In addition, ACCA has expressed interest in participating in the upcoming Construction Roundtable for construction-related National Alliances schedule to take place in July 2004. The Roundtable is designed for the construction-related National Alliances to discuss how they can work together to address issues such as ergonomics, silica and motor vehicle safety, which many of them are addressing individually through their Alliances. 

Report prepared by: Jess McCluer, Alliance Coordinator, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, June 15, 2004

Footnote
* Nilgun Tolek was Alliance Coordinator until November 2003