AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
AND
THE AMERICAN CONCRETE PIPE ASSOCIATION

The American Concrete Pipe Association (ACPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recognize the value of establishing a collaborative relationship to promote and cultivate safer and more healthful American workplaces. ACPA and OSHA hereby form an Alliance to provide ACPA members and others with information, guidance, and mentoring that will help them protect employees' health and safety, especially in reducing and preventing exposure to confined space hazards by developing, implementing or improving confined space programs.

ACPA and OSHA will work together to achieve the following outreach and communication goals:

• Develop and disseminate information through print and electronic media that serve the concrete pipe industry, including, as applicable, links to selected pages on OSHA's and ACPA's web sites.

• ACPA will assist OSHA in identifying safety and health issues specific to the concrete pipe industry that can be addressed in eTools and other electronic assistance products for the OSHA Web site.

• Speak, exhibit, or appear at conferences such as the annual ACPA conference, local meetings, or other events that serve the concrete pipe industry to promote the effectiveness of confined space programs in preventing injury or workplace illness

• Cross train OSHA personnel and ACPA safety and health professionals in confined space entry hazards specific to the concrete pipe industry and best practices, as jointly determined by OSHA and ACPA.

• Explore opportunities to establish forums at ACPA conferences and regional or state chapter meetings to discuss injuries and illnesses relating to confined space issues that frequently occur in ACPA member's plants in order to help forge innovative solutions to these problems in the workplace.

• Promote to ACPA members the potential benefits of their participation in OSHA's cooperative programs such as Compliance Assistance, the Voluntary Protection Program, Consultation, and SHARP.

OSHA's Alliances provide parties an opportunity to participate in a voluntary cooperative relationship with OSHA for purposes such as training and education, outreach and communication and promoting a national dialogue on workplace safety and health. These Alliances have proved to be valuable tools for both OSHA and its Alliance participants. By entering into an Alliance with a party, OSHA is not endorsing any of that party's products or services; nor does the Agency enter into an Alliance with the purpose of promoting a particular party's products or services.

An implementation team made up of representatives from both organizations will meet to develop a plan of action, determine working procedures, and identify the roles and responsibilities of the participants. In addition, they will meet at least quarterly to track and share information on activities and results in achieving the goals of the Alliance. Team members will include representatives of OSHA's Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs and ACPA's Safety Task Group. Additional team members may be brought in from both organizations as needed to assist with technical matters. OSHA will encourage State Plan States' and OSHA Consultation Projects' participation on the team.

This agreement will remain in effect for two years. Either signatory may terminate it for any reason at any time, provided they give 30 days written notice. This agreement may be modified at any time with the concurrence of both signatories.