AMI - Alliance Annual Report - December 20, 2007

ALLIANCE ANNUAL REPORT
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
and
American Meat Institute (AMI) Alliance
December 20, 2007

  1. Alliance Background

    Date Signed

    October 24, 2002

    Dates Renewed

    July 12, 2004
    September 27, 2006

    Evaluation Period

    October 24, 2006 - October 23, 2007

    Overview

    The OSHA and AMI Alliance provides AMI members and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect employees' health and safety, including non-English or limited English speaking workers. In particular, the Alliance focuses on ergonomics and lockout/tagout issues, including the prevention of amputations.

    Implementation Team Members

    OSHA

    Brett Besser
    Salt Lake Technical Center (SLTC)
    Todd Briggs
    Office of Outreach Services and Alliances (OOSA)
    Cathy Cronin
    Directorate of Training and Education (DTE)
    Doug Fletcher
    Region VII, Omaha, Nebraska Area Office
    Doug Simon
    DTE

    AMI:

    Bob Christiansen
    Hormel Foods
    Travis Ellis
    Land of Frost
    Jim Hardison
    Indiana Packers Corporation
    Mike Hartley
    Smithfield Packing Company
    Dan McCausland
    AMI, Director, Worker Safety and Human Resources
    Eric Reynolds
    Cargill Taylor Beef
    Gary Walters
    Smithfield Packing Company

  2. Implementation Team Meetings

    December 5, 2006
    Implementation Team Conference Call
    April 18, 2007
    Implementation Team Conference Call
    September 13, 2007
    Region VII Meat Industry Orientation Seminar Conference Call
    October 2, 2007
    Region VII Meat Industry Orientation Seminar Conference Call
    October 23, 2007
    Implementation Team Conference Call

    In addition to these formal meetings, the Alliance coordinators from each organization, Todd Briggs and Dan McCausland, spoke regularly to discuss and plan the activities and programs listed under events and products.

  3. Results

    1. Events and Products

      Training and Education Goals

      • Work with OSHA to provide expertise to develop training and education programs for the meat packing and processing industry, and to provide expertise in communicating such information to employers and employees in the industry.

      Products

      OSHA 10- and 30-Hour Outreach Training Program for the Meat Industry Course

      Through the Alliance, AMI developed an OSHA 10-Hour Outreach Training Program for the Meat Industry course and an OSHA 30-Hour Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Meat Industry course. Dr. Jon Wallace, professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, delivered the 10-Hour course to 25 people at AMI's Conference on Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources on April 3, 2007 in Denver, Colorado.

      Outreach and Communication Goals

      • Work with OSHA to provide expertise in developing information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards, and to provide expertise in developing ways of communicating such information (e.g., print and electronic media, electronic assistance tools and OSHA's and AMI's Web sites) to employers and employees in the industry.

      Print and Electronic Media

      An article on the OSHA and AMI Alliance appeared in The Synergist. For more information on the articles, please see the Alliance Program Reach table.

      Products

      Draft Powered Industrial Trucks Safety and Health eTool

      AMI representatives are providing input into the development of OSHA's draft Powered Industrial Trucks eTool. The eTool, to be launched by OSHA in 2008, will be a product of the OSHA and AMI Alliance and a number of other Alliance program Participants, and will be posted to OSHA's Web site. AMI's Worker Safety Web page on the association's Web site will link to the tool.

      OSHA's Meat Packing Industry Safety and Health Topics Page

      The following AMI representatives serve as a member of the editorial board of OSHA's Meat Packing Industry Safety and Health Topics page:

      • Jim Hardison, Indiana Packers Corporation
      • Mike Hartley, Smithfield Packing Co.
      • Dan McCausland, AMI
      • Eric Reynolds, Cargill Taylor Beef
      • Gary Walters, Premium Standards Farms
      • Ken Wengert, Kraft Foods

      OSHA's Ammonia Refrigeration Safety and Health Topics page

      The following AMI representatives serve as members of OSHA's Ammonia Refrigeration Safety and Health Topics page's editorial board, which is a product of the OSHA and AMI Alliance:

      • David Innes, Smithfield Packing Company
      • Matthew O'Brien, Smithfield Packing Company

      OSHA's Powered Industrial Trucks Safety and Health Topics page

      The following AMI representatives serve as members of OSHA's Powered Industrial Trucks Safety and Health Topics page's editorial board:

      • David Innes, Smithfield Packing Company
      • Matthew O'Brien, Smithfield Packing Company

      OSHA's Ammonia Refrigeration eTool

      The following AMI representative serves as members of the editorial board of OSHA's Ammonia Refrigeration eTool:

      • Dan McCausland, AMI

       

      The OSHA and AMI Alliance Web page on the Agency's Web site continues to be updated and includes links to the Alliance's agreements and related documents, activities and events, milestones and successes, and products of the Alliance such as OSHA's Ammonia Refrigeration eTool. For more information on the number of visits to the OSHA and AMI Alliance Web page, please see the Alliance Program Reach table.

      AMI's Web Site

      AMI continues to update the Worker Safety page on its Web site, which includes links to the OSHA and AMI Alliance Web page on the Agency's Web site, and OSHA's Meat Packing Industry Safety and Health Topics page. During the reporting period, AMI added a link to additional OSHA electronic assistance tools, including the Personal Protective Equipment Safety and Health Topics page.

      • Speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA's or AMI's conferences, local meetings, or other events such as the AMI Conference on Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources.

      Events

      AMI's Worker Safety Committee Meeting, Washington, DC, February 1, 2007

      On February 1, 2007, Dan McCausland gave an update on the OSHA and AMI Alliance to 25 members of AMI's Worker Safety Committee during its meeting in Washington, DC.

      AMI's Worker Safety Committee Meeting, Denver, Colorado, April 2, 2007

      On April 2, 2007, Dan McCausland gave an update on the OSHA and AMI Alliance to 25 members of AMI's Worker Safety Committee during its meeting in Denver, Colorado.

      AMI's Conference on Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources, Denver, Colorado, April 4-7, 2007

      Paula O. White, Director, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, USDOL-OSHA, presented "Learn about OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) and Other Cooperative Programs" to 40 people on April 4, 2007 at AMI's Conference on Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources in Denver, Colorado. The presentation focused on OSHA's compliance assistance and cooperative programs and the OSHA and AMI Alliance.

      AMI's Worker Safety Committee Meeting, Washington, DC, July 17, 2007

      On July 17, 2007, Dan McCausland gave an update on the OSHA and AMI Alliance to 24 members of AMI's Worker Safety Committee during its meeting in Washington, DC.

      • Share information among OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals regarding AMI's effective approaches and publicize results through outreach by AMI and through OSHA- or AMI-developed materials, training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures (or any other applicable forum).

        During this reporting period, OSHA and AMI did not work on projects to address this goal. Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health Goals

      • Convene or participate in forums, round table discussions, or stakeholder meetings to help forge innovative solutions in the workplace or to provide input on safety and health issues.

      AMI's Meat Industry Orientation Seminar

      The OSHA and AMI Alliance implementation team discussed planning for the Meat Industry Orientation Seminar for OSHA's Region VIII staff to be conducted on November 13, 2007 in Des Moines, Iowa. AMI members from meat processing companies will discuss how the meat industry addresses safety and health topics such as process safety management, lockout-tagout, machine guarding and ergonomics.

    2. Executive Summary

      During the reporting period, OSHA and AMI continued to work together to reduce and prevent exposure to safety and health hazards in the meat packing and processing industry, including ergonomics, amputations, and lockout/tagout issues.

      The OSHA and AMI Alliance implementation team continued to maintain and update several resources with information about the Alliance and safety and health in the meat packing and processing industry. For example, the OSHA and AMI Alliance Web page on the Agency's Web site features links to related documents, activities and events, and milestones and successes. AMI updated the Worker Safety Web page on the association's Web site which is exclusively devoted to worker and workplace safety. The site provides information on a wide range of meat packing-related safety topics, including links to the OSHA and AMI Alliance Web page on OSHA's Web site, OSHA's Meat Packing Industry Safety and Health Topics page and AMI's fact sheet on worker safety.

      AMI developed an OSHA 10-Hour Outreach Training Program for the Meat Industry course and an OSHA 30-Hour Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Meat Industry course. Dr. Jon Wallace, professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, delivered the 10-Hour course to 25 people at AMI's Conference on Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources on April 3, 2007 in Denver, Colorado.

      During the past year, the AMI Alliance implementation team members contributed to a number of OSHA's compliance assistance products. For example, AMI members serve on the editorial boards of OSHA's Ammonia Refrigeration, Meat Packing Industry, and Powered Industrial Trucks Safety and Health Topics pages and Ammonia Refrigeration eTool. AMI representatives also provided input into the development of OSHA's draft Powered Industrial Trucks Safety and Health eTool.

      To help raise awareness of OSHA compliance assistance resources and cooperative programs, OSHA and AMI staff made a number of presentations. For example, Paula O. White, Director, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, USDOL-OSHA, presented "Learn about OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs and Other Cooperative Programs," at AMI's Conference on Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources on April 4, 2007 in Denver, Colorado. In addition, Dan McCausland, AMI's Director of Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources, made several presentations during the reporting period focusing on the OSHA and AMI Alliance to the association's Board of Directors, Human Resources Committee, and Worker Safety Committee.

    3. Alliance Program Reach

      Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
      OSHA and AMI Alliance Web page on the OSHA Web site 7,028
      AMI Worker Safety Web Page on AMI's Web site Data Not Available
      Meat Packing Industry Safety and Health Topics Page 25,206
      Ammonia Refrigeration Safety and Health Topics Page 25,206
      Powered Industrial Truck Safety and Health Topics Page 89,873
      Ammonia Refrigeration eTool 18,570
      December 2006: "OSHA Web Site Offers Safety and Health Page," The Synergist Data not available
      February 1, 2007: AMI's Worker Safety Committee Meeting, Washington, DC

      Speaker:
      Dan McCausland, Director, Worker Safety and Human Resources, AMI      		 25
      April 2, 2007: AMI's Worker Safety Committee Meeting, Washington, DC

      Speaker:
      Dan McCausland, Director, Worker Safety and Human Resources, AMI      		 25
      April 2, 2007: OSHA 10-Hour Training Course for the Meat Industry, AMI's Conference on Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources, Denver, Colorado

      Trainer:
      Jon Wallace, professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC      		 25
      April 4, 2007: "Learn about OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs and Other Cooperative Programs," AMI's Conference on Worker Safety, Health and Human Resources, Denver, Colorado

      Speaker:
      Paula O. White, Director, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, USDOL-OSHA      		 40
      July 17, 2007: AMI's Worker Safety Committee Meeting, Washington, DC


      Speaker:
      Dan McCausland, Director, Worker Safety and Human Resources, AMI      		 24
      TOTAL 166,022

  4. Upcoming Milestones

    In the upcoming year, the OSHA and AMI Alliance will continue to address workplace safety and health issues, including ergonomics, amputations and lockout/tagout, by developing and reviewing compliance assistance products, making presentations at meat industry-related conferences and meetings and developing training for AMI members and OSHA staff and others in the meat packing and processing industry.

    For example, the members of the Alliance implementation team will continue to serve on the editorial boards of the Ammonia Refrigeration, Meat Packing Industry, and Powered Industrial Trucks Safety and Health Topics pages and the Ammonia Refrigeration eTool. AMI representatives also will provide input into the development of OSHA's draft Powered Industrial Trucks eTool.

    Edwin G. Foulke Jr., Assistant Secretary, USDOL-OSHA, will deliver an OSHA update to AMI's Board of Directors focusing on the Agency's compliance assistance and cooperative programs and the OSHA and AMI Alliance at AMI's Board of Directors meeting on October 25, 2007. AMI will promote the OSHA and AMI Alliance at the AMI 2008 Conference on Worker Safety, Health and Human Services, which will be held April 13-15, 2008 in New Orleans, Louisiana. As part of the conference, Paula O. White, Director, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, USDOL-OSHA, will be invited to deliver a presentation focusing on OSHA's compliance assistance and cooperative programs, including information on the Agency's Voluntary Protection Programs and OSHA and AMI Alliance.

    In addition, the OSHA and AMI Alliance implementation team will present the "Meat Industry Orientation Seminar" on November 13, 2007, in Des Moines, Iowa, for representatives from OSHA Region VII and Iowa's Workforce Development (Iowa OSHA) Office. At the event, AMI speakers will present an in-depth orientation to the meat industry and discuss how meat processing and meatpacking companies address safety and health issues in the workplace, including lockout/tagout, process safety management for ammonia refrigeration systems, ergonomics, personnel protective equipment, and machine guarding. The OSHA and AMI Alliance implementation team will also work with OSHA's Region VII Wichita, Kansas Area Office to deliver another seminar on the meat industry in 2008.

    Report prepared by: Todd Briggs, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, December 20, 2007.