Occupational Safety and Health Administration
and the
Graphics Arts Coalition

I. Alliance Background

Date Signed

June 18, 2002, and July 1, 2002

Date Renewed

February 9, 2004

Overview

The Graphic Arts Coalition (GAC), formerly called the Printing Industry Alliance, is comprised of the four following associations:

1. Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF)
2. Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA)
3. Flexographic Technical Association (FTA)
4. Gravure Association of America (GAA)

The GAA joined the Alliance when it was renewed on February 9, 2004. The Envelope Manufacturers Association (EMA), an original Alliance signatory, did not participate in the renewal because the Alliance's issues are not a current focus for the organization.

Through the Alliance, OSHA and the organizations are providing GAC members and others with information, guidance and access to training resources to help them protect employees' health and safety, including reducing and preventing exposure to ergonomic concerns found in printing operations as well as promoting safe work practices in the industry.

Implementation Team Members
 

*Patty Adair served as the Alliance Implementation Team Coordinator until May 2004.
^†Nilgun Tolek served as the Alliance Implementation Team Coordinator until October 2003.

Evaluation Period

June 18, 2003, through June 17, 2004

II. Implementation Team Meetings
 

III. Results

1. Events and Products
   
   Outreach and Communication
    
   • Develop and disseminate information through print and electronic media, and through links on OSHA's and GAC Web sites, including:
      
     • Work with OSHA to provide expertise regarding the Printing Industry Safety and Health Topics page.
     • Work with OSHA to provide expertise on the development of an eTool for the printing industry.
     • Developing and maintaining a speaker's kit on topics covered in this Alliance as well as the overall safety and health profile of the industry.
     Products
     
     Printing Industry Safety and Health Topics Page and Ergonomics eTool for the Printing Industry
     
     As a direct result of the OSHA-GAC Alliance, OSHA revised its Printing Industry Safety and Health Topics webpage that was developed by the GAC Alliance implementation team and OSHA during the Alliance's initial year. The page provides numerous resources with information relevant to the industry. The following members of the OSHA-GAC Alliance serve on the editorial board of the Printing Industry Safety and Health Topics page and provide ongoing review of the topics page.
      
     • Printing Industry Safety and Health Topics page
       • Ben Cooper, PIA
       • Richard Dunnington, GAA
       • Gary Jones, GATF/PIA
       • Marcia Kinter, SGIA
       • Wendy Lechner, PIA
       • Doreen Monteleone, FTA
       • Danielle Waterfield, SGIA
     Ergonomics eTool for the Printing Industry
     
     The Alliance implementation team began planning the development of the Ergonomics eTool for the Printing industry, exploring the opportunities to use the contents from the SGIA Ergonomics Training Program and the PIA/GATF Ergonomics Training Program developed for the printing industry by members of the Alliance implementation team. FTA will provide content for the flexography module of the eTool. The OSHA-GAC Alliance will explore the development of a speakers' kit in the coming year.
     
     OSHA and GAC Alliance Webpage
     
     The OSHA-GAC Alliance Webpage features information the Alliance and includes links to the Printing Industry Safety and Health Topics page, industry conferences, articles and other resources. For information on the number of visits to the OSHA-GAC Alliance Webpage, please see the Alliance Program Reach table on page 7.
     
     Print and Electronic Media
     
     Both OSHA and the members of GAC issued press releases when the group signed the Alliance renewal agreement on February 9, 2004. In addition, articles on the Alliance appeared in OSHA and industry press releases, OSHA Quick Takes, the SGIA Journal, BNA Occupational Safety and Health Reporter, FLEXO® Magazine, GATFWORLD and Graphic Arts Monthly online. More than 100,000 individuals were reached through the publications. For more information on the articles, please see the Alliance Program Reach table on page 7.
     
     FTA sends out a monthly electronic newsletter that includes current health and safety information, often linking to OSHA's Web site. The newsletter reaches more than 1,700 members. PIA/GATF regularly sends its 11,000 members e-mail and publications that include safety and health information, including ergonomics information.
   • Speak, exhibit or appear at OSHA or GAC-sponsored conferences, local meetings, or other safety or industry events, such as the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association Convention and Expo, the 2004 National Environmental Health and Safety Conference for the Graphic Communications Industry, Foundation of FTA INFO*FLEX Exhibition, and the GAA Gravure Expo, especially focusing on ergonomics concerns and approaches to solutions.
     
     Events
     
     Exhibiting
     
     The OSHA-GAC Alliance was promoted at the following events:
      
     • SGIA '03: The Specialty Printing and Imaging Technology Show: Nilgun Tolek staffed an OHSA and GAC Alliance exhibit booth at the Printing and Imaging Technology Show, October 15-18, 2003, Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
     • National Environmental Health and Safety (NEHS) Conference: Patty Adair staffed an OHSA and GAC Alliance exhibit booth at the 2004 NEHS Conference, which was held in Indianapolis, Indiana March 14-16, 2004. She answered questions about the OSHA-GAC Alliance and distributed the OSHA General Industry CD Rom.
     • INFO*FLEX Exhibition: Jess McCluer, Program Analyst, USDOL-OSHA staffed an OHSA and GAC Alliance exhibit booth at the INFO*FLEX Exhibition, which was held April 25-26, 2004, in Dallas, Texas.
     • 2004 OSHA Compliance Assistance Training Sessions: Danielle Waterfield, Government Affairs Associate, Specialty Graphic Imaging Association, staffed a GAC Alliance exhibit booth at the 2004 OSHA Compliance Assistance Training Sessions, which was held June 14-18, 2004, in Falls Church, Virginia.
     Speaking
     
     A representative from OSHA spoke at the following event:
      
     • 2004 National Safety Congress and Expo (NSCE)
       On September 13, 2004,Jim Washam, Machine Guarding Coordinator in OSHA's Region V Cincinnati, OH Area Office gave a presentation, entitled "Stop the Presses, LO/TO in the Printing Industry" at the 2004 NSCE Event, which was held September 10-14, 2004, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
        
     • National Environmental Health and Safety (NEHS) Conference: Jim Washam, Machine Guarding Coordinator in OSHA's Cincinnati, OH Area Office gave a presentation, entitled "What to Expect from an OSHA Inspection" at the 2004 NEHS Conference, which was held March 14-16, 2004, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
   • Share information between OSHA personnel and the printing industry regarding industry best practices or effective approaches, as jointly determined by OSHA and GAC members.
     
     OSHA's Amputations Quick Card
     
     Members of the OSHA-GAC Alliance provided feedback on a draft OSHA Quick Card that addressed amputations.
      
   • Promote and encourage GAC member companies to participate in OSHA's cooperative programs such as compliance assistance, the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), and Consultation and its Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP).
     
     Lowen Corporation
     
     The GAC Alliance highlighted the achievements of The Lowen Corporation of Hutchinson, KS, which is an SGIA member and achieved SHARP status. To bring attention to Lowen's success, SGIA featured the company in the Safety Spotlight section of the SGIA.org Web site (www.sgia.org/govt/spotlight). In the feature article, SGIA discussed Lowen's SHARP status and interviewed the company about its safety success. The Lowen article remains on the Web site in downloadable format at: http://www.sgia.org/govt/profile/archive/lowen_0304.pdf. SGIA also featured Lowen Corporation in the April 2004 SGIA News, a monthly SGIA newsletter. Since Lowen is also a Digital Printing and Imaging Association (DPI) member, SGIA/DPI also featured Lowen and its SHARP status on the DPI Web site. That article remains on the DPI site at: http://www.dpia.org/govt/profile/archive/.
      
   • Work with other Alliance participants on projects relating to ergonomics or safe work practices that are addressed and developed through the Alliance Program.
     
     American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Roundtable
     
     On May 14, 2004, at a meeting hosted by AAOS in Washington, DC, Danielle Waterfield, Government Affairs Associate, Specialty Graphic Imaging Association, and Gary Jones, Manager, Environmental Safety and Health Affairs, PIA/GATF, made a presentation to Alliance Program participants, including AAOS, The Dow Chemical Company and the American Society of Safety Engineers, on the new SGIA Ergonomics Training Program.
   Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health
    
   • Convene a forum with printing equipment manufacturers and end-users to raise awareness about ergonomic concerns related to the interaction between humans and machinery.
     
     During this evaluation period, no products or resources have been developed to meet this Alliance goal.
      
   • Raise others' awareness of and demonstrate their own commitment to workplace safety and health whenever GAC leaders address groups.
     
     National Advisory Committee on Ergonomics (NACE)
     
     At the May 11, 2004, meeting of the NACE working group on Outreach and Assistance, Washington, D.C. Marci Kinter, Vice President, Government Affairs, and Danielle Waterfield, Government Affairs Associate, SGIA, made a presentation to the working group on the OSHA and GAC Alliance and the new SGIA Ergonomics Training Program for the printing industries.
     
     Ergonomics Updates
     
     In 2004, Gary Jones, Manager, Environmental, Health and Safety Affairs, GATF/PIA, gave a presentation on ergonomics entitled, "Ergonomics Regulation Update and Printing Industry Response" to a number of groups.
      
     • June 14, 2004, GATF's Annual Sheetfed Conference in Chicago, Illinois.
     • June 10, 2004, Printing Industry of Minnesota's Annual Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
     • June 8, 2004, Printing Industry of Minnesota's Annual Graphic Arts Educators Update in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
     • April 28, 2004, Midwest Region Newspaper Safety Consortium's Semi-Annual Meeting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
     • March 31, 2004, Printing Industry of America's Annual Government Affairs Meeting in Washington, D.C.
     • March 23, 2004, American East (Regional Newspaper Convention) in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
     • March 16, 2004, National Environmental Health and Safety Affairs Annual Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.
     • February 28, 2004, Printing Industry of the South's Annual HR Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee.
     • February 19, 2004, Printing Industries of Ohio Semi-Annual EHS Roundtable in Cincinnati, Ohio.
2. Executive Summary
   
   Since the last OSHA and GAC Alliance Annual Report, the GAC renewed its Alliance with OSHA through a signing ceremony on February 9, 2004. At this time, the GAA joined the Alliance and the Envelope Manufacturers Association, an original Alliance signatory, did not participate in the renewal because the issues were not a current focus for the organization.
   
   During the Alliance's past year, GAC members continued to serve on the Printing Industry Safety and Health Topics page editorial board, providing expert input on an ongoing basis to SLTC to help maintain the page. The Alliance's members also provided comments to the Agency on the draft OSHA Quick Card on Amputations.
   
   The Alliance implementation team took advantage of many speaking and exhibiting opportunities to reach printing industry and OSHA representatives. OSHA exhibited at the SGIA 'O3: The Printing and Imaging Technology Show, which was held October 15-18, 2003, in Atlanta, Georgia; the 2004 NEHS Conference, which was held in Indianapolis, Indiana March 14-16, 2004; and the INFO*FLEX Exhibition, which was held April 25-26, 2004 in Dallas, Texas. Danielle Waterfield, Government Affairs Associate, Specialty Graphic Imaging Association, exhibited at the 2004 OSHA Compliance Assistance Training Sessions, which was held June 14-18, 2004, in Falls Church, Virginia. Jim Washam, Machine Guarding Coordinator in OSHA's Region V Cincinnati, OH Area Office gave a presentation, entitled "What to Expect from an OSHA Inspection" at the 2004 NEHS Conference, which was held March 14-16, 2004, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
   
   In addition, representatives from the GAC spoke on numerous occasions about ergonomics in the printing industry. On May 11, 2004, Marci Kinter, Vice President, Government Affairs, and Danielle Waterfield, Government Affairs Associate, with the SGIA made a presentation to the National Advisory Committee on Ergonomics working group on Outreach and Assistance in Washington, DC, on the Alliance and new ergonomics training materials for the printing industry. Additionally, Gary Jones, manager for Environmental, Health and Safety Affairs at the PIA/GATF spoke to a number of groups about ergonomics in the printing industry.
   
   The GAC promoted the Alliance through several articles that reached thousands of industry members, including "SGIA Renews OSHA Alliance Agreement," in February 10, 2004, and "Ergonomics - The Current State of Affairs," SGIA Journal in the Second Quarter of 2004. Additionally, it promoted other OSHA cooperative programs with an article on the SGIA Website about one of its members that had received SHARP recognition. The Alliance's activities were also covered in the news by BNA Occupational Safety and Health Reporter, Graphic Arts Monthly online and Whattheythink.com. FTA's monthly electronic newsletter includes health and safety information, often linking to the OSHA Web site.
   
   Due to the success of the OSHA and GAC Alliance, the group began planning the development of an Ergonomics eTool for the Printing Industry that would benefit employers and employees in the industry. In April 2004, the Alliance implementation team met with representatives of OSHA and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Solicitor to discuss any legal barriers to using materials from the GAC's ergonomics training materials for the printing industry to develop an OSHA Ergonomics eTool for the Printing Industry. In addition, the team began planning the format of the eTool.
    
3. Alliance Program Reach

IV. Upcoming Milestones

The OSHA-GAC Alliance Implementation Team has discussed a number of activities that will be undertaken in the upcoming year. GAC will provide input and expertise to develop an Ergonomics eTool for the Printing Industry. Members of the Alliance will provide content about the various sectors of the printing industry, including screenprinting, lithography and flexography. Additionally, the Implementation Team will continue to review and update, as necessary, OSHA's Printing Industry Safety and Health Topics page.

The Alliance implementation team has identified a number of opportunities for to reach out to printing industry members about workplace safety and health. The U.S. Department of Labor Compliance Assistance Office plans to staff an exhibit booth and distribute information on the GAC Alliance at the October 6-9, 2004: SGIA '04, The Specialty Printing and Imaging Technology Show, which will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Paula White, Director of OSHA's Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, will speak on March 8, 2005, at the National Environmental Health and Safety Conference in Tampa, Florida. OSHA also will have an exhibit booth at the Conference.

In addition, members of the GAC have expressed interest in participating in the Hazard Communication and Ergonomics Roundtables that OSHA anticipates hosting in FY 2005 to learn about other Alliance Program participants' activities and products and identify potential projects that they can work on with other Alliance Program participants.


Report prepared by: Elizabeth Sherfy, Alliance Coordinator, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, March 30, 2005