NHCA - Alliance Annual Report - January 14, 2005

ANNUAL ALLIANCE REPORT
Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the
National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA)
January 14, 2005

  1. Alliance Background

    Date Signed

    June 2, 2003

    Evaluation Period

    June 2, 2003 – June 1, 2004

    Overview

    OSHA's Alliance with NHCA focuses on preventing noise induced hearing loss in the workplace. In addition, the organizations are using their collective expertise to help advance a culture of good hearing health by developing and implementing Hearing Conservation Programs (HCPs) and Hearing Loss Prevention Programs (HLPPs) while sharing best practices and technical knowledge.

    Implementation Team Members

    OSHA

    Cathy Cronin
    Office of Training and Education (OTE)
    Bob Curtis
    Salt Lake Technical Center (SLTC)
    Deborah Gabry
    Directorate of Science, Technology and Medicine (DSTM)
    Earl Hicks
    Office of Outreach Services and Alliances (OOSA)
    Sandi Khan
    OOSA
    Lisa Ramber*
    OOSA
    Jack Standard
    OTE

    NHCA

    Ted Madison
    President
    Rick Neitzel
    Director of Communication
    Theresa Schulz
    Director of Education
    Carol M. Stephenson
    National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH)
    Laurie Wells
    President-Elect

    *Lisa Ramber served as the OSHA-NHCA Alliance Implementation Team Coordinator until March 2004

  2. Implementation Team Meetings

    June 2, 2003
    Kick-Off Meeting, OSHA, Washington, DC
    December 18, 2003
    Meeting, Teleconference
    May 11, 2004
    Meeting, Teleconference

  3. Results

    1. Events and Products

      Training and Education Goal

      • Develop training courses on noise and hearing loss prevention, including a "Train the Trainer Course" for toolbox talks and a program for vocational school populations.

        • No products or resources have been developed to meet this Alliance goal.

      Outreach and Communication Goals

      • Create and update electronic assistance tools for OSHA’s web page that address noise and hearing conservation for general industry, construction and maritime.

      Products

      OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages

      Representatives from the OSHA-NHCA Alliance serve on the editorial boards for the following OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages: Noise and Hearing Conservation and Construction – Noise and Hearing Conservation. These pages are maintained as a product of the OSHA-NHCA Alliance. Please see the addendum for a list of the NHCA members that are serving on the editorial boards.

      OSHA eTool

      Representatives from the OSHA-NHCA Alliance are helping to develop and will serve on the editorial board for the Noise and Hearing Conservation eTool that OSHA is developing. Upon completion, the OSHA Noise and Hearing Conservation eTool will be maintained as a product of the OSHA-NHCA Alliance. Please see the addendum for the NHCA members that are serving on the editorial board for the Noise and Hearing Conservation eTool.

      • Collect, promote and share information on NHCA members’ best practices, as jointly determined by OSHA and NHCA, with others in the occupational health and safety and hearing health care professions through outreach by NHCA and OSHA.

        No products or resources have been developed to meet this Alliance goal.

      • Develop a guide for hearing protection (including a matrix for hearing protection devices’ usage in various noise settings) that addresses best practices as jointly determined by OSHA and NHCA.

        No products or resources have been developed for this Alliance goal.

      • Design model HCP/HLPPs for the construction and maritime industries.

        No products or resources have been developed to meet this Alliance goal.

      • Work with other Alliance participants on specific issues and projects for preventing NIHL that are addressed and developed through the Alliance Program.

        No products or resources have been developed to meet this Alliance goal.

      Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health Goals

      • Convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions on HCP/HLPPs to help forge innovative ways to prevent hearing loss in the workplace.

        NHCA representatives attended several OSHA Stakeholder meetings on noise and hearing conservation in the construction industry.

      • Develop and disseminate information at conferences and events, or through print and electronic media, including links from OSHA’s and NHCA’s Web sites.

      Events

      NHCA 29th Annual Conference, February 19 – 21, 2004, Seattle, Washington

      Paula White, Director, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs gave a presentation entitled "OSHA’s Cooperative Programs" on February 20, 2004 at the NHCA’s 29th Annual Conference in Seattle, Washington. In addition, The OSHA-NHCA Alliance shared an exhibit booth with NIOSH during the conference. Deborah Gabry and Carol Stephenson staffed the exhibit booth. The OSHA exhibit staff distributed information on OSHA’s cooperative programs, particularly the Alliance Program, the OSHA-NHCA Alliance, and noise and hearing conservation products.

      NHCA-OSHA Alliance Web Page

      The NHCA Web site features a NHCA-OSHA Alliance page which includes information on OSHA’s Alliance Program and links to the OSHA–NHCA Alliance page, fact sheet, milestones and successes. The NHCA web page also highlights Paula White’s (Director, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, USDOL-OSHA) presentation on February 20, 2004 during the NHCA 29th Annual Conference in Seattle, Washington and an article by the NHCA President, Tim Bailey.

      OSHA-NHCA Alliance Web Page

      The OSHA-NHCA Alliance Web page on OSHA’s Web site features information on the products, resources, activities, events and milestones and successes. For information on the number of visits to the OSHA-NHCA Alliance Web page, please see the Alliance Program Reach table on page 5.

      Print and Electronic Media

      Articles on the OSHA-NHCA Alliance have appeared in a number of printed and online publications, including: the NHCA President’s Message, OSHA’s Press Releases, QuickTakes, Occupational Safety and Health Reporter and insidehealthpolicy.com. Over 50,000 individuals were reached through the publications. For more information on the articles, please see the Alliance Program Reach on page 5.

    2. Executive Summary

      Through the Alliance Program, OSHA and NHCA have reached out to NHCA’s members and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources to help them protect employees’ health and safety, particularly by addressing issues associated with noise-induced hearing loss and implementing Hearing Conservation Programs (HCPs) and Hearing Loss Prevention Programs (HLPPs).

      In its first year, the OSHA-NHCA Alliance Web page on OSHA’s Web site was launched. It features links to related documents, activities and events, products and resources, and milestones and successes. The NHCA Web site has a NHCA-OSHA Alliance web page which features Alliance Program information. Additionally, members of the implementation team helped to review and revise OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation and Construction-Noise and Hearing Conservation Safety and Health Topics pages. The Alliance is helping to develop OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation eTool. The OSHA-NHCA Alliance maintains OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation Safety and Health Topics pages and has agreed to maintain OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation eTool once it is posted to the OSHA Web site. Please see the addendum for the NHCA members that are serving on the editorial boards for OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation Safety and Health Topics pages and the Noise and Hearing Conservation eTool.

      Representatives from the OSHA-NHCA Alliance made presentations and exhibited at conferences and meetings during the first year of the Alliance to promote the Alliance and share information to the public about noise-induced hearing loss and hearing conservation, the events included the 2004 NHCA Annual 29th Hearing Conservation Conference and OSHA Stakeholder meetings on hearing conservation in the construction industry.

    3. Alliance Program Reach

      Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
      February 19-21: 2004 NHCA 29th Annual Conference, Seattle, Washington
      • Speaker: Paula White, Director, Directorate of Cooperate and State Programs, USDOL-OSHA, "Cooperative Programs: Expanding OSHA’s Impact." OSHA-NHCA Alliance shared an exhibit booth with NIOSH during the conference.
      		300
      March 24-25, 2004: Stakeholder meeting Chicago Illinois
      • Ted Madison and Carol Stephenson represented the NHCA at the stakeholder meeting.
      		Data Not Available
      Noise and Hearing Conservation Safety and Health Topics page 67,000
      Construction – Noise and Hearing Conservation Safety and health Topics page 45,400
      July 2003 – "Changing Times," NHCA Presidents Message 430
      June 15, 2003 – "National Hearing Conservation Association Aligns with OSHA," OSHA’s bi-weekly e-newsletter, QuickTakes 50,000
      June 9, 2003 – "OSHA Forms Partnership with Hearing Conservation Group," insidehealthpolicy.com Data Not Available
      June 5, 2003 – "OSHA Aligns with Hearing Association to Prevent Noise Induced Hearing Loss," Occupational Safety and Health Reporter Data Not Available
      NHCA Alliance Webpage on the OSHA Website 4,649
      June 2, 2003 – "National Hearing Conservation Association Aligns with OSHA
      Preventing noise-induced hearing loss is focus of Alliance," OSHA News Release      		 25 News Services
      TOTAL 167,379

  4. Upcoming Milestones

    In the Alliance’s second year, OSHA and NHCA will continue to provide information, guidance, and access to training resources to protect employees’ health and safety, particularly the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss and the implementation of HCPs and HLPPs.

    Members of the Alliance implementation team plan to participate in NHCA’s 30th Annual Conference, February 24 – 26, 2005, in Tucson, Arizona. Deborah Gabry, Health Scientist, DSTM, will give a presentation entitled "OSHA’s Alliance Program," particularly focusing on the OSHA-NHCA Alliance. Additionally, OSHA plans to staff an exhibit booth with information products on the OSHA-NHCA Alliance, the Alliance Program, and OSHA’s other cooperative programs as well as hearing conservation and personal protective equipment.

    The OSHA - NHCA Alliance Implementation Team has also discussed a number of additional activities that will be undertaken in the upcoming year. NHCA representatives will continue to serve on the Noise and Hearing Conservation and Construction- Noise and Hearing Conservation Safety and Health Topics pages and finish the eTool and serve on its editorial board. The Alliance will also review and provide comments on OSHA documents as requested. In addition, the team has agreed to work with another Alliance Program participant, the National Association of Shooting Ranges (NASR) and the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, Inc. (SAAMI) on the development of a HCP for indoor shooting ranges.

    Report prepared by: Sandi Khan, Alliance Coordinator, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, January 14, 2005.

Addendum

NHCA representatives serving on the editorial pages for OSHA’s Noise and Hearing Conservation and Construction- Noise and Hearing Conservation Safety and Health Topics page and the OSHA Noise eTool:

Carol M. Stephenson, National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH), Cincinnati OH

Ted Madison, President, NHCA, 3M Company, St Paul, MN

Rick Neitzel, Director of Communication, NHCA, University of Washington Dept. of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, Seattle, WA

Theresa Schulz, Director of Education, NHCA, Sonomax Hearing Healthcare, Fall Branch, TN

Laurie Wells, President-Elect, NHCA, Associates In Acoustics, Loveland, CO

Randy Tubbs, NIOSH, Cincinnati OH

John Elmore, NHCA, Precision Hearing Conservation, Helotes, TX

Lee Hager, NHCA, Sonomax Hearing Healthcare, Portland, MI

Mary McDaniel, NHCA, Pacific Hearing Conservation, Inc., Seattle, WA

Dennis Driscoll, NHCA, Associates in Acoustics, Evergreen, CO

Deanna Meinke, NHCA, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO

James Lankford, NHCA, Professor Emeritus, University of Northern Illinois, Dekalb, IL

Tim Bailey, NHCA, Quest Technologies, Inc., Oconomowoc, WI