ALLIANCE ANNUAL REPORT
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
and the
National Lumber and Building Materials Dealer Association
October 25, 2004

I. Alliance Background

Date Signed

July 28, 2003

Overview

Through the Alliance, OSHA and NLBMDA are working together and with other interested parties to increase overall safety awareness in the lumber and building materials industry while specifically addressing recordkeeping issues and reducing or preventing forklift accidents and lifting strains. The Alliance is helping to raise awareness of OSHA's recordkeeping requirements by developing and providing information and training resources for the lumber and building material industry.

Implementation Team Members
 

Evaluation Period

July 28, 2003 - July 27, 2004

II. Implementation Team Meetings
 

III. Results

1. Events and Products
   
   Training and Education Goals
    
   • Develop and make available training, education programs, and "tool box talks" on recordkeeping, forklifts, and safe lifting targeted to the unique issues in the lumber and building material industry.
     
     The OSHA and NLBMDA Alliance Implementation Team has not started work on programs or projects to address this goal.
      
   • Address language and literacy issues while producing lumber and building material industry safety and health training, education programs, and "tool box talks."
     
     The OSHA and NLBMDA Alliance Implementation Team has not started work on programs or projects to address this goal.
   Outreach and Communication Goals
    
   • Develop and disseminate information on safety and health topics and achievements by speaking or exhibiting at industry conferences, local meetings, and through print and electronic media, including links from OSHA's and NLBMDA's Web sites.
   Events
   
   NLBMDA National Legislative Conference, March 22, 2004, Washington, DC
   
   Assistant Secretary John Henshaw, USDOL-OSHA, addressed the NLBMDA's National Legislative Conference in Washington, DC on March 22, 2004. Mr. Henshaw updated the group on OSHA's goals for 2004, the benefits of partnerships and Alliances, and other ways OSHA can work together with businesses and industries.
   
   Products
   
   Forklift Safety Packet
   
   NLBMDA distributed a packet of information to its members on forklift safety prepared by OSHA, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. The information packet, designed to increase awareness of the hazards of powered industrial forklift use by young workers, 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.
   
   OSHA and NLBMDA Alliance Website
   
   OSHA developed an OSHA and NLBMDA Alliance Website that is posted on the Agency's Webpage that includes the OSHA and NLBMDA Alliance agreement, news releases, and milestones and successes. This Website is updated on a regular basis.
   
   NLBMDA Website (www.dealer.org)
   
   The NLBMDA has included information on the OSHA and NLBMDA Alliance on its Website.
   
   Publications and Newsletters
   
   Information and news releases on the OSHA and NLBMDA Alliance signing and the activities of the Alliance have appeared in a number of publications produced by OSHA and NLBMDA. In addition, information on the OSHA and NLBMDA Alliance has been published in a number of safety and health publications. Please see the chart in this report under "Alliance Program Reach" for additional information.
   
   OSHA's Safety and Health Topics Pages
   
   Through the Alliance, the following NLBMDA staff member is participating on the editorial boards of the following OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages:
    
   • • Motor Vehicle Safety
       
       T.J. Cantwell, Director, Regulatory and Industry Affairs; NLBMDA, Washington, DC
        
     • Powered Industrial Trucks
       
       T.J. Cantwell, Director, Regulatory and Industry Affairs; NLBMDA, Washington, DC
   • Encourage NLBMDA chapters to build relationships with OSHA's Regional and Area Offices to address safety and health issues, including forklift and lifting issues.
   Events
   
   John Henshaw Tour of Hancock Lumber, September 25, 2003, Portland, ME
   
   OSHA's Assistant Secretary Henshaw toured the NLBMDA's member company's facility, Hancock Lumber, in Portland, Maine on September 25, 2003. Frank Gravitt, OSHA's Deputy Regional Administration in Region I, arranged the tour.
   
   Mid-South Building Materials Dealers Association, January 29, 2004, Natchez, MS
   
   On January 29, 2004, Clyde P. Payne, CIH, Region IV - Jackson Area Office Director, USDOL-OSHA, addressed the NLBMDA's federated association, Mid-South Building Materials Dealers Association, during a chapter meeting in Natchez, Mississippi. Mr. Payne spoke to the group about OSHA's regulations and standards that impact the lumber dealers' industry.
    
   • Assist in the development of electronic assistance tools for OSHA's Web page that address recordkeeping issues as well as safety and health hazards including reducing and preventing forklift accidents and lifting strains.
   Products
   
   Safety and Health Topics Page for the Lumber Dealer Industry
   
   During the Alliance's first year, the OSHA and NLBMDA discussed the development of a Safety and Health Topics page for the Lumber and Building Materials Dealer Industry. OSHA's Salt Lake Technical Center completed a draft outline of the page; however OSHA funding was unavailable to complete the page. The Topics page has been added to the Alliance Program's list of projects for funding in FY 2004.
    
   • Promote and educate NLBMDA's members' on the scope and benefit of OSHA's Consultation Program and provide information on other cooperative programs such as the Voluntary Protection Programs, Partnerships, and SHARP.
   Products
   
   ProSales, the Official Publication of the National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association, July 2004
   
   In the July 2004 edition of ProSales, the NLBMDA published the article "On the Safe Side, OSHA's Alliance Program with NLBMDA and its VPP Outreach Efforts are Helping Dealers Enhance Worker Safety." This article is divided into "Safety 'Net", which discusses OSHA's Alliance Program and "Role Models," which addresses the benefits of participating in the Agency's Voluntary Protection Programs and the Consultation Program's Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program.
   
   Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health
    
   • Encourage NLBMDA's members to act as industry liaisons and resources for OSHA's cooperative programs and Compliance Assistance Specialists.
     
     The OSHA and NLBMDA Alliance Implementation Team has not started work on programs or projects to address this goal.
      
   • Convene or participate in forums, round table discussions, or stakeholder meetings on forklift and lifting issues in the lumber and building materials industry to help forge innovative and practical solutions in the workplace and to provide information during the development of industry specific safety and health guidelines.
   Events
   
   Alliance Program Construction Roundtable, July 8, 2004, Department of Labor, Washington, DC
   
   T.J. Cantwell from the NLBMDA participated in the Alliance Program's Construction Roundtable for construction-related national Alliances on July 8, 2004. The Roundtable participants discussed how the construction-related national Alliances could work together to address issues such as ergonomics, silica and motor vehicle safety.
    
2. Executive Summary
   
   During the OSHA and NLBMDA's Alliance's first year an excellent working relationship was established between the organizations. OSHA learned more about this industry, which is composed primarily of small businesses, and the NLBMDA learned more about the compliance assistance resources that the Agency has developed. In addition, through the Alliance, the NLBMDA members have had the opportunity to hear from OSHA's national and regional staff. The OSHA and NLBMDA Alliance has also helped to identify the need for compliance assistance safety and health information that is specific to the industry. As a result, the Alliance implementation team is developing an OSHA Lumber and Building Dealers Safety and Health Topics page.
   
   The OSHA and NLBMDA's Alliance implementation team has also started addressing ergonomics in the lumber and building materials dealers industry. NLBMDA formed a working group to identify the job processes and associated manual lifting hazards and potential solutions in the lumber and building dealers industry. Using this group's work, the Alliance will be producing an manual lifting document that can be used as a compliance assistance resource for the industry.
   
   NLMDA is using its publications including its magazine, ProSales, and newsletter, Regulatory News, to inform its membership about the Alliance's events, OSHA's activities and the availability of the Agency's compliance assistance resources and tools. In addition, the association has added information on OSHA and to the NLBMDA's website. As the Website states: "Through our Alliance with OSHA, the industry will be better equipped to conduct safety programs that benefit both employees and employers. With this kind of cooperation we are confident that U.S. companies will make huge strides in moving from safety awareness to safety in practice."
    
3. Alliance Program Reach

IV. Upcoming Milestones

During the upcoming year, the OSHA and NLBMDA will continue its positive relationship and work on a number of projects that it started during its first year, including completing and posting the Lumber Dealer Industry Safety and Health Topics Page and developing ergonomic best practices for the lumber dealer industry. NLBMDA will also continue to be a member of OSHA's Safety and Health Topics pages' editorial boards for Motor Vehicle Safety and Powered Industrial Trucks and review and provide comments on the pages.

In addition, OSHA will exhibit during the NLBMDA's Legislative Conference on March 15, 2005 in Washington, DC and will speak during a chapter meeting of the NLBMDA's federated association, Eastern Building Material Association, on September 30, 2004 in Rocky Gap, Maryland. Also both organizations remain committed to identifying additional speaking and exhibiting opportunities.


Report prepared by: Lisa Ramber, Alliance Coordinator, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, October 24, 2004.