OSHA and Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) Alliance
Close-out Report

On January 31, 2003, OSHA and SCA formed an Alliance to use their collective expertise to advance a culture of injury and illness prevention while sharing best practices and technical knowledge in the areas of shipbuilding and ship repair practices. The Alliance particularly focused on reducing and preventing exposure to shipyard safety and health hazards such as electrical, welding/hotwork, and ergonomics, and in promoting hearing conservation. The Alliance was renewed on February 8, 2007 and March 6, 2009.

Because OSHA is working with SCA, the American Shipbuilders Association (ASA), the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP), and the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) to sign one shipbuilding group Alliance that will address the same goals and topic areas, the organizations agreed to conclude the Alliance as of September 13, 2010. A number of successes resulted from the Alliance, including:

• SCA worked with ASA, NSRP, American Industrial Hygiene Association, and the American Society of Safety Engineers to develop a series of safety alerts focusing on safety issues in shipyard employment:

• • Safety Alert: Control of Hazardous Energy - Lockout/Tagout Procedures in Shipyard Employment
  • Safety Alert: Electrocution and Shock Hazards in Shipyard Employment
  • Safety Alert: Welding and Other Hot Work Procedures in Shipyard Employment
  • Safety Alert: Ventilation Procedures in Shipyard Employment

• SCA reviewed and provided feedback on a number of OSHA-developed products, including a Safety and Health Information Prevention Sheet focusing on rigging and "Tool Box Talks: Hearing Conservation in the Shipbuilding Industry."

• SCA reviewed and provided feedback on the confined space flashpoint outreach document developed by the OSHA and the Gulf Coast Maritime Safety Association Alliance in Region IV.

• SCA representatives serve on the Editorial Board for the OSHA Maritime Industry and Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Safety and Health Topics page's and the Shipyard Employment eTool. The pages received 43,646 visits in Fiscal Year 2008.

• SCA supported North American Occupational Safety and Health Week in 2008 and 2009.

• OSHA representatives were invited by SCA to deliver maritime safety and health-related presentations at the SCA Spring and Fall Health and Safety Seminars in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

• OSHA and SCA representatives presented "Maritime Industry Safety and Health Products and Information" at the National Safety Council Congress and Expo on October 27, 2009, in Orlando, Florida.

Report prepared by: Todd Briggs, Program Analyst, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, October 11, 2010.