“OSHA, Associated Builders and Contractors Announce Innovative Safety Partnership”

Construction workers’ safety and health in Southwestern Ohio will be enhanced by an innovative partnership entered into in this February by the Ohio Valley Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. (ABC) in Dayton and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Officials from both organizations say will become the industry model for how OSHA works with ABC member construction contractors with exemplary safety records.

The three-year agreement provides incentives for participating contractors to voluntarily improve their safety and health program under high performance guidelines set by the partnership. In return, OSHA will recognize contractors who have established exemplary safety programs. The agreement does not exempt participating contractors from compliance with OSHA safety and health regulations and does not exempt employers from investigations.

The partnership between OSHA’s Cincinnati Area Office and ABC is among the first comprehensive partnerships in the construction industry and is expected to result in decreased injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. OSHA anticipates that contractors will have decreased worker compensation costs.

Under terms of the partnership, ABC will create a “platinum” level safety designation for select members. Platinum will be the highest in a four-step ABC program designed to recognize its safest contractors. In order to reach platinum status, contractors must meet stringent safety guidelines that include:

• an occupational injury and illness rate of less than 8.0 (industry average is 8.8);
• a site specific written safety and health program, based upon either ANSI or OSHA guidelines, that includes employee involvement;
• training for employees on hazards specific to their jobs;
• effective supervisor training modeled on OSHA’s 10-hour construction safety course;
• designated safety personnel who receive training equivalent to OSHA’s 30- hour construction safety training course; and,
• a track record that includes no willful or repeat serious violations in the last three years, and no fatalities or catastrophic accidents in the last three years that resulted in serious citations.

In return for meeting these criteria, OSHA, after a verification inspection, will:

• not target the site for a planned – or “programmed” – inspection within the next 12 months;
• conduct an unplanned inspection only in response to reports of imminent danger, a fatality or catastrophic accident, and a signed complaint;
• handle all other complaints, except in cases of serious injuries, by telephone and fax;
• not issue penalties for non-serious violations that are promptly abated; and
• reduce any citation by the maximum amounts for good faith, size, and history.

The agreement designates that local ABC safety committees visit construction sites to verify data submitted by contractors seeking to become platinum members. The national ABC safety director will conduct random verification visits and submit annual reports to OSHA’s construction directorate. In turn, OSHA will inspect less than 10 percent of the sites to verify program compliance.