I. Identification of Partners
Nebraska’s animal slaughtering and processing industries (hereinafter referred to as NASPI), the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Omaha Area Office, and the Nebraska
Department of Labor’s Workforce Development (NWFD)’s OSHA Consultation Program recognize the value
of establishing a collaborative relationship to foster a culture of injury and illness prevention
and promote safe and healthful working conditions. This program will be entitled the Nebraska ASPI
Partnership (NASPI).
II. Background and Scope
This agreement establishes a partnership program between OSHA, Nebraska establishments engaged in
the slaughter and/or processing of animals (NASPI), and NWFD’s OSHA Consultation Program, to
encourage and assist participants in Nebraska to comply with OSHA standards and protect workers. All
participants in the partnership are expected to make workplace safety and health a core element of
their management system. Nebraska facilities covered by North American Industrial Classification
System (NAICS) 3116XX, Animal Slaughtering and Processing (formerly SIC 201X, Meat Products) have
shown improvement in injury and illness rates tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), from
2000 to 2004, but 2004 Nebraska rates continue to exceed National rates for Total Recordable Cases (TRC),
Cases with Days Away from Work, Restriction, or Transfer (DART), and Cases with Days Away from Work
(DAFWII). Data submitted by industry member participants under a previous Nebraska program, for
calendar year 2004, still exceed Nebraska 2004 rates as a whole (Table 1).
| |
U.S.
BLS – 2004
NAICS 3116XX |
NE
BLS – 2004
NAICS 3116XX |
NE
BLS – 2000
SIC 201X |
Meat
Partnership
2004 |
| Total Recordable Cases (TRC) |
9.8 |
13.4 |
23.8 |
14.1 |
| Days Away, Restricted, Transferred (DART) |
6.6 |
7.8 |
13.6 |
8.9 |
| Days Away (DAFWII) |
1.4 |
1.6 |
2.4 |
1.7 |
NASPI establishments, OSHA, and NWFD’s OSHA Consultation Program are committed to working together
to make sure that every participant engaged in this partnership is provided educational
opportunities, and is made aware of available materials and resources, to assist them in their
efforts to ensure the safety and health of their employees.
This partnership does not preclude employees and/or employers from exercising any right provided
under the OSH Act (or, for federal employees, 29 CFR 1960), nor does it abrogate any responsibility
to comply with rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the Act.
III. Partnership Goals
| Goal |
Strategy |
Measure |
1) Reduce injury and illness rates at participating
facilities to levels below the 2004 BLS National Average for their respective industries, based
upon NAICS Code(s) 3116XX, to the most specific level posted.
(see Table 2) |
a) Identify top injury and illness causal factors
through review of injury and illness data and other supporting documentation.
b) Develop protocols to address top causal factors’ identification and abatement of hazards.
c) Implement the safety and health protocols at each participating site. |
i) Percent of participants using protocols developed
to address causal factors.
ii) Total recordable case rates by site and overall; percent reduction against baseline.
iii) Days away, restricted, and transferred case injury and illness rates by site and overall;
percent reduction against baseline.
iv) Days away case injury and illness rates by site and overall; percent reduction against
baseline. |
IV. Partnership Verification
OSHA will verify that NASPI Partnership participants are upholding their responsibilities under the
agreement. There are three types of verification that may be utilized:
- Offsite Verification: A joint committee of NASPI, OSHA and NWFD’s OSHA Consultation Program
representatives will review data submitted by each Partner, on an annual basis, without actual entry
into the Partner’s worksite. This "annual report", to be provided by each participant, will include
injury and illness rates from the previous calendar year, including rates related to ergonomic
issues, and will include a description of actions taken and improvements made regarding the
Partner’s safety and health programs, with specific emphasis on their ergonomics program.
- Onsite Non-enforcement Verification: Non-enforcement interactions may be conducted with partners
to discuss and review their worksite and their progress within the Partnership. Non-enforcement
verifications must be requested by the participant Partner and may be conducted by NWFD’s OSHA
Consultation group or a representative of the OSHA Area Office. These verification activities will
focus on progress made by each individual Partner toward the development and implementation of an
effective ergonomics program as well as a limited scope worksite review. If serious hazards are
identified during the onsite non-enforcement verification the Partner must takes steps to correct
these conditions. The abatement period will be the shortest interval within which the employer can
reasonably be expected to correct the violation, typically 30 days or less. If a Partner refuses to
make appropriate corrections a referral would be made for an enforcement inspection.
- Onsite Enforcement Inspections: These inspections include the potential for issuing citations and
assessing penalties for violations. These inspections will originate as programmed inspections under
the Site Specific Targeting program, but may also be satisfied by un-programmed inspections, such as
a complaint, referral, or fatality inspection.
V. Partnership Benefits
Benefits provided will be commensurate with participating Partner’s efforts to provide safe and
healthful working conditions in accordance with their obligations under the OSH Act and their degree
of success. Benefits will also be based upon the level of verification successfully completed by
each Partner.
OSHA Non-Enforcement Benefits to successful applicants into Partnership (Initial entry):
- Special recognition from OSHA for program participation.
- Six month deferral from programmed inspections. Each partner must commit to make workplace safety
and health improvements or seek compliance assistance to improve workplace safety and health in
accordance with responsibilities under the Act. The deferral period begins at the time each Partner
enters the partnership.
- Outreach, technical assistance and training provided by OSHA and/or Consultation. May include
seminars, workshops, or other events agreed upon and sponsored by, OSHA, NWFD’s Consultation
Program, and a partnership steering committee.
- Provision to Partners of informational materials such as safety and health brochures, pamphlets,
and electronic tools.
OSHA Onsite Non-enforcement Benefits:
- In addition, establishments having undergone an onsite non-enforcement verification inspection
within one year of the date of a "programmed" inspection (CPS 02; Directive Number 05-05,
Site-Specific Targeting 2005; Effective Date August 5, 2005) will be eligible to receive a limited
scope inspection. These inspections will focus primarily on the hazards which are prevalent in the
covered industries, specifically, ergonomic stressors; machine guarding; control of hazardous
energy; hearing conservation; personal protective equipment; and process safety management (where
applicable). As detailed in the FIRM, when additional hazards come to the attention of the
compliance officer, the scope of the inspection may be expanded to include those hazards.
OSHA Enforcement Benefits:
In addition to the benefits described above;
- Citation Issuance: When calculating the initial penalty reduction, OSHA may provide an additional
10% reduction for good faith beyond the reductions provided in the Field Inspection Reference Manual
(FIRM) where the employer, in implementing the OSP, has taken specific significant steps beyond
those provided in the FIRM to implement the Act and achieve a high level of employee protection.
This additional reduction will not apply to high gravity serious, willful, failure to abate or
repeat citations. In cases where a partner’s total penalty reduction is 100 percent or more, the
minimum penalty provisions of the FIRM, as detailed in Chapter IV, C.2.b, will apply.
- In the event that a citation with penalty is issued to a Partner, the Area Director (AD) has the
authority to negotiate the amount of penalty reduction as part of the informal conference settlement
agreement.
- Following the successful completion of an onsite enforcement inspection (no high gravity serious,
willful, or repeat violations were found) conducted to meet OSP verification requirements, an
establishment operated by a Partner will be deleted from future programmed inspection lists for 24
months from the date of the opening conference.
VI. Partnership Management
- The Partnership Steering Committee
A Partnership Steering Committee ("PSC") will be formed to administer and supervise the Partnership.
The PSC will consist of representatives from:
- OSHA Omaha Area Office
- Nebraska Workforce Development’s OSHA Consultation Program
- Facility representatives
- PSC Responsibilities
The PSC will perform a variety of activities to facilitate the success of the Partnership including:
- Hold quarterly meetings/conference calls to plan and coordinate program activities.
- Facilitate bi-monthly technical assistance/educational outreach programs.
- Meet at least annually to formally evaluate the effectiveness of the Partnership.
- Provide informational materials, technical updates, e-tools and other resources to Partners via
electronic means.
- Review applications for admission to the program following the first year of existence.
- Synopsis of Partner Roles and Responsibilities
Partners will:
- Communicate with the OSHA Area Offices to discuss issues, concerns, and progress in the
Partnership.
- Provide injury and illness data and safety & health progress reports to OSHA on an annual basis,
no later than 60 days following year end.
- Conduct periodic inspections of their facilities and document as necessary to conform to their
safety and health management system guidelines. Inspections of the entire facility must be completed
quarterly.
- Actively participate in bi-monthly outreach programs.
OSHA Area Offices will:
- Collect and tabulate participant injury & illness data on an annual basis.
- Evaluate applications to make decisions regarding participating in the partnership.
- Conduct enforcement verification visits of participating facilities when they appear on
appropriate targeting lists.
- Conduct onsite non-enforcement verification inspections at the request of Partner facilities.
- Provide technical assistance, training, and outreach as resources allow.
- Provide informational materials, technical updates, e-tools and other resources to Partners via
electronic means.
- Coordinate and ensure completion of an annual evaluation of the partnership with input from the PSC.
Nebraska Workforce Development’s OSHA Consultation Program will:
- Conduct onsite non-enforcement verification inspections at the request of partnering facilities.
- Assist in the provision of training and education as resources permit.
- Assist in the evaluation of facility applications for partnership participation.
- Assist with the completion of the annual program evaluation.
- Provide technical assistance, training, and outreach as resources allow.
- Provide informational materials, technical updates, e-tools and other resources to Partners via
electronic means.
VII. Application Process
The following are the elements of the application process:
- Safety Policy. The facility applying for the partnership program must provide a copy of its
safety and health policy to OSHA.
- Safety Personnel. The facility applying for the partnership program must have a designated safety
person to implement and monitor the safety and health management system in place. This person MUST
have electronic mail accessibility.
- Petitioning. The facility applying for the partnership program must complete the application form
attached as Appendix A. Initially, OSHA will review applications and make a determination whether or
not applicants are eligible for participation. After the first year of the program, the PSC will
review applications for admission to the program on an annual basis.
VIII. Partnership Annual Evaluation
OSHA, NWFD’s Consultation Program, and the PSC representatives will perform an annual evaluation of
Partnership activities and success in achieving the Partnership’s goals. In addition, participants
will be evaluated by the PSC to ensure they continue to be eligible for the Partnership. The annual
evaluation will follow the format and requirements of Appendix C, OSHA Strategic Partnership Program
for Worker Safety and Health, CSP 03-02-002. The evaluation is due on an annual basis, beginning one
year after the anniversary of the OSP signing.
X. Termination
This agreement will terminate two years from the date of individual facility signatures. Any
participant may rescind their participation prior to the established termination date by providing
written notice of the intent to withdraw to OSHA.
Participants who have been determined by the PSC to be acting in bad faith with regard to addressing
the requirements of the program, including the timely provision of all required data and reports,
may be terminated from the program.
XI. Signatories
Signed May 27, 2006:
Plant Official |
Ben Bare, CIH
Area Director |
Title |
Date |
Date |
|
Membership Requirements to apply for Participation in the
NASPI
Partnership |
A facility seeking participation in the NASPI-OSHA-Consultation Partnership shall:
- Be engaged in animal slaughtering and/or processing (NAICS 3116XX, or 311999).
- Agree to provide written safety and health program records and injury/illness records to OSHA
on an annual basis, within 60 days of the end of each calendar year of participation.
- Have no fatalities or catastrophes that resulted in accident-related serious citations being
issued within the past year.
- Have no willful violations or repeated serious violations issued within the past year.
- Have a Days Away from Work Injury and Illness Rate (DAFWII), averaged over Calendar Years 2003,
2004, and 2005 equal to or less than the most recent years’ rates (2004) plus 50% for it's
"specific" NAICS/SIC code, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics report. (see below)
- Conduct and document facility-wide inspections, at a minimum, on a quarterly basis. Summaries
of these inspections must be provided to OSHA, along with injury & illness information, as part of
an annual report.
- Have read this partnership program agreement in full and signify agreement to all of the
requirements herein by signing a copy of the "NASPI-OSHA-Consultation Partnership Application
Form."
| Index Entry |
NAICS Code |
NAICS Title |
| SIC 201: Meat Products |
31161 |
Animal slaughtering and processing |
| SIC 2011: Meat Packing Plants |
311611 |
Animal (except poultry) slaughtering |
| SIC 2013: Sausages and other Prepared Meat products
(except lard made from purchased materials) |
311612 |
Meat Processed from Carcasses |
| SIC 2013: Sausages and other Prepared Meat products
(lard made from purchased materials) |
311613 |
Rendering and Meat Byproduct Processing |
| SIC 2015: Poultry Slaughtering and Processing (egg
processing) |
311999 |
All other miscellaneous food manufacturing |
| SIC 2015: Poultry Slaughtering and Processing
(poultry slaughtering and processing) |
311615 |
Poultry processing |
| Excerpt from BLS 2004 Rate Table |
| NAICS |
NAFWII |
1.5X |
| 31161 |
1.4 |
2.1 |
| 311611 |
1.6 |
2.4 |
| 311612 |
2.0 |
3.0 |
| 311615 |
0.9 |
1.4 |
| 311999 |
1.3 |
2.0 |
|
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