In recognition of:
- The importance of providing a safe and healthful work environment for employees in ethanol
manufacturing facilities and the need to implement a comprehensive program for safety and health for
the ethanol manufacturing industry, and
- The value of employers, employees, the government, and advocacy groups in bringing their
respective skills to bear in a cooperative, focused, and voluntary effort to promote worker safety
and health.
The Omaha Area Office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor (OSHA), the Nebraska Workforce Development - OSHA Consultation Program (Consultation),
the Nebraska Ethanol Board (the Board), and the Midwest Ethanol Coalition (the Coalition) agree to the
joint implementation of this OSHA Partnership Agreement on behalf of ethanol manufacturers throughout the
State of Nebraska.
The primary goal of this partnership is to ensure that each participant minimizes the potential for
catastrophic incidents involving the production, storage, or transportation of ethanol, by following
recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices with regard to their chemical process
safety program.
"Recognized and generally accepted good engineering practice" (RAGAGEP) – are engineering,
operation, or maintenance activities based on established codes, standards, published technical
reports or recommended practices (RP) or a similar document. GARAGEPs detail generally approved ways
to perform specific engineering, inspection or mechanical integrity activities, such as fabricating
a vessel, inspecting a storage tank, or servicing a relief valve. Guidelines for
Mechanical Integrity Systems, Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCSP).
In addition, a secondary goal of this agreement is to ensure that each participant has developed an
adequate emergency response plan, for operations involving releases of, or substantial threat of
releases of, hazardous substances such as ethanol.
The partnership also aims to reduce Total Case Incident Rates (TCIR) and Days Away, Restricted, and
Transferred (DART) rates of the participating facilities by 10%, at the end of the 2-year
implementation period. Under this agreement:
Participant facilities will:
- Provide documentation to OSHA that their chemical process safety program follows recognized and
generally accepted good engineering practices; i.e, through process hazard analyses (PHAs),
operating procedures and practices, employee training, mechanical integrity programs, etc.,
- Develop and implement an emergency response plan or emergency action plan as appropriate;
- Conduct self-audits to ensure that the elements of their safety and health program are being
implemented;
- Identify training needs and ensure attendance and participation of appropriate personnel at
supplemental training sessions that are necessary to achieve the partnership goals;
- Provide timely data for OSHA to track the progress toward the partnership goals, including OSHA
Form 300, Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and OSHA Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related
Injuries and Illnesses. In addition, baseline data for years 2005 and 2006 will be provided.
- Eligible ethanol manufacturing facilities covered under this partnership will explore membership
in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program or Nebraska Workforce Development’s Safety and Health
Achievement Recognition Program.
OSHA, Consultation, the Board, and the Coalition will provide or will arrange
for qualified individuals to provide training to participants that will address issues relating to
the occupational safety and health of employees at ethanol manufacturing plants. Topics may include:
process safety management, emergency response to hazardous chemical incidents, job hazard analysis,
control of hazardous energy, personal protective equipment, and others.
This agreement places a high priority on reducing risk associated with catastrophic incidents
involving hazardous materials as well as the hazards that contribute most to the injury and illness
rates prevalent in the industry, and therefore training may be modified accordingly.
Core Elements for the OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP):
- Identification of Partners:
The managing partners include OSHA – Omaha Area Office, Nebraska Workforce Development – OSHA
Consultation, the Nebraska Ethanol Board, and the Midwest Ethanol Coalition. All actively producing
ethanol plants, located in Nebraska, are invited to participate as partners. Those facilities under
construction or planned for construction, as of the effective date of this agreement, are invited to
participate as "interested stakeholders". Once operational, these facilities may apply for partner
status.
- Purpose/Scope:
The purpose of this agreement is twofold: ensure that active and future ethanol manufacturing
facilities in Nebraska employ recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices with
regard to their chemical process safety programs, and to reduce injuries and illnesses in these
workplaces.
- Goals/Strategies:
One partnership goal is to reduce Total Case Incident Rates (TCIR) and Days Away, Restricted, and
Transferred (DART) rates, among partners, by 10% at the end of the 2-year duration of this
agreement. This will be accomplished through the provision of training and education on the
development and implement of effective safety and health programs, by OSHA, Workforce Development,
partners, or other stakeholder representatives.
Secondly, equip plant operators with the information and tools necessary to perform valid, timely
hazard analysis appropriate to the complexity of their processes involving highly hazardous
chemicals and to control the hazards involved in these processes.
- Performance Measures:
The primary statistical measurement system will be the evaluation of data from the participating
facilities, to include OSHA 300 and 300A data. Submission and tracking of such data will occur
annually.
The past two years of injury and illness data (if existent) will be provided by partners to the
Omaha Area Office in order to establish the baseline for measuring progress toward goals.
Participants will also be required to provide annual reports summarizing their inspection, testing,
and maintenance procedures conducted as part of their chemical process safety programs. Facilities
that have submitted Risk Management Plans to the Environmental Protection Agency will be required to
acknowledge that they have done so.
Additional items to be tracked include provision of training and education in selected topics
provided by partnership participants or other stakeholders, under the auspices of this program.
- Annual Evaluation:
Measurement data will be evaluated at one-year intervals, starting the first calendar year following
the approval date of this partnership. Partnering facilities will be required to complete and
provide the Annual Partnership Evaluation Form (see Appendix A), including numbers of
self-inspections conducted, numbers of hazards eliminated, number of employees trained, training
hours, etc.
- Benefits:
Training on various topics, germane to the safe operation of ethanol manufacturing facilities and to
the development of effective safety and health programs, will be provided to partnership
participants and interested stakeholders. The Nebraska Workforce Development – OSHA Consultation
program will assign a higher priority to eligible facilities under this partnership that request
their services.
Partners that have received a comprehensive, on-site safety and health consultation by Nebraska
Workforce Development – OSHA Consultation, which has concluded within one year of the initiation of
an OSHA programmed enforcement activity, will receive a limited scope inspection. These inspections
will focus on: management of chemical process safety and emergency response capabilities. In
addition, programs for hazard communication and the control of hazardous energy will be evaluated.
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 OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP) agreement, has
taken specific significant steps beyond those provided in the FIRM to implement the Act and achieve
a high level of employee protection (see FIRM, Chapter IV.C.2.i.5[b]). 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% or more, the minimum penalty provisions of the
FIRM will apply.
OSHA may offer up to a six-month deferral from programmed inspections to OSP participants upon their
entry into the partnership. During the deferral period, the partner must commit to make workplace
safety and health improvements or seek compliances assistance to improve workplace safety and health
in accordance with its responsibilities under the Act.
Partnering facilities will receive special recognition from OSHA through web postings and news
releases.
Following the successful completion of an onsite enforcement inspection (no high gravity serious,
willful or repeat violations were found) conducted to meet partnership verification requirements,
the establishment operated by a Partner will be deleted from future programmed inspection lists for
24 months from the date of the opening conference.
- OSHA Verification:
All ethanol manufacturing facilities operating in Nebraska, whether participating as partners or
not, will be subject to inspection. Partnering facilities remain subject to OSHA inspections and
investigations in accordance with established agency procedures. The ethanol manufacturing
facilities included in this partnership may be scheduled for inspection under the current and future
targeting systems developed by OSHA, complaint inspections, referral inspections, and inspections
related to investigations of fatalities and catastrophes.
The Omaha Area Office will conduct annual offsite verifications of partnering facilities to verify
that participants are upholding their responsibilities under the agreement. This verification will
include a review of each partner’s Annual Partnership Evaluation Report, OSHA Form 300 and 300A
data, and chemical safety program activity summary.
The Omaha Area Office will conduct random, on-site enforcement inspections of a minimum of one and
up to 20% of operating ethanol plants in Nebraska, at the discretion of the Area Director.
The Omaha Area Office, in conjunction with the Nebraska Ethanol Board and the Midwest Ethanol
Coalition, shall develop a master list of establishments within the OAO jurisdiction, in accordance
with OSHA Instruction CPL 02-00-025. This list will be checked against the list of ethanol plants
which have self-reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under their Risk Management
Program (RMP) reporting requirements and those listed on the Nebraska Department of Environmental
Quality website. Ethanol plants that are not included in this list, but are known by the OAO, based
on local knowledge to exist in OAO jurisdiction, shall be added to the master list. Once the ethanol
plants have been identified, a master list of establishments will be generated.
Based on familiarity with local ethanol plants, the OAO shall delete from the master list: any
ethanol plants known to be out of business, documenting the basis for such determination; any
ethanol plant which is an approved participant in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) or OSHA
Consultation’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP); or any ethanol plant that
has already received an inspection under this program.
- OSP Management and Operation:
OSHA, the Coalition, and Consultation shall be responsible for coordinating training, as specified
in this agreement. The Nebraska Ethanol Board shall coordinate the timely collection of data on
workplace injuries and illnesses and all required reports, from participating facilities. This data
will be collected and provided to the Omaha Area Office on an annual basis.
- Employee Involvement and Employee Rights:
This partnership does not preclude employees and/or employers from exercising any right provided
under the OSH Act, nor does it absolve employers of any responsibility to comply with rules and
regulations adopted pursuant to the Act.
Information regarding this partnership will be communicated to employees through meetings, employee
newsletters, new employee orientation, in-services, and other means utilized by the participating
facilities such as bulletin boards or posters.
A system will be developed to enhance the number of employee suggestions to management in regard to
safety and health concerns.
Employees will be involved in the development, implementation, and evaluation of safety rules,
policies, and procedures through activities such as a plant safety committee.
Facility safety and health committees should be composed of a cross section of facility departments,
disciplines, management representatives, and employees.
Safety and health committee members, if applicable, department heads, and employee(s) will be
included in accident and incident investigations.
- Term of Partnership:
This agreement will terminate two years from the date of the signing but may be extended upon
agreement of all signatories. If any signatory of this agreement wishes to terminate their
participation prior to the established termination date, written notice of the intent to withdraw
must be provided to all other signatories.
The failure to provide timely data as requested by the OSHA Area Office may result in termination of
this agreement.
If OSHA chooses to withdraw its participation in the partnership, the entire agreement is
terminated. Any signatory may also propose modification or amendment of the agreement. Such
modifications or amendments must be agreed upon by the managing partners prior to adoption.
- Paperwork Reduction Act
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice
Form Approved
OMB# 1218-0244 Expires 01-31-2009
Public reporting burden for the time needed to develop the Partnership requirements, craft agreement
language, and conduct an internal review process is estimated to be an average of 11 burden hours
per respondent.
OSHA
Nebraska Ethanol Board
Midwest Ethanol Coalition
Nebraska Workforce Development
Partnership
Signed this day of _______________, 2007:
Ben Bare, CIH
Area Director
OSHA - Omaha Area Office
Fernando Lecuona III
Commissioner
Nebraska Department of Labor
Todd Sneller
Administrator
NE Ethanol Board
Mick Anderson
Executive Director
Midwest Ethanol Coalition
Great Plains Safety and Health Organization |
|
Appendix A
OSHA Strategic Partnership Program
Annual Partnership Evaluation Report |
| Partnership Name |
Nebraska Ethanol Partnership Program
|
| Describe any benefits your facility
has experience as a result of participation in this partnership |
|
| Describe any improvements
in your safety and health management system in the past year related to: |
| Goal |
Strategy |
Measure |
MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT/
EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT |
|
|
WORKSITE ANALYSIS |
|
|
HAZARD PREVENTION AND CONTROL |
|
|
EMPLOYEE TRAINING |
|
|
| Describe any future plans you have
related to the above four elements of an effective safety and health program |
|
|
Section 1 General Partnership Information |
| Date of Evaluation Report |
|
| Evaluation Period: |
Partnership start date |
|
Evaluation Period
End Date |
|
| Evaluation Contact Person |
|
| Contact Person
Phone # |
|
| Partnership Coverage |
| # Active Employers |
|
# Active Employees of the partner employer |
|
| # "contractor employers" at site |
|
Total # "contractor" Employees at site |
|
| Industry Coverage (note range or
specific SIC and NAICS for each partner) |
| Partner |
SIC |
NAICS |
| Industrial Organic Chemicals, NEC |
2869 |
325193 |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Section 2 Activities Performed |
| Note whether an activity was
required by the OSP and whether it was performed |
| |
Requested or was subjected to: |
Received/ performed |
| a. Training |
|
|
| b. Consultation Visits |
|
|
| c. Safety and Health Management Systems
Reviewed/Developed |
|
|
| d. Technical Assistance |
|
|
| e. VPP-Focused Activities |
|
|
| f. OSHA Enforcement Inspections |
|
|
| g. Offsite Verifications |
|
|
| h. Onsite Non-Enforcement Interactions |
|
|
| i. Participant Self-Inspections |
|
|
| j. Other Activities |
|
|
| 2a. Training (if performed,
provide the following totals) |
| Training sessions conducted by OSHA staff |
|
| Training sessions conducted by non-OSHA staff |
|
| Employees trained |
|
| Training hours provided to employees |
|
| Supervisors/managers trained |
|
| Training hours provided to supervisors/managers |
|
| Briefly describe activities and total
Numbers of employees affected, or explain if activity provided for but not performed |
|
| 2b. Consultation Visits (if
performed, provide the following total) |
| Consultation visits to partner sites |
|
| Comments/Explanations (briefly
describe activities, or explain if activity required but not performed) |
|
| 2c. Safety and Health Management
Systems (if performed, provide the following total) |
| Systems implemented or improved using the 1989 Guidelines as a
model |
|
| Comments/Explanations (briefly
describe activities, or explain if activity required but not performed) |
|
| 2d. Technical Assistance
(if performed, note type and by whom by putting the total numbers of your employees in the
applicable column) |
| |
Provided by OSHA Staff |
Provided by Partners |
Provided by Other Party |
| Conference/Seminar Participation |
|
|
|
| Interpretation/Explanation of Standards or OSHA Policy |
|
|
|
| Abatement Assistance |
|
|
|
| Speeches |
|
|
|
| Other (please specify) |
|
|
|
| Comments/Explanations (briefly
describe activities, or explain if activity required but not performed) |
|
| 2e. VPP/SHARP-Focused Activities (if
your facility is in process of working to become a VPP or SHARP participant please mark the box
with a "Y") |
| Partner site actively seeking VPP or SHARP participation? |
|
| Applications submitted? |
|
| VPP or SHARP on-site evaluation completed? |
|
| Comments/Explanations (briefly
describe activities, or explain if activity required but not performed) |
|
| 2f. OSHA Enforcement Activity (if
performed, provide the following totals for any programmed, unprogrammed, and verification-related
inspections at this establishment) |
| OSHA enforcement inspections conducted |
|
| OSHA enforcement inspections in compliance |
|
| OSHA enforcement inspections with violations cited |
|
| Average number of citations classified as Serious, Repeat, and
Willful |
|
| Comments/Explanations (briefly
describe activities, or explain if activity required but not performed) |
|
| 2g. Offsite Verification (if
performed provide the following total) |
| Offsite verifications performed |
|
| Comments/Explanations (briefly
describe activities, or explain if activity required but not performed) |
|
| 2h. Onsite Non-Enforcement
Verification (if performed provide the following total) |
| Onsite non-enforcement verifications performed |
|
| Comments/Explanations (briefly
describe activities, or explain if activity required but not performed) |
|
| 2i. Participant Self-Inspections
(if performed provide the following totals) |
| Self-inspections performed |
|
| Hazards and/or violations identified and corrected/abated |
|
| Comments/Explanations (briefly
describe activities, or explain if activity required but not performed) |
|
| 2j. Other Activities (briefly describe other
activities performed) |
|
|
Section 3 Illness and Injury Information |
BASELINE DATA
List your company’s number of injuries/illnesses from your OSHA 300 logs for the following years.
| |
2005 |
2006 |
| a. Total Number of Deaths |
__________ |
__________ |
b. Total Number of Cases with Days Away From Work |
__________ |
__________ |
c. Total Number of Cases with Job Transfer or Restrictions |
__________ |
__________ |
d. Total Number of Recordable Cases |
__________ |
__________ |
e. Total Number of Days of Job Transfer or Restrictions |
__________ |
__________ |
f. Total Number of Days Away From Work |
__________ |
__________ |
g. Total Number of Hours Worked by All Employees |
__________ |
__________ |
h. Total # cases related to slips, trips, falls |
__________ |
__________ |
i. Total # cases related to patient handling |
__________ |
__________ |
j. Total # cases related to bloodborne pathogens |
__________ |
__________ |
k. Total # cases related to tuberculosis |
__________ |
__________ |
l. Total # cases related to violent acts/assaults |
__________ |
__________ |
OUTCOME DATA
List your company’s number of injuries/illnesses from your OSHA 300 logs for the following years.
| |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
| a. Total Number of Deaths |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
b. Total Number of Cases with Days Away From Work |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
c. Total Number of Cases with Job Transfer or Restrictions |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
d. Total Number of Recordable Cases |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
e. Total Number of Days of Job Transfer or Restrictions |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
f. Total Number of Days Away From Work |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
g. Total Number of Hours Worked by All Employees |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
h. Total # cases related to slips, trips, falls |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
i. Total # cases related to patient handling |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
j. Total # cases related to bloodborne pathogens |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
k. Total # cases related to tuberculosis |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
l. Total # cases related to violent acts/assaults |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
3a. What is your company’s total case injury/illness incidence rate for the years (TCIIR)? |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
3c. What is your company’s days away, restricted and transferred incidence rate for the years
(DART)? |
__________ |
__________ |
__________ |
| Comments (note any decreases or increases in
trends) |
|
|
Section 4 Improvement Plans, Benefits, and Recommendations |
| Changes and Challenges
(check all applicable) |
| |
Changes |
Challenges |
| Management Structure |
|
|
| Employee Involvement |
|
|
| Worksite Analysis |
|
|
| Hazard prevention and control |
|
|
| Employee Training |
|
|
| Data Collection |
|
|
| Other (specify) |
|
|
| Comments on improvement
plans and needs to implement those plans |
|
| Partnership Benefits
(check all applicable) |
| Increased safety and health awareness |
|
| Improved relationship with OSHA |
|
| Improved relationship with employers |
|
| Improved relationship with employees or unions |
|
| Decreased injuries/illnesses |
|
| Other (specify) (i.e. reduced costs, improved morals,
increased productivity, lower EMR, etc) |
|
| Comments |
|
| Status Recommendation |
| Plan to continue with the partnership |
|
| Plan to terminate participation in the partnership |
|
| Continue with the following provisions: |
|
|
| Suggestions for Partnership Improvement) |
|
|
OSHA – Nebraska Ethanol Board – Midwest Ethanol Coalition
– Nebraska Workforce Development
Partnership |
Facility Name: __________________________________________________________________________________
Corporate Name: ________________________________________________________________________________
Facility Address: ________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Company Contact: ______________________________________________________________________________
Title: _________________________________________________________________________________________
e-mail: ________________________________________________________________________________________
Phone: ________________________________________________________________________________________
Fax: __________________________________________________________________________________________
Average # of Employees (Site): ___________________________________________________________________
SIC Code: ______________________________ NAICS Code: ___________________________________________
Name of Management Official: _____________________________________________________________________
Signature of Management Official: __________________________________________________________________
Date: ______________________
|
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