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OSHA Strategic Partnerships Program > Region 4 > #418 Partnership Agreement

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STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
BETWEEN
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
JACKSONVILLE AREA OFFICE
AND
ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS OF AMERICA
SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER
 
(This partnership is also known as the Construction Health And Safety Excellence II – CHASE II)

1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE

This partnership expands Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) reach into the construction arena, by enabling OSHA and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) to mutually recognize the importance of providing a safe and healthful work environment in the construction industry. On March 12, 1998, the AGC and OSHA National Office entered into such an agreement to advance their mutual goals. They strongly agreed on the need to develop a working relationship that would create mutual trust and respect for the respective roles of each organization in the construction safety process.

On January 9, 2001, the AGC South Florida Chapter along with the OSHA Fort Lauderdale Area office entered into the Construction Health and Safety Excellence (CHASE) partnership agreement. Their partnership was so successful that they wanted to expand it to other parts of Florida. This expansion resulted in this agreement which is known as CHASE II. The AGC/OSHA partnership agreement had to be revised from the earlier partnership agreement between the AGC South Florida Chapter and the OSHA Fort Lauderdale Area Office because OSHA issued a new directive regarding partnerships. This OSHA directive, CSP [03-02-002], dated February 10, 2005, implemented new requirements for partnerships. The scope of this agreement is limited to the geographical area of jurisdiction for the OSHA Jacksonville Area Office. This agreement establishes a multi-step program to provide guidance for contractors to provide and develop excellent safety and health management systems for their employees.

2. IDENTIFICATION OF PARTNERS

This agreement is between the AGC South Florida Chapter and the OSHA Jacksonville Area Office. Member contractors and associate specialty contractors wishing to participate will sign as signatory partners. Owners, Labor and other organizations are encouraged to endorse and participate as signatory partners in the CHASE II program.

3. GOALS
  1. To reduce by 5% annually the number of lost workdays, restricted workdays and transfers due to injuries, illnesses affecting participant employers, with an emphasis on reducing injuries resulting from those hazards that are the four leading causes of death on construction sites (falls, struck-by, caught in/between and electrocutions).

  2. To increase the number of general and specialty contractors who implement effective safety and health management systems and provide effective safety and health training for management, supervisors and employees.

  3. To recognize those contractors with exemplary safety and health management systems and effective site-specific safety and health plans.

  4. To enable the OSHA office to leverage the agency’s resources. Because the program is designed to reduce job related deaths, injuries and illnesses without the need for OSHA to devote significant resources, they will be able to reach a greater number of employers/employees and accomplish greater worker protection.
4. PERFORMANCE MEASURES

The success of the partnership will be measured by the following:
  1. The number of companies participating in the partnership, at each of the established levels of participation.

  2. The number of participants that developed and implement an effective safety and health management systems as a result of participating in the partnership.

  3. The number of worksites audited by the AGC South Florida Chapter.

  4. The number of serious hazards identified and corrected during the audits conducted by the AGC South Florida Chapter.

  5. DART1 rate of all the participant employers in the partnership. The DART rate will 1also be identified for the three different levels of participation (RED, WHITE and BLUE).
5. MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION

Once this agreement is established between the South Florida Chapter of the AGC and OSHA Jacksonville Area Office, the Chapter Safety Committee or designated Chapter Safety Director will inform members who have successfully completed the application process and are thus eligible for participation in the partnership. The chapter will then follow the procedures in this agreement to inform the Jacksonville OSHA Area Director of the qualified contractors. Additionally, a representative from the Jacksonville Area Office will periodically meet in person or by telephone with the AGC Chapter Safety Committee to discuss the progress of the partnership.

The AGC South Florida Chapter will be responsible for:
  1. Maintaining a list of the qualified participants and the level that they have achieved. This information will be provided to the Jacksonville Area Office upon request and at least annually for the Red and White level participants. The list of all the Blue level participants needs to be maintained in the AGC South Florida Chapter and the OSHA Jacksonville Area Office
  2. Collecting from participants the data listed under the heading "Performance Measures" in this agreement, and providing the information to the OSHA Jacksonville Area Office.
  3. Administering the application process for companies that wish to participate.
  4. Auditing participants’ worksites to ensure compliance with OSHA regulations and this partnership agreement.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration Jacksonville Area Office will be responsible for:
  1. Providing an OSHA Representative to serve as a resource to the AGC South Florida Chapter.
  2. Providing technical assistance and conducting verification inspections;
  3. Assisting in the data review and developing the annual partnership evaluation report.
This partnership requires information to be collected and analyzed. The system used to complete this effort meets the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) requirements for activity, intermediate, and outcome measures.

6. PARTNERSHIP TIERS: RED, WHITE AND BLUE
  1. The CHASE II Program will be implemented in three levels: RED, WHITE and BLUE.

  2. Applications may be submitted at the beginning of each quarter. Eligibility status must be renewed on an annual basis. New and renewal applicants will:

    1. Complete the two-part CHASE II application form.

      1. The first part of the form will request data from the summary of the contractor’s OSHA 300 log. The second part of the form will be a self-audit evaluation checklist (see Appendix A), which will require applicants to answer a series of questions related to their safety program.

      2. The Chapter’s Safety and Health committee or the Chapter’s Safety Director will administer the self-audit evaluation of the CHASE II Program. The safety and health committee is comprised of representatives from South Florida AGC member companies, will be appointed by the South Florida AGC member companies and will either approve or reject the CHASE II application. The Jacksonville OSHA area office will serve in an advisory capacity to the Chapter Safety and Health Committee.

      3. The CHASE II Program has three award levels. Entry into the RED, WHITE or BLUE Levels are based on answering "yes" to all of the questions on the self-audit evaluation administered by AGC. In order to determine the contractor’s level of eligibility, the contractor must provide the Chapter Safety Committee with evidence of conformance with each requirement for each level.

      4. The Chapter Safety and Health Committee or Chapter’s Safety Director will inform the Chapter members who have successfully completed the application process and are eligible to participate in the partnership program.

      5. The top level, BLUE, will be open to those companies whose achievements in the area of worksite safety are outstanding. Acceptance into the BLUE level will require additional validation of safety and health program efficacy through a comprehensive onsite qualifying inspection. The Chapter Safety and Health Committee will conduct the qualifying inspection on at least one active job site.

      6. Contractors who are accepted into the CHASE II Program will receive benefits from OSHA as outlined in this agreement.
  3. RED: Applicants seeking RED status must meet the following requirements:

    1. Conduct weekly employee safety meetings.

    2. Develop and implement a written safety and health program and training program, which address at a minimum the four leading causes of death on construction sites: Falls, struck-by, caught-in/between and electrocution. Where necessary, the safety and health management system needs to address procedures for working around machinery and vehicles, lead, silica, noise exposure, hazard communication and respiratory protection. Training shall be presented in a manner such as but not limited to traditional classroom training, tool box talks, written test, observations, or through discussion in which non-English speaking employees will understand the system’s content.

    3. Conduct and document self-audits.

    4. Fall Protection: 100% fall protection will be required for all employees working six feet or greater above the next lower level. This includes scaffolding, masonry and steel erection work.

    5. Promote and nurture employee involvement in day-to-day implementation of their safety and health program. Examples of such activities would be to have employees participate in conducting weekly safety meetings, accident investigations, hazard recognition activities and safety and health committee activities.

    6. On unionized work sites, all effected unions must be involved with the program. The effected companies along with the South Florida Chapter of the AGC will solicit the union organization for signatory participation or written endorsement of the program.
  4. WHITE: Applicants seeking WHITE status must meet the requirements of RED status in addition to the following:

    1. Implement a comprehensive written safety and health program based on the ANSI A10.38-1991 Guidelines or OSHA’s 1989 Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines.

    2. Assign at least one trained employee (the AGC Safety Management Course or equivalent will be deemed satisfactory training) with responsibility for employee safety to administer the participant’s safety and health management system, and to conduct and document safety and health inspections of ongoing work.

    3. Conduct an orientation of all new employees in the safety and health management system of the company, and show evidence of effective employee training for avoidance of hazards specific to the contractor’s work site(s).

    4. Provide evidence of employee involvement in the safety and health management systems; for example, participation in self-audits, site inspections, job hazard analyses, safety and health management system reviews, safety training, and mishap investigations.

    5. Develop and maintain a Substance Abuse Program.

    6. Provide all field construction supervisory personnel with training equivalent to the AGC Supervisor Safety Competency Training Course or 10-hour OSHA Construction Course.

    7. Maintain a total case injury/illness incidence rate that is 10% less than the 2003 Bureau of Labor Statistics national rate for the construction industry (That published rate was 6.8. An employer would need to maintain a DART rate of 6.1or less).
  5. BLUE: Applicants seeking BLUE Status must meet the requirements of the RED and WHITE status in addition to the following requirements:

    1. Applicant achieving BLUE status agrees to serve as a mentor for contractors on its projects who have yet to attain the same level of recognition within the partnership. BLUE participant companies will agree to maintain a copy of the specialty contractors’ safety and health plan, hazard communication plan, and fall protection plan, or the BLUE participant could require all specialty contractors to follow its programs.

    2. Assign a minimum of one employee who will administer the firm’s safety and health management system. This person must have attended the AGC Safety Management Training Course or equivalent in the previous three years.

    3. Ensure designated safety personnel conduct documented safety and health inspections of all work on their project(s). Personnel, through training and experience, must be able to recognize hazards and will have the authority to take prompt corrective action. Training curriculum equivalent to the OSHA 30-Hour Construction Outreach Course will be deemed to be satisfactory.

    4. Train all field construction supervisory personnel. In addition to the Supervisory Safety Competency Course, additional training shall be provided for competent persons in such areas as scaffolding, excavation, fall protection, etc. (This additional training will be predicated by the type and scope of work the applicant routinely conducts).

    5. Provide evidence of employee involvement in all levels of the safety and health management system, such as self-audits, site inspections, job hazard analyses, safety and health program reviews, safety training and mishap investigations.

    6. Receive a qualifying inspection of at least one representative job site by the chapter safety committee or the chapter’s designated representatives.

    7. Have no willful violations in the last three years.

    8. Have no repeated serious violations in the last three years; and have no fatalities or catastrophes within the last three years that resulted in serious or willful citations related to the incident.
7. EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYER RIGHTS

This partnership does not preclude employees and/or employers from exercising any rights provided under the OSH Act, nor does it abrogate any responsibility to comply with the Act.

8. BENEFITS

Implementation of this program is expected to result in decreased serious injuries, illnesses, and fatalities for participating contractors, and improvement of existing safety and health programs. This agreement provides for benefits to construction contractors that voluntarily participate in the CHASE II program and implement effective safety and health programs. This agreement will not in any way affect employees’ ability to exercise rights under the OSH Act and OSHA regulations, including walk-around rights. Additionally, upon acceptance as a partnership participant, the OSHA Area Office will provide certain benefits to participants.
  1. RED Participants:

    1. OSHA will not issue citations for other-than-serious violations, provided that the hazards are abated at the time of the inspection.
  2. WHITE Participants:

    1. OSHA will not issue citations for other-than-serious violations, provided that the hazards are abated at the time of the inspection.

    2. Will be given special recognition from OSHA and AGC designating the contractor as a participant in the CHASE II Program.

    3. An additional 10% reduction for good faith beyond the reductions provided in the FIRM (Field Inspection Reference Manual) can be given. This additional reduction will not apply to high gravity serious, willful, failure to abate or repeat citations. In cases where the employer’s total penalty reduction is 100 percent or more, the minimum penalty provisions of the FIRM will apply.
  3. BLUE Participants: After successful conclusion of an OSHA verification inspection, OSHA will provide the following benefits:

    1. OSHA will not issue citations for other-than-serious violations provided the violations are abated at the time of the inspection.

    2. Will be given special recognition from OSHA and AGC designating the contractor as a participant in the CHASE II Program.

    3. An additional 10% reduction for good faith beyond the reductions provided in the FIRM (Field Inspection Reference Manual) can be given. This additional reduction will not apply to high gravity serious, willful, failure to abate or repeat citations. In cases where the employer’s total penalty reduction is 100 percent or more, the minimum penalty provisions of the FIRM will apply.

    4. BLUE participant job sites within the Jacksonville Area Office jurisdiction will not receive another scheduled programmed inspection within the next twelve months if they have had the appropriate number of verification inspections. The minimum number of scheduled onsite enforcement inspections needed for verification shall be based on the number of active worksites over which the partner has control within the Jacksonville Area Offices jurisdiction:

        2-25 sites - 4 inspections
        26-99 sites - 6 inspections
        100 or more sites - 8 inspections
    5. The OSHA Jacksonville Area Office will maximize the use of the phone & fax means of investigating complaints in lieu of onsite inspections. When an inspection of a complaint is deemed necessary, a copy of the complaint will be provided to the participant’s Safety Director or other designated representative at the time of inspection.

    6. BLUE participant with multiple job sites within the Jacksonville Area Office jurisdiction will provide OSHA with a complete listing of the participant’s active work sites. The Jacksonville Area Office will use the listing to ensure that the appropriate number of verification inspections is conducted (see paragraph 8.C.d.). Under normal circumstances OSHA will conduct the verification inspections within six months and the participant will receive a twelve month deletion from the programmed inspection list, from the time the last successful verification inspection is completed.

This partnership does not preclude employees and/or employers from exercising any right provided under the OSH Act, nor does it abrogate any responsibility to comply with rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the Act.

9. VERIFICATION AND OSHA INSPECTIONS
  1. Complaint/Referral Inspections

    1. This partnership provides for the immediate response to each allegation of a safety or health hazard brought to its attention by any person. Upon a finding that an allegation is valid, the employer shall promptly abate the hazard.

    2. OSHA agrees that a copy of each complaint/referral related to a work site covered by this agreement will be forwarded by fax, to the AGC South Florida Chapter if an on-site inspection is not to be done. In accordance with applicable law, the name of a complainant requesting confidentiality will not be revealed.
  2. Accident Inspections

    1. Employers engaged in this partnership recognize that OSHA fully investigates accidents involving a death or serious physical harm. If during the course of the inspection, OSHA determines that the incident resulted from violations of the OSHA standards, the employer will not be afforded partnership benefits.
  3. Verification – Onsite Enforcement Inspections

    1. OSHA will conduct verification inspections upon request from the AGC South Florida Chapter, when a partner has reached the BLUE level. The scope of the verification inspection will include the Focused Inspection criteria (falls, struck-by, caught-in and electrocution). A compliance officer that is familiar with the CHASE II Partnership Agreement will do the verification inspection. Employee rights under the OSH Act will be afforded.

    2. Once a verification inspection has been conducted at the site, and it reveals that the site has adequately assessed and/or controlled/prevented employee exposure to hazards, then the site will receive a twelve month deletion from the programmed inspection list, in accordance with the current OSHA Instruction CSP 03-02-001, Strategic Partnerships for Worker Safety and Health (participants with multiple work sites should refer to paragraph 8.C.f.).
  4. Verification – Offsite

    1. A representative from the Jacksonville Area Office will at least annually review data, records, and information provided by White level participants to the South Florida Chapter of the AGC in accordance with paragraph 5 of this agreement. Documentation is reviewed to determine whether partners are implementing the provisions of the partnership agreement. The document selected for review should relate to the goals, objectives and stated measures of the partnership agreement.
PROGRAM EVALUATION
  1. The partnership will be evaluated annually to determine whether the annual goal of a 5% reduction in the number of injuries, illnesses and fatalities has been met. AGC South Florida Chapter will be responsible for collating baseline and annual performance data upon which the partnership will be measured. This aggregated data will be reported to the OSHA Area Director for the Jacksonville Area Office. The evaluation will follow OSHA Directive Number CSP 03-02-001, Strategic Partnerships for Worker Safety and Health and effectively evaluate the site’s success toward achievement of the established goals.

  2. Participant aggregate injury/illness incidence rates (total case rates) and fatality rates will be compared with construction industry BLS rate for 2003.

  3. The partnership criteria may be revised annually based on recommendations for continuous improvement.
11. PARTNERSHIP TERMS
  1. The partnership will have an initial term of three years and may be renewed if all signatory parties concur.

  2. Any signatory party to the partnership may withdraw from the agreement at any time after submitting written notification of intent to the other partner.

  3. If OSHA chooses to withdraw its participation in the partnership, the entire agreement is terminated. Any party may also propose modification or amendment to the agreement.

  4. A contractor’s participation will be terminated by the AGC South Florida Chapter, and OSHA will be informed if the circumstances described paragraphs a. and/or b. below occurs. The notification will be in writing to the contractor, and the contractor will have 30 days to appeal the decision before the AGC South Florida Chapter Safety Committee:

    1. An inspection by the AGC South Florida Chapter or OSHA reveals a significant deviation from program criteria established in the self audit evaluation form.

    2. The contractor has falsified information on the application or supporting records.

  5. A contractor’s participation will be terminated by OSHA if the employer has been identified by the OSHA Regional Administrator as a company that will need to be inspected in accordance with OSHA’s Interim Enhanced Enforcement Program (EEP). OSHA will notify the contractor and the AGC South Florida Chapter in writing of this determination.
12. SIGNATURES
 
For OSHA:      


 
James D. Borders
Area Director - Jacksonville
Occupational Safety and
Health Administration

 
Date		    


For AGC:		      


 
JOHN C. HARRISON, President
South Florida Chapter
The Associated General Contractors of America		    


 
LEONARD D. MILLS, Vice President
South Florida Chapter
The Associated General Contractors of America		    


 
BILL F. SOUTHERN, Secretary Treasurer,
Safety Chairman
South Florida Chapter
The Associated General Contractors of America		    

 
1Days Away from work, Restricted, or job Transferred (DART) rate: This includes cases involving days away from work, restricted work activity, and transfers to another job. It is calculated based on (N / EH) x (200,000) where N is the number of cases involving days away, and/or restricted work activity, and/or job transfer; EH is the total number of hours worked by all employees during the calendar year; and 200,000 is the base number of hours worked for 100 full-time equivalent employees. For example: Employees of an establishment including management, temporary, and leased workers worked 645,089 hours at this worksite. There were 22 injury and illness cases involving days away and/or restricted work activity and/or job transfer from the OSHA 300 Log (total of column H plus column I). The DART rate would be (22 / 645,089) x (200,000) = 6.8.
 
 
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