I. CHASE Partnership Background, Objectives and Identification of Partners
On March 12, 1998 and renewed on January 9, 2001 the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America
and the Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) signed a
partnership charter that mutually recognized the importance of providing a safe and healthful work
environment in the construction industry. This partnership was called the “Construction Health and
Safety Excellence (CHASE) program. In 2003 the Colorado Occupational Safety & Health Administration
(OSHA) Denver and Englewood Area Offices {here after referred to as Colorado OSHA} and the AGC of
Colorado Building Chapter {here after referred to as AGC} mutually recognize the importance of
providing a safe and healthful working environment for Colorado’s construction workforce. The AGC
and OSHA started the process of developing and personalizing the national partnership program that
met the needs of our area in addition to formalizing a long-standing relationship between our two
organizations. To advance both parties’ mutual goal, it was agreed that the need to develop a good
working relationship creating an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect for the roles of AGC and
OSHA in the construction safety process was necessary.
The common objective and goal of this agreement is to provide a safe and healthful workplace for all
employees engaged in construction activities and to help prevent serious injuries and illnesses
within the industry through increased training and implementation & monitoring of enhanced safety &
health training programs. This initiative represents a voluntary agreement and affords a partnership
for voluntary compliance alternatives to the traditional OSHA enforcement activities. AGC and OSHA
believe that maintaining a focus on safety ~ saves lives, time and dollars. The outcome of this
focus can result in a reduction of employee injuries, illnesses, deaths, equipment damage, worker’s
compensation and insurance cost, down times and monetary penalties. The focus on safety & health
issues is an objective that OSHA, AGC and its members have in common.
To advance our mutual goal, OSHA and AGC strongly agree on the need to develop a working
relationship that creates trust and respect for the respective roles of each organization in the
construction process. This is why the CHASE Partnership Program was created. Through the
implementation of this partnership program, all parties are expecting a decrease in injuries,
illnesses and fatalities in the construction industry throughout the state of Colorado.
On March 24, 2004, the AGC and OSHA signed the original document and this is the programs first
renewal.
II. CHASE Partnership
1. Program Expectations
This agreement is between the AGC and OSHA Englewood and Denver Area Offices, hereafter referred to
as Colorado OSHA. This agreement covers construction activity in the State of Colorado. The parties
mutually agree to the following:
- Implementation of this program is expected to result in fewer 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 program and demonstrate implementation of effective safety and health programs.
- This partnership does not preclude employees or employers from exercising any rights provided
under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, nor does it abrogate any responsibility to
comply with the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the Act.
- This program will improve the ability of AGC and Colorado OSHA through the collection of reliable
data to identify conditions that create a high risk of injury and illness and implement
interventions that can reduce the rate of such risks. These rates will be internally comparable from
year to year and thus provide a valuable perspective on the effectiveness of the AGC CHASE program.
2. Specific Goals of CHASE
- To reduce by 3% annually the rate of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities affecting participant
employers, with an emphasis on reducing injuries and fatalities resulting from those hazards that
are the four leading causes of death on construction sites (falls, struck-by, caught in/between and
electrocutions).
- To increase the number of general and specialty contractors who implement effective safety and
health programs and provide effective safety and health training for management, supervisors and
employees.
- To recognize those contractors with exemplary safety and health programs and effective
site-specific safety and health plans.
3. Program Implementation
The AGC Chapter Safety Committee, CHASE Committee or the Chapter’s Safety Director will inform
members who have successfully completed the application process and are thus eligible for
participation in the partnership. The AGC Chapter will then follow the procedures developed in this
partnership to inform the Colorado OSHA Area Director’s of the qualified contractors.
4. Eligibility Requirements for the Multi-Step Program:
RED, WHITE AND BLUE
- The CHASE Program will be implemented in three levels: RED, WHITE and BLUE.
- Applications may be submitted at the beginning of each quarter. Eligibility status must be
renewed on an annual basis. New and renewal applicants will:
- Complete the two-part CHASE application form.
- The first part of the form will request data from the summary of the contractor’s previous year
OSHA 300 log or its equivalent. The second part of the form will be a self-audit evaluation
checklist (see Appendix A provided by the AGC), which will require applicants to answer a series of
questions related to their safety program.
- The AGC CHASE Committee or the Chapter’s Safety Director will administer the self-audit
evaluation of the CHASE Program. Either will approve or reject the CHASE application. The Colorado
OSHA Area Offices will serve in an advisory capacity to the Chapter Safety and Health Committee or
the Chapter’s Safety Director.
- The CHASE Program has three award levels. Entry into the RED, WHITE and BLUE Levels are based on
answering “yes” to all of the questions on the self-audit evaluation administered by AGC CHASE
Committee. In order to determine the contractor’s level of eligibility, the contractor must provide
the AGC with evidence of conformance with each requirement for each level.
- The AGC CHASE 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.
- 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 the
member’s safety and health program efficacy through a comprehensive onsite qualifying inspection.
The AGC Chapter’s Safety Director will conduct the qualifying inspection on at least one active job
site to be determined solely at the discretion of the AGC Chapter’s Safety Director.
- Contractors who are accepted into the CHASE Partnership Program receive benefits from OSHA, as
listed in Section 7 of this document. The AGC CHASE Committee will give final approval as soon as
possible and in no case shall exceed 90 days following the application submission.
- Those contractors that do not pass the annual re-qualifying evaluation for their present level
will be moved to the next lower level with an opportunity for re-evaluation and reinstatement to
their previous level.
- RED: Applicants seeking RED status must meet the following requirements:
- Develop and implement a written safety and health program that addresses those hazards that are
the four leading causes of death on construction sites (falls, struck-by, caught in/between and
electrocutions);
- Conduct weekly employee safety meetings;
- Conduct and document monthly self-audits;
- 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, safety training classes, job hazard analysis, accident investigations, hazard
recognition activities and safety committee activities.
- Entry into the RED level are based on answering “yes” to all of the questions on the self-audit
evaluation administered by AGC.
- WHITE: Applicants seeking WHITE status must meet the following requirements:
- All of the requirements as outlined in the RED level;
- Implement a comprehensive written safety and health program based on the most current revision of
ANSI A10.38 Guidelines or OSHA’s 1989 Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines. Ensure that
written, site-specific, safety and health plans are used by all contractors on their project;
- Assign at least one trained employee with responsibility for employee safety to administer the
participant’s safety and health program and to conduct documented safety and health inspections of
ongoing work; training equivalent to the AGC Safety Management Course or equivalent will be deemed
satisfactory. Training equivalency to be determined by the AGC CHASE Committee;
- Conduct an orientation of all new employees in the safety and health program of the company, and
show evidence of effective employee training for avoidance of hazards specific to the contractor’s
work site(s);
- Entry into the WHITE Level is based on answering “yes” to all of the questions on the self-audit
evaluation administered by AGC CHASE Committee.
- Develop and maintain a Substance Abuse Program;
- Provide all field construction supervisory
personnel with training equivalent to the AGC Supervisor Safety Competency Training Course or the
OSHA Construction 10-Hour course;
- Maintain a total case injury/illness incidence rate that is 10% less than the most current Bureau
of Labor Statistics national rate for the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for
the employer industry.
- BLUE: Applicants seeking BLUE Status must meet the following requirements:
- All of the requirements as outlined in the WHITE levels;
- 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 general
contractors will agree to require its subcontractors to follow the BLUE Status general contractor’s
safety and health program unless the subcontractor’s program is substantially equivalent to the
applicable portion(s) of the BLUE Status general contractor’s program.
- 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 satisfactory. Training equivalency to be
determined by the AGC CHASE Committee.
- Train all field construction supervisory personnel. In addition to the Supervisory Safety
Competency Course or its equivalent as determined by the AGC CHASE Committee, additional training
shall be provided for competent persons in such areas as Scaffolding, Excavation, Fall Protection,
Occupational Health in Construction, etc. The type and scope of work the applicant routinely
conducts will predicate this additional training.
- Implement a six-foot Fall Protection Policy and encourage/emphasize a six-foot fall protection
policy for all their subcontractors. Trade-specific fall protection requirements as dictated and
enforceable by OSHA shall not be subject to differing or conflicting requirements as a result of
entering into this agreement.
- Maintain a total case injury/illness incidence rate (TCIR) that is 10% less than the most current
Bureau of Labor Statistics national rate for the NAICS for the employer industry.
- Receive a qualifying inspection of at least one representative project site by the AGC Chapter’s
Safety Director. The selected site will be chosen at the discretion of the Chapter’s Safety
Director.
- Have no willful or 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.
5. Program Confidentiality
Information submitted by contractors as part of the initial application, renewal process, as well as
information obtained by virtue of the contractor's application or participation in the program will
be held in strict confidence within the confines of the partnership program. Information that will
be subject to dissemination and use by Colorado OSHA will be unidentifiable to any specific company
with all employee and employer identifiers removed. AGC and Colorado OSHA will have the authority to
release outside the confines of the partnership only this non-company specific aggregated data for
purposes of measuring partnership effectiveness and publishing documents for promotional purposes by
AGC and/or Colorado OSHA. However, in the event of an OSHA inspection, such information that is
relevant to any element of the investigation and normally is available in accordance with current
OSHA disclosure provisions will be provided to Colorado OSHA upon request.
6. Program Oversight
- The AGC Chapter’s Director for Safety and Health is responsible for the following program
monitoring activities:
- Periodic reviews of the AGC CHASE partnering activities to ensure compliance with the partnership
requirements, including random onsite visits of participant contractor work sites;
- Recommendations to the AGC CHASE Committee for program improvements.
- Colorado OSHA will conduct an enforcement verification inspection of one worksite before
conferring benefits listed in section 7.C.2-6 to the BLUE Participant. Verification inspections will
be conducted per current OSHA policy for focused inspections in construction if the participant
qualifies.
7. Benefits
Upon acceptance as a partnership participant, Colorado OSHA will provide certain benefits to
participants.
- RED Participants:
- Will not receive a citation for other-than-serious violations, provided that the hazards are
abated at the time of the inspection.
- WHITE Participants:
- Will be given special recognition from OSHA and AGC designating the contractor as a participant
in the CHASE Program;
- Will not receive citations for other-than-serious violations, provided that the hazards are
abated at the time of inspection;
- Will be given the maximum good faith penalty reductions currently available in current OSHA
policy.
- BLUE Participants: After successful conclusion of an OSHA enforcement
verification inspection, OSHA will provide the following in benefits:
- Will be given special recognition from OSHA and AGC designating the contractor as a participant
in the CHASE Program;
- General contractor participant job sites within Colorado will not receive a programmed
inspection, after the initial verification inspection, within the next twelve months, which extends
to the project site and its subcontractors. This inspection exemption applies to all job sites where
the general contractor is a BLUE participant. Any subcontractor, regardless of participation in this
agreement, scheduled for an inspection who is engaged in activity on a BLUE participant general
contractor site will be exempt from inspection;
- BLUE participants will receive un-programmed inspections only in response to inspections which
may be conducted as the result of a fatality, catastrophe, serious injury, formal complaint, or
either the referral of, or the visual observance of, a high-gravity serious hazard on-site. Colorado
OSHA will use telephone or fax to handle all other complaints except those cases involving serious
injuries. When an inspection of a non-formal 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;
- OSHA will not issue citations for other-than-serious violations provided the violations are
abated at the time of the inspection;
- If cited by OSHA, BLUE participants will receive the maximum good faith and history penalty
reductions currently available under existing OSHA policy;
- During an OSHA programmed inspection of a site controlled by a non-participating general
contractor, BLUE subcontractor participants whose program has previously been verified by an OSHA
inspection will not be included in the inspection unless the Compliance Officer documents that the
participant is responsible for any employee exposures to serious hazards such as falls, struck by,
caught in/between or electrocution hazards.
8. Partnership Evaluation
- It is the responsibility of the AGC CHASE Committee or the Chapter’s Safety Director to gather
the required participant data to evaluate the overall success of the program. This data will
include, at a minimum, the information need to complete OSHA’s Annual Partnership Evaluation Report
as required per OSHA Directive CSP 03-02-002, Appendix C. Aggregated data from the BLUE
participating contractors will be reported to AGC and the Colorado OSHA Area Directors. The data
gathered will be specific to those injuries, illness, catastrophes and fatalities as identified in
Section 2(A) of this agreement. Supporting documentation will be reported annually by the BLUE
participant to the AGC Chapter’s Safety Director. Recordkeeping forms will be provided to all BLUE
participants for reporting of non-company specific information relative to lost workday incidence
and supporting anecdotal notation of near misses. This information will be provided for purposes of
demonstrating successful implementation of safety and health principles as a result of their
involvement in this agreement.
- The partnership will be evaluated annually to determine whether the goals in Section 2 of this
agreement have been met. AGC is responsible for collating baseline and annual performance data upon
which the partnership will be measured. This aggregated data will be reported to Colorado OSHA.
- AGC Partnership participants aggregate total injury/illness incidence total case rates (TCIR) and
fatality rates will be compared with BLS published data to determine whether the goals have been
met.
- Participant incidence of injuries from the hazards that are the four leading causes of death on
construction sites (falls, struck-by, caught in/between, and electrocutions) will be measured and
compared against a baseline established in the first year of the partnership.
- If all signatory partners agree, partnership criteria may be revised annually based on
recommendations for continuous improvement. These criteria may include company/site specific
addendum’s to this agreement based on an individual contractor’s requirement or an AGC or Colorado
OSHA request.
9. Contractor Termination
- A contractor's participation will be terminated by the AGC and the Colorado OSHA Area Offices
will be informed if one or more of the following occurs:
- An inspection by the AGC or Colorado OSHA reveals a significant deviation from program criteria;
- The contractor has falsified information on the application or supporting records;
- The contractor’s total case injury/illness incidence rate, (TCIR) rises above criteria set in
paragraph 4.D.8 for White level participants or paragraph 4.E.8 for BLUE level participants; or
- The contractor takes other such actions that may be determined to be grounds for termination by
the AGC CHASE Committee.
- Prior to final termination of a contractor's status, the following will occur:
- The contractor will be notified by the AGC Director of Safety, Health and Environmental Programs
in writing of the intent to terminate;
- The notice will include an explanation of the reasons for termination;
- The contractor will have an opportunity to reply to the written notice within a period of thirty
(30) days; and
- The contractor will have the right to appear before the full AGC CHASE Committee.
- The full AGC CHASE Committee will have the authority to reinstate the contractor if it determines
that the contractor's experience was unusual and not necessarily inconsistent with a sound safety
and health program. In this event, Colorado OSHA may conduct another verification inspection.
- Any contractor member may terminate their participation in the program at any time with written
notification to the AGC Director of Safety, Health and Environmental Programs.
10. Partnership Term and Location
This agreement will terminate three years from the date of the signing. 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 signatories.
If Colorado OSHA chooses to withdraw its participation in the partnership, the entire agreement is
terminated. Any signatory may also propose modification or amendment to the agreement.
11. Signatures
The following are signatories to this partnership agreement from the AGC Chapter leadership and the
Colorado OSHA Area officials that were present and signed this agreement on March 14, 2007.
Tom McLagan, President
AGC Board of Directors
AGC of Colorado Building Chapter, Inc. |
John Healy, Area Director
Englewood Area Office
Colorado OSHA
U.S. Department of Labor |
Richard O’Brecht, Executive Director
AGC of Colorado Building Chapter, Inc. |
Herb Gibson, Area Director
Denver Area Office
Colorado OSHA
U.S. Department of Labor |
Michael G. McQuaig, Chairman
Safety and Health Committee
AGC of Colorado Building Chapter, Inc. |
|
Fred M. Wilton III, Vice Chairman
Safety and Health Committee
AGC of Colorado Building Chapter, Inc. |
|
|
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