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OSHA Strategic Partnerships Program > Region V > #584 Partnership Agreement

Printing Instructions

U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Safety & Health Administration
and Wisconsin Occupational Safety & Health Consultation Program
and
Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin, Inc.

SAFETY PARTNERSHIP
STEP CLAS
INCENTIVE PROGRAM

OSHA, WisCon and ABC of WI Safety Partnership
STEP CLAS Incentive Program

March 1, 2007

Safety Training and Evaluation Process Table of Contents

Background/Identification of Partners
Purpose and Scope
Goals, Strategies, and Measures
Annual Evaluations
Benefits
OSHA Inspections and Quality Assurance
Employee/Employer Rights and Responsibilities
Partnership Management and Operation
Termination
Signatures

Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin, Inc.

Partnering Charter

United States Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Wisconsin Area Offices and
Wisconsin Occupational Safety and Health Consultation Program
and
Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin, Inc.

I. BACKGROUND/IDENTIFICATION OF PARTNERS

Background

To facilitate our mutual goal of reducing occupational-related fatalities and serious injuries and illnesses within the construction industry, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Wisconsin Occupational Safety and Health Consultation Pro-gram (WisCon) and the Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin, Inc. (ABC of WI) have agreed to enter into a cooperative partnership agreement which will effectively implement all facets of jobsite safety and health and achieve self-compliance through co-operative efforts from labor, management, and OSHA.

This Partnership (hereafter referred to as the CLAS Partnership, Construction Leaders Agreement for Safety Partnership) will provide assistance and incentives to construction contractors who voluntarily participate in the ABC National Safety Training and Evaluation Process (STEP) program and demonstrate implementation of effective safety and health programs

This partnership is designed to address the hazards within the construction industry, and to promote and recognize contractors that have demonstrated an effective safety and health program. The Partnership agreement is an effective tool for ensuring safety on a variety of construction projects across the State of Wisconsin.

The partnership is consistent with OSHA’s long-range efforts to develop a contractor/government partnership approach to safety management. It allows for better use of OSHA resources and innovation in safety management and encourages more participation in the safety process from the construction community.
Partners
1. Madison, Wisconsin OSHA
2. Appleton, Wisconsin OSHA
3. Milwaukee, Wisconsin OSHA
4. Eau Claire, Wisconsin OSHA
5. ABC of Wisconsin, Inc. and its members
6. Wisconsin Occupational Safety and Health Consultation Program

II. PURPOSE/SCOPE

This partnering agreement was developed jointly by ABC of WI, OSHA and WisCon. The common objective and goal of the agreement is to provide a safe and healthful work environment for employees involved in the construction industry and to help prevent serious accidents and fatalities within the industry through increased training, implementation of best work practices, enhanced safety and health programs, and compliance with applicable OSHA standards and regulations. This initiative represents a voluntary agreement and affords a partnership alternative to the traditional OSHA enforcement procedures.

By focusing its efforts and utilizing the skills, knowledge and resources of OSHA and WisCon, ABC of WI and its partnered members expect to reduce exposure to hazards and the incidence of serious injuries and fatalities at construction projects across the State of Wisconsin. Increased communication between the stakeholders and the resultant mutual respect are additional benefits expected to be realized from this cooperative and voluntary partnership.

According to 2004 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, construction had a fatality rate of 11.7 per 100,000 employees compared with manufacturing rate of 2.5. Construction has 20% of all the fatalities but employs only 6% of the workforce. In Wisconsin, the total lost workday injury and illness incident rate per 100 employees is 3.2 compared to the national average of 2.6. The hazards associated with the construction industry are well documented. OSHA has identified the top four causes of fatalities: falls, being struck by equipment or machinery, electrocution, and caught-in-between equipment. On an average, OSHA has traditionally devoted 40-50% of its compliance resources to enforcement activity in the construction industry. The goal for the partnership is to attempt to significantly reduce and/or eliminate any accidents and achieve a total lost workday injury and illness incident rate per 100 employees for the project below the national average of 2.6.

III. GOALS, STRATEGIES, AND MEASURES

ABC of WI, OSHA and WisCon mutually recognize the importance of providing a safe and healthful work environment in the construction industry. To advance our mutual goal, we strongly agree on the need to develop partnerships that foster mutual trust and respect for the respective roles of each organization in the construction safety process. We recognize and embrace the responsibilities inherent in those roles. We are committed to work as partners to achieve construction workplace safety and health through shared strategies and objectives.

Outcomes

Outcomes of this Partnership will include:
1. Reduction in partnered employers injuries, illnesses and fatalities, 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);
2. Increase in the number of contractors who implement effective safety and health programs and provide effective safety and health training for management, supervisors and employees;
3. Increased communication between stakeholders and resultant mutual respect;
4. Development of a business/labor/government partnership approach to safety management;
5. Recognition of those contractors with exemplary safety and health pro-grams and effective site-specific safety and health plans;
6. Promotion of open lines of communication between OSHA, WisCon and the ABC of WI in pursuit of safety.
7. OSHA resources directed towards the construction industry whose safety and health efforts require the most assistance.
Specific Goals

The overall goal of the partnership is to create a working relationship that focuses on pre-venting work-related fatalities, controlling or eliminating serious workplace hazards, and establishing a foundation for the development of an effective safety and health program. This Partnership will strive to achieve that goal by establishing a foundation of proactive measures which will include:
1. Reduce by 3% annually the number of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities affecting participant employers with an emphasis on reducing injuries and fatalities resulting from falls, struck-by and caught-in-between mishaps, and electrocution (focused four construction hazards).
2. Increase the number of construction companies that implement effective safety and health programs by five percent.
3. Increase the number of construction workers who have completed safety related training each year.
Strategies
1. Frequent job site inspections utilizing a system developed by the Partner-ship Members. Require weekly in writing to provide continuous coverage and documentation over a wide variety and perspective of site conditions.
2. Conduct OSHA 10 and 30 hour courses.
3. Conduct other hazard-specific training on an as-needed basis.
4. Require written safety and health programs in order to participate
Measurement Systems
1. The measurement system will use OSHA recordable injuries and illnesses to determine the total lost workday injury and illness rate for the participants and participant sites compared to the average for the construction industry in Wisconsin and nationally.
2. Activity measures shall include the applicable number of construction workers trained. Intermediate measures will include the number of safety and health programs instituted and the number of participants progressing through the STEP Program.
3. Outcome measures will be gathered on a quarterly basis and will incorporate data to analyze the number of hours worked, number of injuries, illnesses and fatalities, and the number of serious violations found as a result of onsite audits, job site inspections, and OSHA inspection activity.
4. The total number of hazards documented during site inspections and corrected, in addition to a listing of improvements made to safety and health pro-grams will be gathered.
5. Actions specific to NFPA 70E and work on live electrical, such as training re-cords, PPE availability and use, and permits.
6. Measurement factors will be compiled quarterly by ABC of Wisconsin.

IV. ANNUAL EVALUATION

The program will be evaluated on an annual basis through the use of the Strategic Partnership Annual Evaluation Format measurement system as specified in Appendix C of CSP 03-02-002, OSHA Strategic Partnership Program for Worker Safety and Health Directive.

It will be the responsibility of ABC of WI to gather required participant data to evaluate and track the overall results and success of the partnership program. This data will be shared with OSHA.

It will be the responsibility of OSHA to conduct, write and submit an annual evaluation to Region 5.

V. BENEFITS

CLAS participants will receive special recognition in ABC’s national publication.
Upon acceptance as a CLAS participant, Wisconsin OSHA Area Directors will pro-vide certain incentives to participants:
1. After receiving a comprehensive compliance (programmed or unprogrammed) inspection in an Area Office jurisdiction, participating CLAS employers who are General Contractors will be removed from the University of Tennessee Report construction resources analysis in that Area Office jurisdiction on which that contractor may appear for the next 12 months provided:
  1. Participating CLAS employers can demonstrate that they have safety and health responsibility for their jobsite which includes subcontractors (job site control.)
  2. Participating CLAS employers require their subcontractors on site to have written comprehensive, site specific safety and health programs, where practical.
  3. On multiple prime work sites, during OSHA inspections, CLAS participants and their subcontractors will not be inspected unless there is evidence in plain view that their employees, or those they control are exposed to serious hazards, such as falls, struck by, caught-in-between or electrocution hazards.
2. After receiving a comprehensive compliance (programmed or unprogrammed) inspection in an Area Office jurisdiction, participating CLAS employers who are subcontractors will not be inspected under the University of Tennessee Report construction resources analysis in that Area Office jurisdiction for the next 12 months.
3. If cited by OSHA, all CLAS participants in good standing will be eligible for the maximum good faith, size and history penalty reductions currently avail-able in the OSHA Field Inspection Reference Manual (CPL 2.103). CLAS participants will be granted maximum penalty reductions allowed in the OSHA Field Inspection Reference Manual for good faith and history. In cases where a partner’s total penalty reduction is 100 percent or more, the minimum penalty provisions of the FIRM will apply (see FIRM, ChapterIV.C.2.b).

VI. OSHA INSPECTIONS AND QUALITY ASSURANCE

OSHA will conduct planned quality assurance inspections of up to 10% of the partnership participants. These inspections may be non-enforcement inspections, provided serious hazards are corrected immediately. Inspections conducted in response to complaints, Local Emphasis Programs, or referrals may qualify as quality assurance inspections at the discretion of OSHA if, in addition to addressing the complaint/referral item(s), the compliance officer completes the focused inspection protocol for the worksite.

Participants belonging to ABC of Wisconsin will remain subject to OSHA inspections and investigations in accordance with agency procedures.

VII. EMPLOYEE/EMPLOYER RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

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.

VIII. PARTNERSHIP MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION

ABC of WI:
1. ABC has implemented a program to assist its member construction companies in evaluating their safety and health program performance and their safety and health training programs. This program is known as the Safety Training and Evaluation Process, or “STEP” program. The ABC National Office processes all applications and, in turn, presents awards to qualified applicants.
2. The STEP program was created by the ABC National Safety Committee in 1992. The National Safety Committee is composed of construction safety professionals drawn from ABC member companies throughout the United States. Along with this national committee, ABC has over 60 safety committees formed in various chapters across the United States and Guam. Safety committee members at these local chapters identify and provide safety courses and seminars on safety compliance programs pertinent to their geographical area. These committees convey concerns, stance on is-sues and other items of construction safety and health interest to the National Safety Committee.
3. Partnership Steering Committee from the National Safety Committee will oversee the activities of the STEP CLAS Incentive program. The Partner-ship Steering Committee will be comprised of safety and health representatives from ABC member companies. The Committee will review and approve or disapprove Platinum applications.
4. The STEP program has four award levels. The Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards are based on self-evaluation scores and are administered by ABC. The fourth category, Platinum, will be open to those companies whose achievements in the area of worksite safety are, certifiably, the best of the best. Acceptance into the CLAS level will require additional validation of safety and health program efficacy through an on-site comprehensive inspection. Contractors which are accepted into the CLAS level will receive incentives from OSHA, as listed in Section V of this document.
5. The Partnership Steering Committee will inform the Wisconsin Chapter, of their members who have successfully completed the application process and are thus eligible for participation in the partnership.
6. Description of the STEP program:
  1. It is implemented in two phases:
    1. First phase is the completion of the STEP application. ABC National will distribute applications to construction contractor members. Typically, distribution is made January or February of each year. The application consists of a two-part form. Part One of the form requests safety and health statistical data. This data is found on summary OSHA Injury and Illness Logs. Part Two of the form is the self-evaluation section. Here, contractors answer a series of questions related to the safety program; each response has a numerical rating. Responses from questions are totaled, providing a self-evaluation rating.
    2. The second phase of the STEP program is the evaluation of applicants and the distribution of certificates. Application evaluation is conducted at the ABC National office. Data from each application is keyed into ABC National’s database. This includes information from the applicant’s Summary OSHA In-jury and Illness Log, employee work-hours from the noted calendar year, as well as the self-evaluation score. While Summary OSHA Injury and Illness Log data are collected from all STEP participants, this data will be used for evaluation purposes only for Platinum award level applicants; self evaluation scores are used to determine the award levels of Bronze, Silver and Gold.
  2. Applicants seeking CLAS status will have additional criteria to satisfy. CLAS applicants must:
    1. Submit their Summary OSHA Injury and Illness Log and have an occupational injury & illness recordable rate (total case per BLS formula) below the average for their Industry.
    2. Participants with limited numbers of employees, less than 50 and/or 100,000 hours worked will be allowed to use the best 3 out of the most recent 4 years’ injury/illness experience. To determine whether the employer qualifies for the alternative calculation method, do the following:
      1. Using the most recent employment statistics (hours worked in the most recent calendar year), calculate a hypothetical total recordable case incidence rate for the employer assuming that the employer had two cases during the year;
      2. Compare that hypothetical rate to the 3 most recently published years of BLS combined injury/illness total recordable case incidence rates for their industry; and
      3. If the hypothetical rate (based on two cases) is equal to or higher than the national average for the firm’s industry in at least 1 of the 3 years, the employer qualifies for the alternative calculation method.
    3. Receive a comprehensive inspection of at least two active job sites to be conducted jointly by WisCon, the Wisconsin Chapter, or its designated representatives; have a written site specific safety and health program based on the ANSI A-10.38 guidelines or the OSHA 1989 Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines.
The ABC of WI Safety Director is responsible for the following program monitoring activities:
1. Periodic reviews by ABC of WI chapter activities to ensure that program requirements are met.
2. Reviews will include random on site verification of CLAS participants to validate partnership program administration;
3. Termination of a participating contractor’s status if findings indicate unacceptable performance or submission of falsified documentation;
4. Providing recommendations to the ABC National Safety Committee for pro-gram improvements.
5. Information submitted by contractors as part of the application or 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. However, in event of an OSHA inspection, such information that is relevant to any element of the investigation and normally is available will be provided to OSHA upon request.
6. As soon as practicable, the Wisconsin Chapter will notify all the Wisconsin Area OSHA offices of the identity of those contractors who have achieved CLAS Partnership status.
Participating Companies are responsible for the following:
1. Go beyond OSHA’s minimum requirements, and further reduce exposure to fall, struck by, caught in-between and electrical hazards.
2. Implement a fall protection program ensuring a series of reasonable steps are taken to cause elimination or control of the injurious effects of an unintentional fall while accessing or working at heights over six feet.
3. Providing for employee involvement in the safety and health program, for ex-ample, participation in self-audits, site inspections, job hazard analyses, safety and health program reviews, safety training, and mishap investigations;
4. Showing evidence of effective employee training for avoidance of hazards specific to the contractor’s trade(s);
5. Providing construction site supervisors with training equivalent to the OSHA 10-hour construction safety course;
6. Designating safety personnel who, through training and experience, are able to recognize work hazards and have the authority to take prompt corrective action. Training curriculum equivalent to the OSHA 30-hour Construction Safety course will be deemed to be satisfactory;
7. Have no Willful violations in the last three years;
8. Have no Repeated violations in the last two years;
9. Have no fatalities or catastrophes within the last two years.
10. Implementing a hearing conservation program, which includes:
  1. Monitoring of employee noise exposures;
  2. The institution of engineering, work practice, and administrative
    controls for excessive noise;
  3. The provision of hearing protection;
  4. Employee training on the hazards of noise and protective measures;
  5. Audiograms;
  6. Procedures for preventing further hearing loss whenever tasks resulting in high noise levels are identified;
  7. Recordkeeping.
11. Implementing an industrial hygiene monitoring program to evaluate health hazards. Examples could be dust, solvents, silica, lead, asbestos, Chromium 6, or cadmium.
12. Ensure compliance with OSHA’s Electrical Safe Work Practices when working on live electrical equipment, including training and the availability and use of personal protective equipment. A permitting system will be implemented to oversee the implementation of appropriate protective measures prior to exposure. (NFPA 70E can be used as a guide)
OSHA:
1. OSHA will participate as available in the quarterly Partnership Committee meetings.
2. OSHA will designate an experienced safety and health specialist to serve as a resource and liaison for partnership participants.
3. OSHA will give priority to the ABC of Wisconsin participants when technical assistance is needed.
4. OSHA will audit the quarterly reports/documents and make recommendations for improvements in meeting Partnership Goals.
5. OSHA will conduct inspections in accordance with section VI of this partner-ship.
6. CLAS participants will receive unprogrammed inspections only in response to reports of imminent danger, fatalities/catastrophes, observed serious hazards, referrals, and signed formal complaints. OSHA will use telephone and fax to handle all other inquiries except in cases of reported serious injuries. When an inspection is deemed necessary, a copy of the complaint will be provided to the ABC of WI Safety Director.
7. For all CLAS participants, OSHA will not issue citations for other-than-serious violations, provided the violations are abated immediately.
8. During OSHA inspections of non-participant employers, CLAS Partnership participants will not be included in the inspection unless the compliance officer documents that the CLAS participant is responsible for, or has employees exposed to hazards listed in B.1. C.
WisCon:
1. WisCon will be available to assist with OSHA 10 and 30- hour training listed in paragraph III.C.
2. WisCon will work with contractors to establish effective safety and health programs.
3. WisCon will participate in the quarterly Partnership Committee meetings.
4. WisCon will provide inspections of the ABC of Wisconsin participants.
5. WisCon will assist in the audit of the partnership and make recommendations for improvement.

IX. Termination

A contractor's participation will be terminated and OSHA will be informed of the termination if one or more of the following occurs:
1. An inspection reveals a significant deviation from program criteria;
2. The contractor has falsified information on the application or supporting re-cords;
3. Contractor takes other such actions that may be determined to be grounds for termination by the Wisconsin Chapter;
Prior to final termination of a contractor's status, the following will occur:
1. The contractor will be notified in writing of the intent to terminate;
2. The notice will include an explanation of the reasons for termination;
3. The contractor will have an opportunity to reply to the written notice within a period of thirty (30) days; and,
4. The contractor will have the right to make an appearance before the Wisconsin Chapter.
Wisconsin Chapter in conjunction with OSHA and WisCon 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 another comprehensive inspection will be conducted.
Any contractor may terminate participation in the program at any time.
The partnership pilot shall have an initial term of three years and may be renewed if all parties concur.
Any party to the partnership may withdraw from the agreement at any time after submitting written notification of intent to the other partner.
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.

Agreed this day, March 1, 2007

________________________________________ Brad Austin Chairman Associated Builders and Contractors of WI, Inc.	________________________________________ John Chapin Acting Project Manager Wisconsin Occupational Safety & Health Consultation Program University of Wisconsin – Madison State Laboratory of Hygiene
________________________________________ Kimberly A. Stille Area Director U.S. Department of Labor OSHA Madison Area	________________________________________ George Yoksas Area Director U.S. Department of Labor OSHA Milwaukee Area
________________________________________ Melvin R. Lischefski Area Director U.S. Department of Labor OSHA Appleton Area	________________________________________ Mark Hysell Area Director U.S. Department of Labor OSHA Eau Claire Area

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