Background:
In February 2006, the Nebraska Animal Slaughtering and Processing Industry (NASPI),
the Nebraska Workforce Development (NWFD) OSHA Consultation Program, and OSHA's Region VII Omaha
Area Office, developed an OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP). The main purpose of the NASPI OSP is to
recognize the value of establishing a collaborative relationship to foster a culture of injury and
illness prevention and promote safe and healthful working conditions. The Partnership hopes its
presence will encourage and assist participants in the state of Nebraska to comply with OSHA
standards and protect workers through educational opportunities, materials, and other resources.
Success Impact:
Injury and Illness Rates Decline
As a requirement noted in the OSP agreement, all of the OSP participants had to make workplace
safety and health a core element of their safety and health management system (SHMS). Since the
Partnership was implemented, Nebraska facilities covered by the Partnership have shown improvement
in injury and illness rates. As shown in the below table, the Partnership's Total Case Injury Rate
(TCIR) and Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate have been lower than the 2005 Bureau of
Labor Statistics' (BLS) national average for this industry.
|
DART |
TCIR |
NASPI OSP Rate (2007) |
4.1 |
7.2 |
BLS Industry National Average for Most Recent Year (2005) |
6.1 |
9.1 |
% Difference |
-33% |
-21% |
The Partnership's DART rate was 33% below the national average for this industry, and the
Partnership's TCIR was 21% below.
Partnership Incorporates VPP into their Safety and Health Training
The Partnership includes several companies that have already achieved OSHA Voluntary Protection
Programs (VPP) status. Although obtaining VPP status is not a specific goal of the Partnership, the
Partnership has incorporated the OSHA 1989 Guidelines and core elements of VPP into a number of the
Partnership's safety and health training modules. The Partnership has also asked these VPP
participant companies to facilitate the training.
Partnership Objectives:
The Partnership's key objective is to reduce injury and illness rates at participating facilities to
levels below the BLS national average by promoting safe and healthful working conditions in
Nebraska's meat plants.
Origin: Region VII, Omaha, NE Area Office
Partners: Nebraska Animal Slaughtering and Processing Industry (NASPI), Beef Products, Inc., Cargill
Value Added Meats, Carneco Foods, LLC, Cook's Hams, Inc., Fremont Beef Company, Greater Omaha
Packing Company, Hastings Foods, LLC, Henningsen Foods, Inc., Hormel Foods Corporation, Nebraska
Beef, Ltd., Omaha Steaks (Plants 1, 2, and 3), Premium Protein Products, LLC, Tyson Prepared Foods
(York), XL Four Star Beef, Inc., Cargill Meat Solutions
Partnership Signed: February 2006
Industry: Meat Packing (NAICS Code 311611, 311612, 311999)
Employees: 14,225
Employers: 17
Source and Date: Doug Fletcher, Region VII, Omaha, NE Area Office / May 2008
Status: Open
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