# Presentation: 285570

## OSHA – On the Radar Screenand Working For You

**Paula O. White, Director  **
**Cooperative and State Programs**
**Occupational Safety and Health Administration**
**NEHS Conference**
**March 8, 2005**

## OSHA’s Intervention Strategies

- Expanded outreach, education, and compliance assistance efforts
- Improved voluntary and partnership efforts
- Strong, effective, and fair enforcement

## OSHA’s Cooperative Programs

-  Alliance Program
- Consultation Program & SHARP
-  Voluntary Protection Programs
-  OSHA Strategic Partnership Program

## OSHA’s Alliance Program

- Broadly written agreements
- Established at OSHA’s National,
-     Regional, Area Offices or
-     by State Plan States
- Formed with trade associations, businesses, educational institutions, unions
- 72 National Alliances
- 232 Regional and Area Office Alliances

## Who’s Entering Alliances?

| Abbott 
The Steel Group
Health Physics Society
National Hearing Conservation Association
Drug-Free Workplace
Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association
National Safety Council | Board of Certified Safety Professionals
Club Managers Association of America
Center for Business and Public Policy, McDonough School of Business
Graphic Arts Coalition
Dow Chemical Company |
| --- | --- |
| Construction Institute of American Society of Civil Engineers
American Dental Association
National Association of Homebuilders
Modular Building Institute
Industrial Truck Association
American Heart Association
American Apparel and Footwear Association | Tree Care Industry Association
Shipbuilders Council of America
American Shipbuilding Association.
American Meat Institute
International Safety Equipment Association
National Federation of  Independent Business
Washington Group International |

## Benefits of an Alliance

- •  Build a cooperative and trusting relationship  with OSHA
- •  Network with other organizations committed to workplace safety and health
- •  Leverage resources to maximize worker  protection

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## Some National Alliance Results

**Society of the Plastics Industry**
- Machine guarding & LOTO Training
- Machine guarding e-Tool
**The Dow Chemical Company**
- Ergonomics case study
- Motor vehicle safety programs case studies
- Best practices – PSM Workshop

## Airlines Industry Alliance

- Ergonomic issues of baggage-handling
-  OSHA, 13 Airlines, NSC – International Air Transport Section
-  Revised eTool
-  Developing training manual

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## Consultation: Help for Small Businesses

- Free, confidential, and professional help for employers to identify and correct hazards
- Assists small businesses in developing safety and health management systems and providing training
- No citations issued or penalties proposed
- Service delivered by state & territorial governments using well-trained professional staff.

## Dear Senator Biden:     Penn Fibre Plastics, Inc. is a manufacturer that employs 65 people in Greenwood, DE. I am writing to inform you of the valuable service that is provided by the Department of Labor's Office of Safety and Health Consultation.     This Consultation service is of great benefit to small and medium-sized companies such as ours to ensure compliance to all applicable Codes of Federal Regulations of the OSHA ACT. Their approach of working together with us is highly productive. As a result, the negative stereotype of OSHA as an enforcer and regulator is corrected through the work of the Delaware Office of Safety and Health Consultation service, which demonstrates that compliance is good for business and good for people. Frankly, we would be hard-pressed to remain in compliance or in a competitive position without this service. The OSH Consultation is a true partnership between government and business that effectively establishes and promotes safe and competitive work environments.     Thank you in advance for your support and recognition of a truly beneficial program such as this.

## Safety & Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP)

- An effective safety and health management system
- Injury and illness rates below the industry average
- Removed from programmed inspection list for at least 1 year

## Sharp Success Story

## What is VPP?

- 1,230 VPP Participants
- A process for achieving safety and health excellence
- Labor – Management – Government cooperation
- Official recognition of excellence

## OSHA Challenge

- Road Map for safety and health
- Recognition
- Conserve OSHA resources
- Increase and expedite participation

## VPP Corporate

- Maximize reliance oncorporate pre-screening
- Streamline applications
- Streamline onsite    evaluations
-  Maximize leadership andoutreach

## VPP for Construction  A Redesign

- Provides flexibility to meet unique aspects of industry
- Companies may attain recognition at corporate, division or business unit level

## International PaperA Business Case for VPP

- IP has had over 90 sites in VPP since 1992.
- Safety performance at VPP sites was compared to non-VPP sites for years 2000 and 2001.

## VPP vs. Non-VPP

- Total Incidence Rate (TIR)
**2-year Difference:  VPP sites = 28% lower**
-  Lost Workday Incident Rate (LWIR)
**2-year Difference: VPP sites = 48% lower**
- Workers Compensation costs:
**VPP sites cost 58% less**

## Benefits Foregone by Non-VPP

- If non-VPP sites had performed as well as VPP sites for the 2 years:
- 18% or 165 Recordable Incidents would have been prevented
- 45% or 56 Lost Workday cases would have been prevented
**$16,523,181** would have been saved in Workers Compensation claims

## OSHA Strategic Partnerships

- 227 active partnerships
- 12,895 employers and 721,186 employees impacted since 1994
- 11 National partnerships

## United States Postal ServiceOSPP

- Focus on Ergonomic Risk Reduction
- 14,196 employees & 59 facilities covered (93 sites by 8/05)
- 19% reduction to Total Case Incident Rate
- 22% reduction in Days Away, Restricted and Transferred (DART) rate
- 17% reduction in Lost Workday rate

## Koch Industries Partnership

- Partnership covers 18 sites with 384 employees
- 2 sites have achieved VPP Star, 1 site has application pending, and 7 sites will apply in 2004
- 8 partnership sites have not had an injury or illness in the past three years
- 13 out of 18 sites have TCIR and DART rates which are 50% lower than national average for their industry for last 3 years

## Compliance Assistance

- Compliance Assistance Specialists
- Web: _[www.osha.gov](http://www.osha.gov/)_
- eTools & Safety & Health Topic Pages
- OSHA Hotline:  1-800-321-OSHA
- QuickTakes

## Small Business Assistancehttp://www.osha.gov/dcsp/smallbusiness/

## Hispanic Outreach

- National compliance assistance clearinghouse of Spanish language outreach materials
- Hispanic compliance assistance web-page
- National Hispanic Summit – July 2004
- Hispanic Workers Task Force

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## Contact

- Paula White
- white.paula_[@dol.gov](mailto:aula@dol.gov)_
- 202-693-2200