OSHA Strategic Partnerships Program > Region VI

AGC EXEMPLARY ASSOCIATES PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

BETWEEN

THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

HOUSTON NORTH AREA OFFICE

HOUSTON SOUTH AREA OFFICE

AND

ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS HOUSTON CHAPTER

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) agrees to a partnership with Associated General Contractor Houston Chapter (AGC-HC) to enhance workplace safety and health through the strategy of implementing fully written safety and health programs. The overall goal will be to reduce serious injuries and illnesses (using as a minimum one percent per year) and to reduce the occurrence of the four major hazards in the categories of falls, electrocutions, struck-by and caught-between through self audits and prompt corrective actions. Measurements will be obtained from OSHA 300 logs and self inspections.

Selection criteria for participants:

Executive Commitment: Participants agree to submit a letter of commitment to OSHA through the AGC Partnership Committee stating executive commitment to develop and maintain a safety and health program for construction projects. The letter should be addressed to the OSHA Regional Administrator and endorsed by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or equivalent. A similar letter should be addressed to managers and employees.
Commitment to a Formal Safety and Health Program. Only subcontractors with an established, effective, and written safety and health programs meeting or exceeding the OSHA Guidelines for Safety and Health Programs published in 1989 are eligible for this program. Such written programs will effectively address:
- Employee Involvement
  1. Meaningful input and involvement from employees meeting or exceeding the OSHA Guidelines for Safety and Health programs published in 1989.
- Periodic Safety and Health Inspections/Audits
- Training and Education
  1. Employee training for avoidance of hazards specific to construction and the subcontractors work site(s).
  2. Providing construction site supervisors with safety training.
  3. Have policies in place that requires their sub-contractors to adhere to company safety policy including designated competent persons when required by an OSHA standard.
- Employment of a Safety and Health Professional
  - The company safety and health representative must have at a minimum one year of experience in managing an effective construction safety and health program and have had appropriate training in identifying construction hazards and methods to correct identified hazards in order to be a partnering company. The safety and health representative will have the authority to affect safety and health corrections and to shut down operations that pose an imminent danger risk.
- Annual Evaluation of the Safety Program. The safety and health representative will prepare an annual review of the company’s safety and health program which will include hazards found and corrected, injury and illness trends, and recommendations for improvements. The review will be submitted to, or discussed with, the CEO or equivalent
Minimum Partnership Benchmarks. Only companies meeting these criteria are eligible to apply for the Exemplary Associates partnership:
- TCIR and DART rates at least 15% below the most current rates published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for their industry
- A three year average Experience Modification Rate (EMR) of .85 or less as shown on a NCCI Form issued by the company’s workers compensation carrier
- Have had no willful violations in the previous three years
- Successful completion of a site safety audit conducted by the AGC safety representative and recommendation by the AGC Partnership Committee
- Successful completion of a one year term in the Texas AGC/Region VI state-wide partnership.
Cooperation with OSHA. Applicants and participants agree to allow OSHA to conduct annual verification inspections in accordance with this partnership agreement. These inspections may result in citations and penalties being issued to the company. Participants agree to cooperate with OSHA during all inspections and to share information on its safety and health program, program analysis, and recordkeeping data, and any internal inspection/audit results. Participants agree to allow an employee representative to participate on OSHA inspections and to allow interviews with workers. Participants will post notices of imminent danger, when issued by OSHA, and will immediately correct the hazards or voluntarily remove workers from exposure.

The partnering subcontractor may cancel this Agreement upon written notification. When a Safety / Health Representative or Safety / Health Committee is specifically required by a collective bargaining agreement between union(s) and the partnering subcontractor, the authorized Employee / Labor / Management Safety / Health Representative(s) may petition OSHA for cancellation of this Agreement.
Upon completion of an inspection where OSHA determines that a subcontractor does not meet the requirements of this partnership, The Area Director will contact the Associated General Contractors, of America, Inc. – Houston Chapter Safety Director to discuss the inspection. Unless the parties are able to agree upon a satisfactory arrangement to insure that the participant member will meet the requirements of this partnership, an employer’s participation will be terminated and OSHA will be informed if one or more of the following occurs:
1. An inspection reveals a significant deviation from program criteria;
2. The employer has falsified information on the application or supporting records;
3. The employer’s injury/illness rate becomes less than 15% below the BLS average and/or the employer’s three year average EMR becomes greater than .85.
4. The employer takes other such actions that may be determined to be grounds for termination by the AGC Partnership Task Force and OSHA;
  1. Prior to final termination of an employer’s status, the following will occur:
    1. The employer will be notified in writing of the intent to terminate;
    2. The notice will include an explanation of the reasons for termination;
    3. The employer will have an opportunity to reply to the written notice within a period of thirty (30) days; and
    4. The employer will have the right to make an appearance before the AGC-HC and OSHA Area Offices.
    5. Employer takes other such actions that may be determined to be grounds for termination by the AGC-Houston Chapter.
  2. OSHA and AGC jointly will have the authority to reinstate the employer if determined that the employer's experience was unusual and not necessarily inconsistent with a sound safety and health program. In this event OSHA may conduct another verification inspection.
  3. Any party may terminate participation in this agreement by providing thirty (30) days written notice to the other parties.

OSHA Commitment and Partnership Benefits. So long as the company is meeting the intent of the partnership, OSHA verification inspections will be limited in scope to a review and evaluation of the safety and health program, analysis of injuries, interviews of select employees, and then a focused inspection to verify compliance during the first partnership verification and alternating years afterwards. Interim year site verification inspections will consist of a safety and health program review which includes a review of the OSHA 300A Log and training programs. Obvious serious hazards identified during verification inspections will be cited. Successful completion of the annual verification inspection will remove the partnering company from the primary programmed inspection list for a period of one year. OSHA will limit the scope of accident and complaint investigations to information relevant to the accident or complaint (including records) and will not expand the inspection to other areas unless obvious serious hazards are observed.

OSHA will endeavor to support the company with reasonable requested training, technical advice, publications and training material to the employer upon request. Such requests will not cause an OSHA inspection.

Participants will have an opportunity to resolve informal (unsigned) complaints; however, if corrections are inadequate, an inspection may be made to compel compliance. OSHA and the AGC partners will meet periodically to discuss partnership issues.

If cited by OSHA, Exemplary participants in good standing will be eligible for the maximum good faith, size and history penalty reductions currently available in the OSHA FIRM (CPL 2.103 Field Inspection Reference Manual).

During OSHA inspections of non-participant General Contractors, Partnership participants whose program has been previously verified by an OSHA inspection will not be included in the inspection unless the compliance officer documents that the participant is responsible for employee exposure to serious hazards related to falls, struck-by, caught-between, or electrocution.

Participants will receive recognition through press release and/or other publications.

Partnership Limitations

It is stipulated that partnering employers remain subject to OSHA inspections and investigations in accordance with established Agency procedures. OSHA will conduct accident investigations and investigations of formal (signed) complaints and informal (unsigned) complaints that do not result in voluntary and adequate corrections by the employer.

This partnership does not preclude employees and/or employees from exercising any right provided under the OSHA Act nor does it abrogate any responsibility to comply with the Act. Employees will not be discriminated against as a result of participation in the safety and health program, submitting complaints, or exercising their rights under the OSH Act.

Partnership Review: Partnership agreement will be reviewed in the event of a fatality, catastrophic event, or poor performance identified in an OSHA evaluation. The review will determine whether the agreement will continue.

Partnership Evaluation: The partnership will be evaluated by the OSHA Area office on an annual basis in accordance with established Agency procedures. Each partnering company will submit to the AGC Safety representative the numbers of self inspections and the number of falls, struck-by, caught-between, and electrical hazards identified and corrected, a list of the partnering company’s current active job sites, and OSHA 300A Log summary by January 31st each year. The information will then be forwarded to the designated OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist for evaluation.

Partnership Management: Individual partners will be responsible for providing the required data to the AGC Safety Representative for review by the AGC Partnership Committee. Once an application is reviewed and approved, an on-site audit will be conducted by the AGC safety representative. Upon successful completion of the on-site inspection and the recommendation of the AGC Partnership Committee, the application package will be forwarded to the OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist assigned to the partnership. Annual evaluations will be completed and submitted in a timely manner to the Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs (DCSP) by the OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialist. Meetings will be held on a regular basis and face-to-face meetings will be held annually as resources permit.

All individual subcontractor partnerships will extend from October 1st of the qualifying year. Partners entering the partnership at other times of the year will be rolled into the recurring cycle. Individual partnerships will last for a period of two years.

Partners will maintain a copy of their current partnership agreement at their job sites within the geographical area of the partnership.

Partnering companies in the AGC Exemplary Associates Partnership are eligible for participation in the AGC State-Wide partnership. In lieu of a state-wide AGC partnership agreement the Designated Geographical Area (DGA) of the Exemplary Associates partnership is the State of Texas.

Partnership Termination

This partnership will expire five years from the date of signing.

The AGC Exemplary consists only of signatory participants. Partnering companies will have individual partnership agreements under the AGC Exemplary Partnership and will remain in effect through the term of the AGC Exemplary Partnership. OSHA may terminate the participant’s membership at any time with written notice. Additionally, the participant may withdraw from the strategic partnership at any time with a written notice to OSHA.

Any partnering company having a fatality or catastrophe during the term of the partnership will be re-evaluated for continued membership in the partnership by the AGC Partnership Committee in consultation with OSHA. A partner removed or disqualified from the Exemplary Partnership must wait a minimum of one year before re-applying and begin the process in the same manner as a new applicant to the partnership.

OSHA will terminate the agreement for any sustained willful violation or any sustained failure-to-abate situations.

OSHA will terminate the agreement for any major identified program discrepancy that is not improved within a reasonable and agreed upon time frame.

OSHA will terminate the agreement in the event of proven and unresolved discrimination against employees who exercise their protected safety and health rights under the OSH Act.

Prior to termination of a partnering company, the following will occur:

The employer will be notified in writing of the intent to terminate;
The notice will include an explanation of the reasons for termination;
The employer will have an opportunity to reply to the written notice within a period of thirty (30) days; and
The employer will have the right to make an appearance before the AGC-HC and OSHA Area Offices.
Employer takes other such actions that may be determined to be grounds for termination by the AGC-Houston Chapter.

OSHA and AGC jointly will have the authority to reinstate the employer if determined that the employer's experience was unusual and not necessarily inconsistent with a sound safety and health program. In this event OSHA may conduct another verification inspection.

Any party may terminate participation in this agreement by providing thirty (30) days written notice to the other parties.

Associated General Contractors of America – Houston Chapter
United States Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Safety and Health Associated General Contractor (AGC) Exemplary Partnership

The Associated General Contractors of America, Houston Chapter, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration agree to enter into a Safety and Health Partnership to increase Occupational Safety and Health Awareness and to reduce injuries and illness at Associate Contractor Sites located in and around Houston, Texas. This Partnership will include Associated General Contractors of America, Houston Chapter Associate Contractor Members at the partnering job sites and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Houston North Area Office and Houston South Area Office.

Signed this Fifteenth Day of February, Two Thousand and Eight in Houston, Texas.

Joe Reina Deputy Regional Administrator, Region VI Occupational Safety and Health Administration	Jerry Nevlud President/CEO Associated General Contractors of America – Houston Chapter
John Lawson Area Director, Houston North Occupational Safety and Health Administration	Douglas Watson Office Director of Safety Associated General Contractors of America – Houston Chapter
Mark Briggs Area Director, Houston South Office Occupational Safety and Health Administration
US Department of Labor