Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH)
Action Items/Significant Events
June 10-11, 1999 Meeting

U.S. Department of Labor

Note: 9/2/99 the ACCSH voted unanimously to accept the minutes.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

ACCSH voted to dissolve the following Work Groups: Sanitation; Scaffolding; Safety Excellence Program; Enforcement Priorities; and the Task Force on ACCSH Structure and Responsibilities.

ACCSH voted to constitute two new Work Groups: Diversified Construction Workforce Initiatives (Williams/Edington Chairs); and Construction Certs and Paperwork Review (Williams/Ayers Chair). Formation of the Construction Certs and Paperwork Review Work Group was in response to a request by Assistant Secretary Jeffress.

ACCSH members agreed that if they had comments or recommendations on the proposed PPE standard, they would provide them directly to Glen Gardner, due to the fact that the hearings would occur in August, prior to the next ACCSH meeting.

ACCSH voted to recommend the Work Group product of the Multi-employer Work Group, in the form of the revised FIRM (with attachments) be provided to OSHA. In addition, ACCSH agreed to continue the Work Group to consider other related issues.

ACCSH voted to recommend the draft ACCSH Rules and Guidelines, as amended, be provided to OSHA.

ACCSH voted to accept the draft minutes for the January ACCSH meeting.

ACCSH agreed to recommend to DOC that the two remaining ACCSH meetings for calendar year 1999 be scheduled to take place in August (on the 26^th and 27^th)and December (on the 9^th and 10^th). These dates fall on Thursdays and Fridays and, as per current practice, the Work Groups will be planned for the Tuesdays and Wednesdays of the week of the ACCSH meetings.

ACCSH requested that DOC consider holding a future ACCSH meeting at a venue other than Washington D.C.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON CONSTRUCTION SAFETY AND HEALTH
(ACCSH)

Minutes of June 10-11, 1999, Meeting

US Dept of Labor
Frances Perkins Building
Rooms N-3437 A B & C
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC

The meeting of the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) was called to order by the Acting Chair, Stewart Burkhammer, at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 10, 1999. The following members were present for all or part of the meeting:

Labor Representatives Gladys Harrington, and William Rhoten were unable to attend, as were state representatives Harry Payne, and Danny Evans, and federal representative Marie Haring Sweeney. Approximately 25 members of the public were in attendance at various times. Acting Chair Stewart Burkhammer introduced himself and welcomed the public. He gave a briefing on the informal ACCSH work group briefings which were conducted during the sixth annual International Safety and Health Conference held in April in Hawaii. A number of ACCSH members were present, and they presented information on all ACCSH work groups to approximately 35 field safety and health professionals. MECP, MSD, and Data Collection generated the most discussions.

Felipe Devora briefed the board on Multi-Employer Citation Policy (MECP) Work Group deliberations, with particular attention to the new draft FIRM, which the work group developed. Devora requested that ACCSH forward the work group product to OSHA, but the motion was tabled, to be brought up the next day, after the members had an opportunity to read the comments which had been collected on the draft FIRM.

Jane Williams thoroughly briefed the committee on the ACCSH Rules and Guidelines produced by the Task Force on ACCSH Structure and Responsibilities. A motion to forward the work group product was tabled until the next day to give the members time to read the document.

Michael Buchet briefed the committee on the deliberations of the Musculoskeletal Disorders Work Group. He discussed the methodology of identifying successful and unsuccessful intervention strategies, and documenting them for eventual use as an outreach tool. In addition he pointed out that the work is still in the deliberative stage on some issues, but that looking for trade specific problems, and then deciding how to collect and arrange the information was one avenue they are exploring.

Steve Cooper briefed the committee on the deliberations of the OSHA Form 170 Work Group. Issues which were discussed were how the lack of data affects MSD's, and OSHA attempts to target problem areas. Cooper estimated that four or five more meetings would be required before a report could be generated for ACCSH consideration.

Stephen Cloutier reported on the activities of the Safety and Health Program Programs Work Group. The work group reviewed the General Industry draft proposal, as well as other information they had collected, and conducted numerous discussions. He stated that the work group had a number of recommendations concerning the core requirements for Safety and Health Programs. They need to be company specific and address in writing the following issues: management responsibility as well as employee participation; hazard identification; training; and record keeping; emergency procedures and preparations. Cloutier called for the question and requested that these recommendations be voted on the next morning by ACCSH. Much discussion ensued, and several members stressed the need for examples in OSHA directives - Swanson accepted this input. Burkhammer requested that Safety and Health Work Group re-visit the previous work product (a draft proposed standard) to determine whether examples (e.g. of model programs) or other input should be recommended to DOC to ensure that the key elements are addressed. The work group was requested to submit a report to ACCSH on this issue at the next meeting.

Jane Williams briefed the committee on the HAZWIC Report, and recommended that although the Sanitation Work Group had fulfilled its charter, that the report raised other issues that should be pursued by the Work Group under a different name - Diversified Construction Workforce Initiatives. The work group would address open items from the HAZWIC Report, and issues relating to a diversified work force. The motion was passed unanimously by the board.

Anthony Brown gave a presentation on a voluntary agreement between OSHA and the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators. The purpose of the agreement is to provide a non-regulatory means of recognizing a program that validates the competency and certifies the qualifications of crane operators.

Camille Villanova briefed the committee on the Directorate of Construction Web Page. As the DOC representative she took a number of action items to determine the following: whether interpretive quips and letters can be included on the DOC web site; the feasibility of providing a private web site for ACCSH members to pass information and discuss ACCSH business; and the feasibility of including the ACCSH Charter as a tab or a hot link on the DOC web site.

Richard Feehan (MSHA), and Steve Turow (OSHA) briefed the committee on MSHA/OSHA Jurisdictional Issues. They included the following items in their brief: the Mine Act and how it gives MSHA a different charter from that of OSHA; inter-agency agreements; how MSHA sites differ from typical construction sites; and MOU's concerning jurisdiction.

Glen Gardner gave a briefing on the proposed standard for Personal Protective Equipment. He stressed that the original proposal had been revised to reflect ACCSH concerns. ACCSH members agreed that if they had comments or recommendations on the proposed PPE standard, they would provide them directly to Glen Gardner, due to the fact that the hearings would occur in August, prior to the next ACCSH meeting.

Cathy Oliver gave an update on Voluntary Protection Programs VPP/Short Term Construction Demonstration Program Partnership elements.

Michael Buchet briefed the committee on the recent deliberations of the Data Collection Work Group. As a result of concern about how the shift from SIC's to NAIC's, he took an action item to provide a draft letter for OSHA to consider sending to BLS, defining concerns about the SIC to NAIC shift.

Steve Cloutier briefed the committee on the status of the Training Work Group.

Noah Connell gave the committee a Standards Update.

Berrien Zettler gave the Directorate of Construction Report.

Public comment came from Bill Mott of Huber, Hunt, and Nickles Construction, and Carl Heinlein, Director of Safety, Associated General Contractors of America. Mott discussed the uneven nature of enforcement across the country, and the possible utilization of more detailed check lists to ameliorate this situation. Heinlein had questions concerning record keeping and the VPP.

Burkhammer adjourned the meeting at 4:00 p.m. to reconvene at 9:00 a.m. the next morning.

Jane Williams and Steve Cooper finished briefing and answering questions on the ACCSH Rules and Guidelines. ACCSH voted to recommend the draft ACCSH Rules and Guidelines, as amended, be provided to OSHA.

Assistant Secretary of Labor, Charles Jeffress thanked the board for their advice and input, and gave a briefing on a variety of issues, including: OSHA funding; year 2000 budget preparations; safety audits; the emphasis of the agency in the near term; standards status; and how congressional actions could impact OSHA. He emphasized that although enforcement would continue to be a tool to maintain high standards of safety and health in the work place, voluntary compliance programs would continue to be investigated and utilized. He also discussed the fact that OSHA staff is now better prepared to give information to victims, and the fact that he has attempted to put funding in the budget for CO training, using computer/internet methodologies. This generated an action item for DOC to schedule a distance learning proposal for CO's at the next ACCSH. Discussions with board members followed. In response to a request by Assistant Secretary Jeffress, ACCSH agreed to consider how Construction Certs and Paperwork could be reduced.

Felipe Devora finished briefing the board on Multi-Employer Citation Policy (MECP) Work Group draft FIRM. ACCSH voted to recommend the Work Group product of the Multi-employer Work Group, in the form of the revised FIRM (with attachments) be provided to OSHA. In addition, ACCSH agreed to continue the Work Group to consider other related issues

Burkhammer requested that DOC arrange a briefing by Salt Lake City representative at next ACCSH meeting.

Burkhammer requested that the Silica Work Group submit a progress report at next ACCSH meeting.

ACCSH voted to dissolve the following Work Groups: Sanitation; Scaffolding; Safety Excellence Program; Enforcement Priorities; and the Task Force on ACCSH Structure and Responsibilities.

ACCSH voted to constitute two new Work Groups: Diversified Construction Workforce Initiatives (Williams/Edington Chairs); and Construction Certs and Paperwork Review (Williams/Ayers Chair). Formation of the Construction Certs and Paperwork Review Work Group was in response to a request by Assistant Secretary Jeffress.

ACCSH voted to accept the draft minutes for the January ACCSH meeting.

DOC agreed to provide dates on all future action items included in the ACCSH minutes, and to provide periodic updates on the status of action items.

ACCSH agreed to recommend to DOC that the two remaining ACCSH meetings for calendar year 1999 be scheduled to take place in August (on the 26^th and 27^th)and December (on the 9^th and 10^th). These dates fall on Thursdays and Fridays and, as per current practice, the Work Groups will be planned for the Tuesdays and Wednesdays of the week of the ACCSH meetings.

ACCSH requested that DOC consider holding a future ACCSH meeting at a venue other than Washington D.C.

The meeting was adjourned at 1200 on Friday, 11 June 1999.