BIA - Alliance Annual Report - March 30, 2007

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and
Brick Industry Association (BIA)

  1. Alliance Background

    Date Signed

    March 20, 2006

    Evaluation Period

    March 20, 2006 – March 19, 2007

    Overview

    Through the Alliance, OSHA and BIA are working together to provide the BIA's members and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources to help them protect employees' health and safety, particularly in reducing ergonomics injuries, and preventing exposure to hazardous levels of silica.

    Implementation Team Members

    OSHA:  
       
    Neil Davis
    Jess McCluer
    Loretta Schuman
    Joanna Sznajder    		 Office of Chemical Hazards, Non-Metals (OCH)
    Office of Outreach Services and Alliances
    OCH
    Office of Physical Hazards & Others
       
    BIA:  
       
    Tom Brown
    Joseph Casper
    Davis Henry
    Mike Patterson    		 Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) Task Force
    Vice President, Environmental Health & Safety
    EHS Task Force
    EHS Task Force

     

  2. Implementation Team Meetings

    March 20, 2006
    July 12, 2006
    October 25, 2006
    February 15, 2007    		 Kick-off meeting, OSHA, Washington, DC
    Meeting, OSHA, Washington, DC
    Teleconference, Ergonomics Best Practices Fact Sheet
    Meeting, Teleconference

     

  3. Results

    1. Events and Products

      Outreach and Communication Goals

      • Work with OSHA to provide expertise in developing information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards, and to provide expertise in developing ways of communicating such information (e.g. print and electronic media, electronic assistance tools and OSHA's and the BIA's Web sites) to employers and employees in the industry.

      Products

      OSHA and BIA Alliance Web page

      OSHA developed an OSHA and BIA Alliance Web page that is posted on the Agency's Web site that includes the OSHA and BIA Alliance agreement, the OSHA news release on the Alliance's signing, and information on articles included in BIA's e-newsletter, Brick News Online, that feature U.S. Department of Labor-developed articles on OSHA's compliance assistance and cooperative program resources. This Web page is updated on a regular basis.

      Publications and Newsletters

      Information and news releases on the OSHA and BIA Alliance signing and the activities of the Alliance have appeared in print and electronic publications such as BNA Occupational Safety and Health Reporter, Facilities Management News, IHS, News for OSC, and Risk Control Issues NewsBrief. For more information on the articles, see the "Alliance Program Reach."

      OSHA's Safety and Health Topics Pages

      BIA representatives are serving on the editorial boards for the following OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages that address brick industry hazards:

      • Confined Spaces
      • Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)
      • Heat Stress
      • Machine Guarding
      • Silica, Crystalline

      The BIA representatives are:

        • Tom Brown, Director of Occupational Safety & Health, Acme Brick Company; Ft. Worth, Texas
        • Mike Patterson, Regional Safety and Health Manager, Boral Bricks Inc.; Pelham, Alabama

      • Speak, exhibit or appear at OSHA's and BIA's conferences, local meetings or other events such as BIA's Brick Show.

        The OSHA and BIA Alliance Implementation Team has not started work on programs or projects to address this goal.

      • Share information among OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals regarding BIA's best practices or effective approaches and publicize results through outreach by BIA and through OSHA- or BIA- developed materials, training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures (or any other applicable forum).

      Events

      Silicosis Prevention for Brick Industry Workers Seminar, February 8, 2007, Clemson, South Carolina

      Through the OSHA and BIA Alliance, James Lane, South Carolina On-site Consultation Division, attended BIA's Silicosis Prevention for Brick Industry Workers seminar that was held February 8, 2007 at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina. During the seminar's discussions, Mr. Lane answered questions and provided useful information on OSHA's On-site Consultation Program to 25 attendees.

      • Promote and encourage BIA members' or worksites' participation in OSHA's cooperative programs such as compliance assistance, the Voluntary Protection Programs, and the Consultation Program and its Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program.

      Products

      BIA's Brick News monthly newsletter included the following articles developed by the U.S. Department of Labor focusing on OSHA's cooperative programs and compliance assistance resources:

      • December 16, 2006, Brick News, "Consultation Helps Small Businesses Establish Safety and Health Programs."

      • October 12, 2006, Brick News, "OSHA's Electronic Resources for Small Businesses."

      Events

      U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, Workforce Protections Subcommittee, June 14, 2006, Washington, DC

      On June 14, 2006, Joe Casper, BIA testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, Workforce Protections Subcommittee. During his testimony, Mr. Casper promoted the OSHA and BIA Alliance and the value of the OSHA Alliance Program. Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., Assistant Secretary, USDOL-OSHA also testified at the hearing.

    2. Executive Summary

      During the OSHA and BIA Alliance's first year a productive working relationship was established between the organizations. OSHA learned more about the brick industry and BIA learned more about the compliance assistance resources that the Agency has developed. The OSHA and BIA Alliance has also helped to identify the need for compliance assistance safety and health information in the areas of silica and ergonomics that is specific to the industry.

      In addition, OSHA and BIA representatives are sharing their expertise through participating on OSHA's electronic assistance tools' editorial boards, participating and speaking at events and developing and publishing articles. For example:

      • BIA representatives serve on a number of OSHA's Safety and Health Topics pages' editorial boards including Confined Spaces, Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) and Machine Guarding.

      • On June 14, 2006, Joe Casper, BIA promoted the OSHA and BIA Alliance and the value of the OSHA Alliance Program during his testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, Workforce Protections Subcommittee.

      • On February 8, 2007, James Lane, South Carolina On-site Consultation Division, attended BIA's Silicosis Prevention for Brick Industry Workers seminar. During the seminar's discussions, he answered questions and provided information on OSHA's On-site Consultation Program to 25 attendees during.

      • BIA used US Department of Labor developed articles to promote the activities of the OSHA and BIA Alliance and OSHA's compliance assistance resources and cooperative programs in its bi-monthly e-newsletter, Brick News. The articles addressed OSHA's On-site Consultation Program and the agency's electronic resources for small businesses.

    3. Alliance Program Reach

    Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
    OSHA and BIA Alliance Web site on OSHA's Web page 6,225
    OSHA Confined Spaces Safety and Health Topics page 82,557
    OSHA Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) Safety and Health Topics page 69,268
    OSHA Heat Stress Safety and Health Topics page 65,667
    OSHA Machine Guarding Safety and Health Topics page 36,431
    OSHA Silica, Crystalline Safety and Health Topics page 45,806

    February 8, 2007, Silicosis Prevention for Brick Industry Workers Seminar, Clemson, South

    Carolina Attendee: James Lane, South Carolina On-site Consultation Division

    		 25
    July 13, 2006 – "Concrete Industry Compliance Resource Available," BNA Occupational Safety and Health Reporter Data Not Available
    June 14, 2006 – Joe Casper, BIA testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, Workforce Protections Subcommittee Data Not Available
    April 24, 2006 – "OSHA Forms Alliances with Brick, Concrete Industries," Facilities Management News Data Not Available
    April 7, 2006 – "OSHA Forms Alliances with BIA, CSDA," IHS Data Not Available
    April 4, 2006 – "Two National Alliances Formed with OSHA, Another Renewed," News for OSC Data Not Available
    April 1, 2006 – OSHA includes information on the OSHA/BIA Alliance signing in QuickTakes 52,805
    April 2006 – "Two National Alliances Formed with OSHA, Another Renewed," Risk Control Issues NewsBrief Data Not Available
    March 20, 2006 – "OSHA, Brick Industry Association form Alliance," OSHA News Release 69 News Services
    TOTAL 358,784

  4. Upcoming Milestones

    The OSHA and BIA Alliance Implementation Team has discussed a number of activities that will be undertaken in the upcoming year. Through the Alliance, BIA will work with OSHA to develop an Ergonomics and Silica Best Practices fact sheets for employees and employers in the brick industry.

    In addition, BIA representatives will continue to provide their expertise to OSHA by serving on a number of OSHA's Safety and Health Topics pages' editorial boards including the Confined Spaces, Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) and Machine Guarding. BIA will also develop and post a BIA and OSHA Alliance Web page on its Web site. The Web page will include the Alliance Program logo and links to the Alliance agreement and other safety and health information on the OSHA's Web site.

    To share safety and health information with the brick industry, OSHA will provide publications to BIA, including the OSHA and BIA Alliance Activities Summary for the BIA Brick Show 2007 Conference and Trade Show March 29-31, 2007 in Orlando, Florida. BIA will also continue to promote OSHA compliance assistance materials and the OSHA and BIA Alliance through articles in their bi-monthly e-newsletter, Brick News.

    Report prepared by: Jess McCluer, Alliance Coordinator, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, March 30, 2007