IWCA - Annual Alliance Report - June 17, 2011

ALLIANCE ANNUAL REPORT
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
and the
International Window Cleaning Association (IWCA)
June 17, 2011

  1. Alliance Background

    Date Signed

    June 10, 2010

    Evaluation Period

    June 10, 2010 – June 9, 2011

    Overview

    The OSHA and IWCA Alliance focuses on providing IWCA members and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect the health and safety of workers, particularly by reducing and preventing exposure to slip, trip and fall, and fall from heights hazards and addressing issues related to the proper, safe use of high-reach access equipment including ladders and scaffolding equipment and addressing the safety and health challenges of small business owners and low literacy and limited English speaking workers in the window cleaning industry.

    Implementation Team Members

    OSHA:

    Morgan Seuberling
    Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs (DCSP)
    Dominique Smith
    Office of Small Business Assistance, DCSP
    Ginny Fitzner
    Office of Safety Systems, Directorate of Standards and Guidance
    Sherman Williamson
    Occupational Safety and Health Specialist, Office of General Industry Enforcement, Directorate of Enforcement Programs
    Laura Kenny
    Region II, New York Regional Office

    IWCA:

    Deb Nemec
    IWCA
    Stefan Bright
    IWCA
    Vickie Eubanks
    South Shore Building Services, Inc.
    Noa Pedersen
    General Window Cleaning
    Matt Pierce
    Fish Window Cleaning
    Coby Powell
    Red Rock Window Cleaning
    Dan Dvorak
    Valcourt Building Services
    Vic Munson
    Erlanger Window Cleaning

  2. Implementation Team Meetings

    June 23, 2010
    Implementation Team Meeting
    October 19, 2010
    Implementation Team Meeting
    April 4, 2011
    Implementation Team Meeting

    In addition to these formal meetings, the Alliance coordinators from both groups maintained regular contact throughout the reporting period to monitor the Alliance's progress and results.

  3. Results

    1. Events and Products

      Training and Education Goal

      • Provide expertise to develop training and education programs for window cleaning contractors and workers, including low literacy and limited English speaking workers, regarding the recognition and prevention of workplace accidents due to slips, trips and falls, working from heights, and the use of specialized window cleaning and high-rise access equipment, and provide expertise in communicating such information to employers and workers in the industry.

        During the reporting period, the OSHA and IWCA Alliance Implementation Team have not completed work on programs or projects to address this goal.

      Outreach and Communication Goals

      • Provide expertise in developing information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards, and provide expertise in developing ways of communicating such information in English, Spanish, and/or other languages (e.g., print and electronic media, electronic assistance tools and OSHA's and the IWCA's Web sites) to employers and workers in the industry.

      Products

      OIWCA and OSHA Alliance-Related Web Page

      IWCA maintains and updates the IWCA and OSHA Alliance Web page on its Web site. Information includes links to the Alliance agreement and OSHA's electronic assistance tools.

      OSHA and IWCA Alliance Web Page

      OSHA maintains and updates the OSHA and IWCA Alliance Web page on the Agency Web site. The page includes links to OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages, the Alliance's agreement and information on Alliance activities and events.

      Publications and Newsletters

      IWCA includes several OSHA-related articles and events in its electronic newsletter, The View and in its industry publication, The Professional Window Cleaner. The articles provide IWCA members with workplace safety and health information.

      OSHA Safety and Health Topics page

      IWCA representatives serve on the editorial boards of the following OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages, providing OSHA with their expertise and technical review:

      • Fall Protection
        • Coby Powell, President, Red Rock Window Cleaning, Las Vegas, NV
      • General Cleaning Industry
        • Matt Pierce, General Manager, Fish Window Cleaning, Woburn, MA
      • Speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA's or the IWCA's conferences, local meetings or other industry events such as the Building Owners and Management annual convention and the International Facility Management Association annual conference.

      Events

      International Window Cleaning Association (IWCA) Annual Convention and Trade Show, February 16-19, 2011, St. Pete Beach, Florida.

      Joan Spencer, Compliance Assistance Specialist, Region IV, Tampa, Florida Area Office, USDOL-OSHA, gave a presentation entitled "How to Successfully Prepare for an OSHA Inspection" to 50 industry workers, contractors, and safety and health professionals on February 17, 2011.

      2010 BOMA International Conference, June 27-29, 2010, Long Beach, California.

      IWCA disseminated information on OSHA and the Alliance program to attendees during the BOMA conference.

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

        During the reporting period, the OSHA and IWCA Alliance Implementation Team have not completed work on programs or projects to address this goal.

      Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health

      • Convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions, or stakeholder meetings on window cleaning industry safety to discuss safety and health issues and to help forge innovative solutions in the workplace.

      Events

      OSHA Alliance Program Construction Roundtable Meeting, Department of Labor, July 29, 2010, Washington, DC

      On July 29, 2010, a representative from International Window Cleaning Association participated in the OSHA Alliance Program Construction Roundtable meeting in Washington, D.C. During the meeting, Alliance Program participants received OSHA updates, discussed products developed through the Roundtable, including the next series of draft Construction Workplace Design Solutions, and identified potential projects and compliance assistance resources to help address safety and health hazards in the construction industry.

      2011 North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week, May 1-7, 2011, Washington, DC.

      The International Window Cleaning Association and a number of other Alliance Program participants supported 2011 NAOSH Week. Sponsored annually by the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), an Alliance Program participant, and the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering, the Week focuses on the importance of preventing injuries and illnesses in the workplace. The theme for 2011 was "Celebrating a Century of Safety."

      To help support the event, IWCA disseminated information about 2011 NAOSH Week to their membership and linked the IWCA Alliance Web page to the 2011 NAOSH Web page on the ASSE Website.

    2. Executive Summary

      During the OSHA and IWCA Alliance's first year, the organizations established a productive working relationship. For example, IWCA representatives are sharing their expertise with OSHA through participation in reviewing OSHA's electronic assistance tools. IWCA members are serving on editorial boards for Fall Protection and the General Cleaning Industry Safety and Health Topics pages.

      In addition, Joan Spencer, Compliance Assistance Specialist, Region IV, Tampa, Florida Area Office, USDOL-OSHA, gave a presentation entitled "How to Successfully Prepare for an OSHA Inspection" during their annual convention and trade show.

      Finally, as part of their outreach, IWCA supported and promoted the 2011 NAOSH Week by adding information about the event on the IWCA Web site and in distributing information to their members.

    3. Alliance Program Reach

      Type of Activity
      (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.)

      Number of Individuals
      Reached or Trained
      OSHA and IWCA Alliance Web Page on OSHA Website

      Data Not Available
      IWCA and OSHA Alliance Web Page on the IWCA Website

      616
      OSHA Fall Protection Safety and Health Topics Page

      97,872
      OSHA General Cleaning Industry Safety and Health Topics Page

      Data Not Available

      February 17, 2011: International Window Cleaning Association Annual Convention and Trade Show, St. Pete Beach, Florida

       

      Speaker: Joan Spencer, Compliance Assistance Specialist, Region IV, Tampa, Florida Area Office, USDOL-OSHA, gave a presentation entitled "How to Successfully Prepare for an OSHA Inspection."

      50
      April 2011: "Educating OSHA on RDS," The Professional Window Cleaner.

      2,500
      July 2010 Edition: "IWCA Participates in OSHA Alliance Construction Roundtable," The View.

      920
      July 18, 2010; "Local business owner witnesses OSHA and IWCA alliance," Northern Kentucky News.

      Data Not Available
      June 2010 Edition: "IWCA Forms Alliance with OSHA to Promote Safety," The View.

      920
      June 2010: "OSHA and IWCA Team Up to Increase Workplace Safety," The Professional Window Cleaner.

      2,500

      Total

      105,378

  4. Upcoming Milestones

    Over the next year, OSHA and IWCA will continue work together to provide IWCA's members and others with guidance and access to information and training resources that will focus on reducing and preventing exposure to slip, trip and fall, and falls from height hazards, and issues related to the use of high-reach access equipment including ladders and scaffolding equipment. The OSHA and IWCA Alliance Implementation Team members will finalize and implement a training program on water-fed poles, develop a fact sheet on the equipment, and will add the resources to the IWCA and OSHA Alliance-related Web page on the IWCA Web site. OSHA will then link the resources to the OSHA and IWCA Web page, the Alliance Program Participants Developed Products Web page, and other appropriate locations on the Agency Web site.

    IWCA will continue to provide their expertise to OSHA in serving on the editorial boards for the OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages dealing with Fall Protection and the General Cleaning Industry. IWCA will also invite OSHA to exhibit and speak at the annual International Window Cleaning Convention.

    Finally, IWCA representatives will be joining with other Alliance Program participants to support 2012 North American Occupational Safety and Health Week and participating in the Alliance Program Construction Roundtables.

    Report prepared by: Morgan Seuberling, Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, June 17, 2011.