ANNUAL ALLIANCE REPORT
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the
Sealant Waterproofing and Restoration Institute (SWRInstitute)
March 15, 2011

I. Alliance Background

Date Signed

February 20, 2003

Dates Renewed

July 21, 2005
July 11, 2007
July 6, 2009

Evaluation Period

February 20, 2010 – February 19, 2011

Overview

The OSHA and SWRInstitute Alliance focuses on providing SWRInstitute members and others in the sealant, waterproofing, and restoration industry, including small businesses, with information and guidance that will help them protect employees' health and safety. Through the Alliance, the organizations are addressing workplace issues such as confined spaces, falls, lead and silica hazards and staging requirements.

Implementation Team Members

OSHA:

Dean McKenzie, Office of Construction Services, Directorate of Construction
Morgan Seuberling, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs (DCSP)
*Mandi Garner, Office of Small Business Assistance (OSBA), DCSP
Nicholas Grzegozewski, OSBA, DCSP

SWRInstitute:

Dan Bagley, Otto Baum Company; Contractor, SWRInstitute
Dan Cain, The George D. Alan Company; President, SWRInstitute
Dave Grady, Tri-State High Rise Services; Chairperson, Safety Committee, SWRInstitute
Deb Nemec, Associate Director, SWRInstitute
Doug DeSilvio, The George D. Alan Company; Worker Representative, SWRInstitute
Erin Jurado, Membership Director, SWRInstitute
Raymond Fornicola, Valcourt Exterior Building Services; Worker Representative, SWRInstitute
Jeremy Davis, Tri-State High Rise Services; Worker Representative, SWRInstitute
Miguel Robles, The George D. Alan Company; Worker Representative, SWRInstitute
Rick Heckel Structural Preservation Systems; Contractor Director, SWRInstitute
Ron Pilla, Valcourt Building Services; President-Elect, SWRInstitute

*Nicholas Grzegozewski replaced Mandi Garner as OSBA's representative on the Alliance on October 30, 2010.

II. Implementation Team Meetings

June 3, 2010 - Implementation Team Meeting
November 23, 2010 - Implementation Team Meeting

III. Results

A. Products and events

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 SWRInstitute's Web sites) to employers and employees in the industry.



• Products

  Spanish-Translated SWRInstitute Safety and Health Field Manual

  Through the OSHA and SWRInstitute Alliance, the SWRInstitute Safety and Health Field Manual was translated into Spanish and posted to the SWRInstitute Alliance Web page.

  OSHA and SWRInstitute Alliance Web page

  OSHA is continuing to update and maintain the OSHA and SWRInstitute Alliance Web page that is posted on the OSHA Web site. The page includes the OSHA and SWRInstitute Alliance agreement, renewal agreements, annual reports, news releases, information on activities and events, milestones and successes of the Alliance, and links to resources developed by SWRInstitute through the Alliance Program.

  SWRInstitute Web site

  SWRInstitute maintains an OSHA and SWRInstitute Alliance Web page on its Web site. The page has information on the OSHA and SWRInstitute Alliance and links to the OSHA Web site. In addition, the page features links to resources developed by SWRInstitute through the Alliance Program, including the SWRInstitute Safety and Health Manual, the SWRInstitute Safety and Health Field Manual in both English and Spanish, as well as links to resources developed through the Alliance Program Construction Roundtable including the Fall Hazard Awareness Course, Fall Protection Slide Presentation, and Ladder Safety Toolbox Talks.

  Publications and Newsletters

  Information on the OSHA and SWRInstitute Alliance activities, OSHA initiatives, and Agency compliance updates have appeared in Member BRIEFs, SWRInstitute's e-Newsletter.

  In addition, an article entitled "SWRInstitute Field Manual is Available to the Public" was written by Dan Cain, President, The George D. Alan Company, and published in the March 2010 edition of the Alliance Quarterly Review (AQR). The AQR article offers information on what is topics are included in the manual and how it helps to identify key hazards in the sealant, waterproofing and restoration industry. For more information on the articles and publications, please see the "Alliance Program Reach" table.

  OSHA Electronic Assistance Tools

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

  • Fall Protection
  • David Carter, Chapman Waterproofing Company, Inc. Boston, MA
  • Eric Johnson, Spray-O-Bond Company, Milwaukee, WI
  • Respiratory Protection
  • David Carter, Chapman Waterproofing Company, Inc. Boston, MA
  • Sealant, Waterproofing, and Restoration Industry
  • David Carter, Chapman Waterproofing Company, Inc. Boston, MA
  • Eric Johnson, Spray-O-Bond Company, Milwaukee, WI
  • Speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA's or SWRInstitute's conferences, local meetings, or other events, such as SWRInstitute's Annual or Fall Technical Meetings.

  Events

  SWRInstitute Fall Technical Meeting, October 10-12, 2010, Chicago, Illinois

  On October 12, 2010, Bill Coulehan, Compliance Assistance Specialist, Region V, Calumet City, Illinois Area Office, USDOL-OSHA, staffed an Alliance exhibition booth. In addition, SWRInstitute distributed products developed through the OSHA and SWRInstitute Alliance to approximately 200 safety and health professionals that attended the exhibit booth.



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



• Product

  Construction Workplace Design Solutions

  Through the Alliance Program Construction Roundtable, members of the SWRInstitute Alliance Implementation Team provided feedback on a series of Construction Workplace Design Solutions, which focus on design solutions to help prevent falls in the construction industry, including:

  • Falls From Roof Edge
  • Falls From Floor Openings
  • Falls From Non-Moving Vehicles
  • Roof Hatch Access and Hole Protection
  • Specify Non-Fragile Skylights and/or Skylight Guards
  • Specify Sufficient Wall Height to Allow Parapets to Function as Fall Prevention

  The products were finalized in May 2010 and posted to the Design for Construction Web site and linked to from the OSHA Alliance Program Construction Roundtable Web page on the OSHA Web site.

  Event

  OSHA Alliance Program Construction Roundtable, July 29, 2010 Washington, DC

  SWRInstitute representatives continue to share information during the Alliance Program's Construction Roundtables. On July 29, 2010, Ron Pilla, Vice President, Valcourt Building Services, gave a presentation on "SWRInstitute's Safety and Health Field Manual" to 22 construction-related Alliance attendees.

• Promote and encourage SWRInstitute 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.



• Product

  George D. Alan Works with OSHA to Promote Worker Safety and Health

  Through the OSHA and SWRInstitute Alliance, OSHA collaborated with The George D. Alan Company to highlight their continued progress with safety and health in an updated success story. Since completing work with the Texas On-Site Consultation program in 2007, which led to the development of a comprehensive Safety and Health Manual, the company has reduced Workers Compensation and experienced two years without a lost time incident. The updated success story has been posted on the On-Site Consultation Web page and linked to from the OSHA and SWRInstitute Alliance Web page.

  Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health Goal

• Convene or participate in forums, round table discussions, or stakeholder meetings on safety and health issues 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, representatives from SWRInstitute Alliance participated in the OSHA Alliance Program Construction Roundtable meeting in Washington, D.C. During the meeting, Alliance Program participants discussed products developed through the Roundtable, including the Construction Workplace Design Solutions, and identified potential projects and compliance assistance resources to help address safety and health hazards in the construction industry.

  OSHA Alliance Program Construction Roundtable Meeting, Department of Labor, February 17, 2011, Washington, DC

  On February 17, 2011, representatives from SWRInstitute Alliance participated in the OSHA Alliance Program Construction Roundtable meeting in Washington, D.C. During the meeting, Alliance Program participants discussed products developed through the Roundtable, including the Construction Workplace Design Solutions, and identified potential projects and compliance assistance resources to help address safety and health hazards in the construction industry.

  2010 North American Occupational Safety and Health Week, May 2-8, 2010, Washington, DC.

  The Sealant Waterproofing and Restoration Institute and a number of other Alliance Program participants supported 2010 NAOSH Week, Mission NAOSH 2010: Safe Workplaces. Sponsored annually by the American Society of Safety Engineers, 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.

  To help support the event, SWRInstitute disseminated information about 2010 NAOSH Week to it membership through publishing an article in the monthly e-newsletter, Member Briefs.

B. Executive Summary

Through the Alliance Program, OSHA and SWRInstitute are working together to address safety and health issues in the sealant, waterproofing and restoration industry. The positive relationship that SWRInstitute has developed over the past eight years has led to the development of many projects that the team is currently working on or has produced.

Through the Alliance Program, SWRInstitute translated and disseminated a Spanish edition of the SWRInstitute Safety and Health Field Manual. The translated Field Manual provides valuable information for Spanish workers as a reference tool to identify key hazards and OSHA requirements for issues associated with the sealant and waterproofing industry worksites, including competent person, aerial & scissor lift, excavation and trenching, fall protection, and respiratory protection. SWRInstitute posted the Spanish-version of the Safety and Health Field Manual on its Alliance Web site and OSHA linked to it on the OSHA Web pages.

In addition, OSHA staffed an Alliance Program exhibit booth during SWRInstitute's Fall Technical Meeting in Chicago, Illinois.

SWRInstitute representatives are also sharing their expertise with OSHA through participation on the editorial boards for three OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages, which includes Respiratory Protection and Fall Protection, and speaking opportunities at Alliance Program events. Additionally, during the July 29, 2010, Alliance Program Construction Roundtable, Ron Pilla gave a presentation on the SWRInstitute Safety and Health Manual.

Finally, as part of their outreach, SWRInstitute supported and promoted 2010 NAOSH Week by distributing information about the week to it membership through an article in the monthly e-newsletter, Member Briefs.

C. Alliance Program Reach

IV. Upcoming Milestones

The OSHA and SWRInstitute Alliance Implementation Team discussed a number of activities that will be undertaken in the upcoming year. Through the APCR, SWRInstitute will finalize the translating of Ladder Safety Tool Box Talks into Spanish; develop several toolbox talks focusing on fall protection, motor vehicle safety and hazard communication; and create information sheets or toolbox talks based on topics in the SWRInstitute Safety and Health Field Manual.

In addition, members of the SWRInstitute will continue to serve on OSHA's Sealant Waterproofing and Restoration Industry, Fall Protection and Respiratory Protection Safety and Health Topics pages editorial boards and will review and provide comments on the pages. SWRInstitute members will also attend meetings of the Alliance Program Construction Roundtable, when scheduled. Finally, SWRInstitute representatives will be joining with other Alliance Program participants to support 2011 North American Occupational Safety and Health Week, May 1-7, 2011, "NAOSH – Celebrating a Century of Safety."

Report prepared by: Morgan Seuberling, Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, March 15, 2011.