AGREEMENT RENEWING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
AND
THE WASHINGTON GROUP INTERNATIONAL

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Washington Group International recognize the value of continuing a collaborative relationship to foster safer and more healthful American workplaces. OSHA and the Washington Group International, therefore, agree to renew the Alliance, signed on December 19, 2002 and renewed on December 19, 2003, to use their collective expertise to help advance a culture of accident prevention while sharing information, guidance, best practices, access to training resources and technical knowledge that will help protect employees' safety and health. In particular, the Alliance focuses on, but is not limited to, the areas of cranes and rigging, hearing protection and ergonomics within the engineering and construction industry. In renewing this Alliance, OSHA and the Washington Group recognize that OSHA's State Plan and Consultation Project partners are an integral part of the OSHA national effort.

OSHA and the Washington Group International will work together to achieve the following training and education goal:

• Work with OSHA to provide expertise to develop training and education programs on specific construction industry safety and health issues and provide expertise in communicating such information to employers and employees in the industry.

OSHA and the Washington Group International will work together to achieve the following 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 Washington Group International's Web sites) to employers and employees in the industry.

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

• Promote and encourage the Washington Group to participate in OSHA's cooperative programs such as compliance assistance, the Voluntary Protection Program, Consultation and its Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program.

OSHA and the Washington Group International will work together to achieve the following goals related to promoting the national dialogue on workplace safety and health:

• Develop and disseminate case studies illustrating the business value of safety and health and publicize their results.

• Convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions, or stakeholder meetings on engineering and construction industry issues to help forge innovative solutions in the workplace or to provide input on safety and health issues.

OSHA's Alliances provide parties an opportunity to participate in a voluntary cooperative relationship with OSHA for purposes such as training and education, outreach and communication, and promoting a national dialogue on workplace safety and health. These Alliances have proved to be valuable tools for both OSHA and its Alliance participants. By entering into an Alliance with a party, OSHA is not endorsing any of that party's products or services; nor does the Agency enter into an Alliance with the purpose of promoting a particular party's products or services.

An implementation team made up of representatives of both organizations will continue to meet to develop a plan of action, determine working procedures, and identify the roles and responsibilities of the participants. In addition, they will meet at least three times per year to track and share information on activities and results in achieving the goals of the Alliance. Team members will include representatives of OSHA's Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs and the Directorate of Construction and any other appropriate offices. OSHA will encourage State Plan States' and OSHA Consultation Projects' participation on the team.

This agreement will remain in effect for two years. Either signatory may terminate it for any reason at any time, provided they give 30 days written notice. This agreement may be modified at any time with the concurrence of both signatories.