AGREEMENT RENEWING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
SIOUX FALLS AREA OFFICE
AND
AGC OF SOUTH DAKOTA

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of South Dakota continue to recognize the value of maintaining a collaborative relationship to foster safety and health practices and programs to improve American workplaces. To that end, OSHA and the AGC of South Dakota hereby renew the alliance signed March 16, 2022 with a continued emphasis on providing employers and employees working in construction in South Dakota with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect workers by reducing and preventing exposure to hazards related to trenching activities, falls, heat exposure, and silica, and to understand the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). Through the Alliance, the organizations will continue to address construction industry hazards including electrocution, falls, struck-by as well as caught-by hazards.

This agreement provides a framework and objectives for the Alliance’s activities. Alliance participants also agree to meet the requirements for program participation laid out in the “Fundamental Requirements for OSHA Alliance Program Participants” and the “Guidelines for OSHA’s Alliance Program Participants: Alliance Products and Other Alliance Projects.”

Through the Alliance, the organizations will use relevant injury, illness, and hazard exposure data, when appropriate, to help identify areas of emphasis for Alliance awareness, outreach, and communication activities. The Alliance will also explore and implement selected options, including but not limited to member surveys, to evaluate the Alliance and measure the impact on improving workplace safety and health. In renewing this Alliance, OSHA and AGC recognize that OSHA’s State Plan and On-Site Consultation Program partners are an integral part of the OSHA national effort, and that information about the products and activities of the Alliance may be shared with these partners for the advancement of common goals.

Raising Awareness: Outreach and Communication

The Participants intend to work together to achieve the following objectives:

• Share information on OSHA’s National/Regional/Local Initiatives (Emphasis Programs, Regulatory Agenda, Outreach), and provide opportunities to participate in initiatives and the rulemaking process by information sharing on public comment timelines.

• Share information on occupational safety and health laws and standards, including the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers particularly through discussions and participation with the AGC of South Dakota Safety Committee.

• Develop information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards and communicate such information in conjunction with the annual trench stand down as well as the annual fall prevention stand down.

• Speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA and AGC conferences, local meetings, or other events.

• Share information related to respirable silica through training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures (or any other applicable forum).

• Encourage worker participation in workplace safety and health through participation in the annual fall prevention and trench safety stand downs.

• Share information, and educate AGC membership and their employees, on OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention Campaign.

• Encourage AGC and their membership to build relationships with OSHA’s Regional and Area Offices as well as SDSU Engineering/OSHA Consultation to address health and safety issues, including trenching and fall safety.

Training and Education

The Participants intend to work together to achieve the following objectives:

• Develop effective training and education programs for the construction industry in South Dakota regarding trenching and fall safety and to communicate such information to constituent employers and workers.

• Deliver or arrange for the delivery of courses related to falls, trenches, silica, and heat awareness.

• Develop effective training and education programs for construction workers to promote understanding of workers’ rights, including the use of the OSHA complaint process, and the responsibilities of employers and to communicate such information to workers and employers.

OSHA's Alliances provide organizations an opportunity to participate in a voluntary cooperative relationship with OSHA for purposes such as raising awareness of OSHA's initiatives, outreach, communication, training, and education. These Alliances have proved to be valuable tools for both OSHA and Alliance participants. By entering into an Alliance with an organization, OSHA is not endorsing or promoting, nor does it intend to endorse or promote, any of that organization's products or services.

An implementation team made up of representatives of each organization will meet one to two times per year to discuss the responsibilities of the participants, to share information on activities, and to track results in achieving the goals of the Alliance. OSHA team members will include representatives of the Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs and any other appropriate offices. OSHA will encourage OSHA On-Site Consultation programs’ participation on the team.

This agreement will remain in effect for three years. Any signatory may terminate this agreement for any reason at any time, provided they give 30 days' written notice. This agreement may be modified at any time with the written concurrence of all signatories.

Signed this 24^th day of Aril, 2024.