Region 1 - Alliance Annual Report - February 07, 2020

ALLIANCE ANNUAL REPORT
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
And the
Construction Safety Roundtable of Eastern Massachusetts (CSREM)
February 07, 2020

  1. Alliance Background

    1. Date Signed - Renewal

      September 12, 2017

    2. Evaluation Period

      September 01, 2018 – December 31, 2019

    3. Overview

      Brief summary of the purpose and scope of the Alliance – from the Alliance agreement.

      A continued emphasis on construction workplace safety and health by providing CSREM members and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect the health and safety of workers and understand the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH Act). Address current trends and improvements in construction safety and health technologies, exchange technical information and safe best practices, update roundtable members regarding OSHA-procedures and policy issues, and promote and encourage involvement and activities in OSHA safety stand-downs.

    4. Steering Committee Members

      Glenn Narrow –CSREM
      Nancy Hughes- CSREM
      Peter Barletta – OSHA CAS

      List OSHA members and titles/offices:

      James Mulligan – Area Director, Braintree Office
      Anthony Covello – Area Director, Andover Office

      List Alliance participant members and titles/offices:

      Kathy Flannery – MA Consultation Program
      Glenn Narrow – Alliance Chair Person CSREM
      Nancy Hughes – CSREM
      Greg Pender- CSREM
      Elizabeth A. Will – CSREM
      John J. Downey - CSREM

  2. Steering Committee Meetings

    • July 2018 and July 2019

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

  3. Results

    The following table summarizes the Alliance’s activities in support of the goals in the Alliance agreement.

    On December 10th, 2019
    Tim Irving, Assistant Regional Administrator for Cooperative and State Programs, OSHA presented his ever popular “Annual OSHA Update” and recap of the agency’s fiscal year enforcement and outreach results for FY 2019. The review covered the national, regional and local inspection and citation information as well as the regional information. Tim gave an update on how the success of local Alliances has had national implications. and how Region I’s effort to initiate the 24/7 Challenge where organizations “Don’t just ensure your workers go home safe – Make sure they come back to work healthy the next shift.

    On November 12th, 2019
    Douglas Drew, Loss Control Director, Acadia Insurance presented on Fleet Safety from an Insurance perspective. The professional development meeting topic was Fleet Safety. The last time we touched on this subject was January 2016. We all have some owned/leased/rental fleet exposure. Tim and Harry have arranged for two presenters to include: Brad Bartkowski, President, Orion Fleet Intelligence, Conshohocken, PA will present on advantages of using fleet telematics to improve your fleet safety program.

    October 8th, 2019
    An Overview of the NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Construction Workplace. We have two presenters to include: Michael Ziskin, Founder and President of Field Safety Corporation. Mikes presentation will provide an overview of the NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Construction Workplace and focus on safety-related work practices and the changes to the standard that appear in the most current 2018 edition of NFPA 70E. Chris Manos, Manager of Millbury facility of High Line Utility Supply. Chris will be present on the OSHA and ASTM standards requiring testing of rubber goods prior to their use.

    September 10th, 2019
    Marr Companies presented on the December 2019 ANSI A92 standards for aerial lifts and scissor lifts. Eric presented on how these updates will affect us and what we need to know to comply with this new standard. There are items in the 3 new suite of standards to be aware of whether you own, rent or lease the unit and operate or supervise these lifting machines.

    June 11th, 2019
    Part 1: A Rep from Boston-based Smartvid.io reviewed a new safety system that reduces risk by combining field observations from people and from AI. Local area software company Smartvid.io has been collaborating with New England area firms, including Suffolk, as it has been building a completely new software platform for company-wide safety risk management.

    Part 2 Jack Dennerlein, Northeastern University and Harvard School of Public Health, has conducted ten years of research in New England Commercial Construction Industry and presented on Construction Worker Safety, Health and Well-being. Their intervention studies have evaluated worksite programs that improved safety climate, reduced injuries, and improved worker health behaviors. In addition, they have evaluated pre-qualification programs used in the construction industry as well as examine factor affecting worker mental health and well-being. This research is building evidence-based approaches for best practices in the industry.

    May 14th, 2019
    T.J. Winick, Senior Vice President, Solomon McCown & Company. When crisis strikes, preparation is key to weathering the storm. Responding and communicating effectively is key to protecting your company’s reputation. From building a crisis plan ahead of groundbreaking to real-time response, what you need to know to successfully navigate the unexpected.

    April 09th, 2019
    "Initial evaluation and early management of soft tissue injuries.", and other ergonomic issues and pain management by Dr. John Burress. Peter Barletta presented on promoting the OSHA Fall Stand Down event encouraging contractors to participate and explaining type of events the contractor could sponsor. Merrill McGinnis from the Mass State Consultation Service explained the benefits of a free state consultation service.

    March 12th, 2019
    The following presentations were conducted by Bob Kuntz from Dimeo Cosntruction: A continuation of 29 CFR 1926.1427 Crane Operator Training, Certification and Evaluation, and a presentation discussing vacuum lifters, including without limitation Lessons learned from two dropped loads events. Custom made vacuum lifters Applicability of OSHA 29 CFR 1926.251 (a)(4) and ASME B30.20 Below-The-Hook Lifting Devices.

    February 12th, 2019
    Tim Irving from OSHA along with other experts in the field conducted presentation on increasing awareness of the Opioid Crisis in Construction.

    January 8th, 2019
    "This month’s speaker was Bob Kunz. Bob who presented on two subjects, including visual risk mitigation plans and provisions of OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1427 operator qualification and certification,

    Bob Kunz, Corporate Safety Director of Dimeo Construction Company during the first half of the meeting, talked about prevention by design and visual communication strategies. Over the past 27 years, they have seen an enormous amount of change in the industry. The most significant advancement was centered on communication. The ability to exchange ideas and information electronically through Skype, 360 degree cameras, visual mockups, Blue Beam, BIM, animations has created a tremendous opportunity for safety professionals to understand, anticipate, and develop visual risk mitigation plans.

    During the last half of our meeting there was an interactive group discussion regarding Subpart CC (Cranes in Construction). After several years of negotiated rulemaking, subpart CC, was codified in 2010 with an effective date of November 8, 2010. OSHA delayed the enforcement of the 1926.1427 until a consensus with the stake holders could be reached. A consensus was reached and the final rule was published on November 9, 2018. Further discussion will relate to the provisions of OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1427 crane operator qualification and certification, with the emphasis on employer evaluations, for example:

    • Who is the evaluator?
    • What must be documented?
    • How are tests administered?
    • What language?
    • What if an operated was employed prior to 12/10/18?"

    December 11th, 2018
    Joe Green, Compliance Assistance Specialist from the Andover Area Office discussed the new OSHA updated its National Emphasis Program (NEP) on Trenching and Excavation and how the Agency is supporting compliance assistance and inspection programs that address trenching and excavation operations. Daniel Kilburn, Engineering Supervisor, Massachusetts Division of Professional Licensure, Office of Public Safety and Inspections, Tewksbury, MA presented on MA Hoisting Regulations as a subject and more specifically to recent hoisting regulation changes since his last Roundtable presentation.

    November 13th, 2018
    Tim Irving from the OSHA Boston Regional office presented on his annual OSHA update, discussing the OSHA Top 10 most citation list for construction and general industry, most current OSHA and BLS injury and illness statistics, emphasis programs, and other new OSHA initiatives.

    October 09th, 2018
    MA Asbestos Regulations, from MA Department of labor Standards. They offered an enlightenment and very interesting topic presentation on asbestos abatement requirements.

    September 11th, 2018
    Paul Vigneau, Director - Division of Fire Safety, Department of Fire Services, Office of the State Fire Marshal. Paul introduced and discussed the new Commonwealth of Massachusetts codes and programs dealing with the Statewide Hot Works programs instituted on 1 Jan 2018.

  4. Evaluations

    The Alliance’s activities were again very popular and successful for this review period for 2018 and 2019. The actual CSREM meetings and presentations reached a total attendance of about 1200 people, discussing a variety of topics from promoting fall stand down activities, opioid crisis in construction, new crane operator evaluation requirements, fleet safety and transportation risks. discussing the new silica standard, improving management of safety programs on construction sites, to improved understanding of building fire safety codes, and trench safety. Over one hundred organizations participated in this year’s meetings from various subcontractor trades to general contractors working in the metro Boston area. All these technical meetings led to thousands of construction workers engaging in various stand downs and job site specific training tool box talks.

  5. Upcoming Milestones

    During our July 30, 2019 end of year Steering Committee meeting and follow up correspondence in September, CSREM and OSHA focused getting back to the safety basics with the high number of new younger safety professionals in the construction field. There will be a greater emphasis on discussing the OSHA Focus Four hazards. There will be continued emphasis on reducing fall hazards through involvement and activities with the fall stand down, and preventing trenching fatalities through the Trench Stand Down in June. There is a need to further reduce Struck- by hazards, which are now exceeding fall hazards as a leading cause of fatalities and injuries in Region 1. The opioid crisis along with suicide is another area that continuously needs to be addressed, causing more deaths in the construction industry each year.

    Report prepared by: Peter Barletta, Compliance Assistance Specialist, Braintree Office, February 11, 2020.

    Activity Types:

    • Alliance Product: Products (e.g., fact sheets, videos, toolbox talks) developed by Alliance participants as part of the Alliance. These are not OSHA products.
    • Dissemination: An Alliance participant sends OSHA information, Alliance products, or other safety and health information to its stakeholders. This includes information sent by email or social media (Facebook, Twitter), and information included in newsletters and other publications. It also includes hits on the Alliance participant’s or OSHA’s Web page.
    • Evaluation: Any efforts by the Alliance participant to evaluate the effectiveness of an Alliance activity or the Alliance as a whole.
    • Event: Participation in events such as the Construction Roundtable and NAOSH Week.
    • Exhibit: OSHA exhibits at events sponsored by the Alliance participant.
    • OSHA Product Review: Review of an OSHA product by an Alliance participant. For example, an Alliance participant may provide technical comments on an OSHA eTool or publication. The review itself is considered the Alliance activity.
    • Speech/Presentation: Speeches or presentation by OSHA staff at events sponsored by the Alliance participant.
    • Training: This includes best practice seminars or other training that Alliance participants provide for OSHA staff. It also includes training for workers/employers/others by Alliance participants.
    • Other: Use this if an activity does not fit into one of the other categories.

    OSHA Areas of Emphasis:

    • Agriculture
    • Asian American/Pacific Islander Workers
    • Construction
    • Ergonomics
    • Fall Prevention
    • Hazard Communication/Chemicals
    • Health Care
    • Heat Illness Prevention
    • Hispanic/Latino Workers
    • Maritime
    • Oil and Gas
    • Small Business
    • Temporary Workers
    • Transportation
    • Young Workers