AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BELLEVUE AREA OFFICE
AND
PUGET SOUND SHIPBUILDERS ASSOCIATION

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Bellevue Area Office, and the Puget Sound Shipbuilders Association, (PSSA) recognize the value of establishing a collaborative relationship to foster safer and more healthful American shipyards. Bellevue Area Office OSHA and PSSA therefore agree to form an Alliance to use their collective expertise to help foster a culture of prevention while sharing best practices and technical knowledge.

Bellevue Area Office OSHA and PSSA agree to establish an Alliance to promote safe and healthful working conditions for shipyard employees by:

• Providing PSSA members with information and guidance that will help them protect employees’ safety and health, particularly in reducing and preventing exposure to shipyard safety and health hazards.
   
• Increasing access to safety and health information and training resources.

Bellevue Area Office OSHA and PSSA will also work together to achieve the following training and education goals:

• Develop and implement training and education programs that can be used to improve shipyard safety and health programs. Training and education programs may be developed under the broad categories of: Training. Hazard Recognition, Management Systems and Health Hazards: Topics under the selected categories may include:
  
  Training
   
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Hazard Recognition
  • Fall Protection
  • Accident Investigation
  • Shipyard Competent Persons and Marine Chemists
  Management Systems
   
  • Employee Participation
  • Workplace Violence
  • Subcontractors
  Hazard Recognition
   
  • Fire Protection
  • Scaffolding
  • Slips, Trips and Falls
  • Housekeeping
  • Machine Guarding
  • Electrical
  • Welding/Cutting/Buming
  • Powered Industrial Vehicles, Materials Handling i.e. Slings. Cranes and Forklifts
  • Stuck-by Hazards
  Health Hazards
   
  • Painting
  • Blasting
  • Welding Fume
  • LeadlCadmium/Arsenic
  • Asbestos
  • Noise
  • Hexavalent Chromium

Should an PSSA member desire assistance on any topics listed above, the OSHA Bellevue Area Director will be contacted and assistance will be arranged. The compliance assistance provided will be negotiated by the Bellevue Area Office Area Director and the shipyard, and may include the presence of OSHA staff at the shipyard.

The PSSA and OSHA also believe the Alliance is an excellent method to improve the overall safety of shipyards, increase outreach and communication between OSHA and the shipyard industry, develop expertise of compliance officers and participate in the national dialogue on shipyard safety and health.

Bellevue Area Office OSHA and PSSA will work together to the extent possible to achieve the following outreach and communication goals:

• Invite OSHA personnel into their shipyards to observe best practice situations. Cross-train OSHA personnel and industry safety and health practitioners in PSSA’s best practices and/or effective approaches.
   
• Promote and encourage PSSA’s members’ participation in OSHA’s cooperative programs such as the Voluntary Protection Program, Consultation and SHARP. In addition, encourage PSSA members to act as mentors to PSSA members/work sites that aspire to excellence in safety and health.
   
• Seek opportunities to jointly develop and disseminate information at conferences, local meetings, events, or through print and electronic media, including links from OSHA’s Web site.

Bellevue Area Office OSHA and PSSA will work together to the extent possible to achieve the following goals related to promoting the national dialogue on workplace safety and health:

• Share information on best practices of PSSA members/worksites, as jointly determined by Bellevue Area Office OSHA and PSSA, with others in the industry through outreach by PSSA and through Bellevue Area Office OSHA on developed training programs and materials.
   
• Convene or participate in forums or roundtable discussions, on common safety hazards, to help forge innovative solutions.
   
• Provide OSHA with future topics for the OSHA Shipyard Safety and Health “eTool”.
   
• PSSA leadership will demonstrate commitment and increase safety awareness by including workplace safety and health in all public discussions.

An implementation team made up of representatives of both organizations will 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. OSHA will encourage State Plan States’ and OSHA Consultation Projects’ participation on the team.

This agreement will remain in effect for two years from the date of signing. Bellevue Area Office and the PSSA will meet prior to the expiration of this alliance to discuss accomplishments and if applicable, agree upon activities for the coming year. This agreement may be modified at anytime with the concurrence of both signatories and may be terminated for any reason with 30 days written notice from either signatory.