ANNUAL ALLIANCE REPORT
ALLENTOWN AREA OFFICE
LEHIGH SAFETY COMMITTEE
A CONSORTIUM OF THE
LEHIGH VALLEY AREA LABOR-MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
AMERICAN RED CROSS OF THE GREATER LEHGH VALLEY
NORTHAMPTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
December 13, 2011

1. Alliance Background
   
   Date Signed:
   
   December 15, 2009
   
   Date Renewed:
   
   December 12, 2011
   
   Alliance Overview:
   
   The Lehigh Valley Labor Management Council is an organization of business, labor and community leaders formed to improve relations between labor and management resulting in a positive image, economic growth, and improved quality of life for unions, companies, and the communities served in and around the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. The United States Department of Labor - Occupational Safety and Health Administration (USDOL/OSHA) alliance provides members and others with information, training, guidance and access to OSHA resources that will help them reduce the potential for workplace injury and illness.
   
   Implementation Team Members
   
   Tyrone Reed, Alvin H. Butz
   Mike Tirrell, Lehigh Valley Area Labor Management Council
   Timothy Duncan, City of Allentown
   Jennifer Castellano, American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley
   Karl Buesgen, Jr., Orlando Diefenderfer Electrical Contractor
   Lee Cunningham, West Side-Hammer Electric
   Scott Parker, Brandenburg Industrial Service Company
   Andrew Kubick, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local No. 375
   Jacque Creamer, Jr., Pennsylvania Power Light (PPL) Corporation
   Thomas Barnowski, Northampton Community College (NCC)
   Judith Rex, Northampton Community College
   Robert Millet, Pennsylvania (PA) Department of Labor and Industry, Bureau of Mediation
   Cynthia J. Mellen, PA/OSHA Consultation Program at Indiana University of PA
   Scott G. Shimandle, USDOL/OSHA Allentown Area Office
   Richard M. Fetzer, United States – Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)


2. Implementation Team Meetings
    

   January 10, 2011	Safety Alliance Committee meeting at American Red Cross (Bethlehem, PA)
   February 14, 2011	Safety Alliance Committee meeting at Northampton Community College (NCC) – Fowler Center (Bethlehem, PA)
   March 14, 2011	Safety Alliance Committee meeting at PPL Walbert Training Center (Allentown, PA)
   April 5, 2011	Safety Alliance Committee meeting at NCC – Fowler Center (Bethlehem, PA)
   May 2, 2011	Safety Alliance Committee meeting at NCC – Fowler Center
   June 6, 2011	Safety Alliance Committee meeting at NCC – Fowler Center
   July 6, 2011	Safety Alliance Committee meeting at PPL Walbert Training Center
   August 8, 2011	Safety Alliance Committee meeting at NCC – Fowler Center
   Sept. 19, 2011	Safety Alliance Committee meeting at NCC – Fowler Center
   Oct. 17, 2011	Safety Alliance Committee meeting at Alvin H. Butz, Inc. (Allentown, PA)
   Nov. 21, 2011	Safety Alliance Committee meeting at Alvin H. Butz, Inc.
   Dec. 12, 2011	Safety Alliance Committee meeting at NCC – Fowler Center



3. Activites and Products
   
   Evaluation Period
   
   December 14, 2010 through December 12, 2011.
   
   Alliance Activity
    
   • Training and Education
     
     1. February 15, 2011 -“Safety Committee Survival in a Down Economy – Best Practices for Maintaining a Safe Workplace with a Limited Budget” was a series of three presentations. The first speaker was Kevin Vrablic, MD, of HealthWorks - Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, who presented information on the various types of injuries and illnesses that have been experienced within the Lehigh Valley area of the last few years. The second speaker was Andrew Gruber, who is a Senior Safety Consultant for The Graham Company. His presentation focused on “Safety Leadership Training for Safety Committee Members” and the critical success factors for an effective safety committee. The final presenter was, Jean E. Davis, Loss Control Supervisor for Selective Insurance. Her presentation was a Safety Management Success Story” in which she provided the attendees with solutions that were developed by a client’s safety committee and subsequently through their efforts how they aided in reducing their injury and illness severity factor and their worker compensation loss ratio.
     
     2. March 8, 2011- “Construction Safety - The Need to be Safety Minded”. This outreach activity was a discussion presented by the Allentown Area Office Compliance Assistance Specialist at the Bethlehem Arts Quest Center and focused on some of the local fatal accidents within the Lehigh Valley Area.
     
     3. May 18, 2011 – “Personal Protective Equipment Workshop” was a day long event, which included numerous presentations on various topics including regulatory awareness, best practices with personal protective equipment (PPE), and effective PPE usage. The day also featured several vendor demonstrations and the opportunity for networking with many equipment vendors.
     
     4. September 20, 2011 – “Workplace Injuries and the Value of Wellness Programs”. This outreach event was another series of several presenters, including Kevin Vrablik, MD, of HealthWorks - Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, who returned to continue his previous discussion on how occupational injuries have had an affect on the injured employee, their families and their employer. We then had two informal presentations – open discussions – on the “Value of Wellness Programs”. The first discussion was lead by a representative of the City of Allentown, who shared her efforts with a Wellness Campaign for city employees and the success of their efforts. The second discussion was lead by a representative from the Allentown Health Bureau, who shared that employers need to look beyond the “typical” wellness programs (e.g. weight loss programs and smoking cessation programs) and to find ways to engage employees in open dialog about workplace or home issues that may have an impact on their well being (mental well being), and that by opening up the opportunity for employees to share ideas, thoughts, or concerns, the employees may be willing to initiate workplace programs that address their personal issues, thus getting more employees involved in their own safety – even if it for personal/selfish reasons.
   
   
   • Outreach and Communication
     
     See comments above for Training and Education
   
   
   • Promoting the National Dialogue on Safety and Health
     
     No national events held during this time frame. However, it should be noted that Northampton Community College (NCC) continues to post information on the OSHA Alliance and each of the upcoming free events on their website at www.northampton.edu. Through the Community Colleges Center for Business & Industry – Public Safety & Emergency Services – Corporate Safety, an independent page has been established for the Lehigh Valley Safety Alliance. All businesses and individuals who attend (or attended) NCC courses within the Corporate Safety Program are provided frequent updates to promote the events not only within the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, but also globally.
     
     Additionally, many of the members and attendees are affiliated with various other professional and business organizations, and pass these events along to their contacts. Associations include but are not limited to: the American Society of Safety Engineers, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, Home Builders Associations, National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Worker Unions, Local Nos. 375 and 1600.
     
     Finally, in the scope of national promotion of safety and health it should be noted that many of the vendors who attended and participated in the September 20, 2011 - Personal Protective Equipment Workshop, were from companies that sell their products and services not only nationally, but also internationally, as well. Comments that were received from the vendors were very positive and many received contacts for potential services and equipment.
   
   
    
   Alliance Products.
    
   • Training and Education
   • Outreach and Communication
   • Promoting the National Dialogue on Safety and Health
   
   
   The only products developed during this evaluation period were numerous PowerPoint presentations that were developed by each of the presenters, as well as flyers which were used to announce/register for these events. At this time, these presentations have not yet been made available on a national level, unless an attendee or presenter either copied or shared their information with others – this information has not been requested or tracked.


4. Results
   
   A. The table below lists each of the outreach activities and the number of individuals reached during the reporting period.
   
   NOTE: The table below does not include the many meetings held over the last year and the numerous participants that benefitted from the varied safety and health discussions at each of the meetings (listed above in Section II – Implementation Team Meetings/Activities).
    

   Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.)	Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
   Safety Committee in a Down Economy	47
   Construction  Safety – The Need to be Safety Minded	65
   Personal Protective Equipment Workshop	150
   Workplace Injuries and Wellness Programs	16
   TOTAL	278

5. Upcoming Milestones
   
   The Lehigh Valley Safety Committee is currently working on its 4th Safety Expo event. This event will again be held at DeSales University, located in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, and is scheduled to be held on May 15, 2012. Current plans are to consist of three different “tracks” for the attendees to select from including: (1) Pennsylvania Certification Training for Safety Committees, which will include an application workshop, safety committee operation and function training, hazard identification and accident investigation sessions; (2) Pre-Planning for Safety, which may include such topics as job site pre-construction meetings and contractor bid reviews, contractor safety and health program assessment, job site inspections, and the development and use of job safety analysis’; and the final “track” (3) will focus on Work and Life Initiatives – Wellness Programs. This cluster of sessions may include such topics as first-aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation for the non-designated responder (for work or home), bloodborne pathogen, fire extinguisher use, and stress management.
   
   Report Prepared by: Scott G. Shimandle, CAS Allentown Area Office
   
   For more information, contact the Office of Outreach Services and Alliances at 202-693-2340 or go to www.osha.gov.