Region 3 - Alliance Annual Report - March 25, 2013


ANNUAL ALLIANCE REPORT
Philadelphia Area Office
Philadelphia Area Office ~ American Mushroom Institute
March 25, 2013

  1. Alliance Background

    Date Signed: September 28, 2007

    Date Renewed: February 16, 2012

    Alliance Overview:

    The AMI/OSHA Alliance goal is to develop and provide training and education programs for the mushroom growing industry to prevent falls and amputations, and to reduce or eliminate chemical, electrical and physical hazards. Other goals include the development and implementation of effective safety and health programs and providing expertise in communicating safety and health information to employers and employees. The Alliance continued to be productive and successful in the fifth year of the agreement.

    Evaluation Period: February 11, 2013 – March 25, 2014

    Implementation Team Members

    Committee Members:

    • Eugene Richard – AMI/MFPA
    • Chris Alonzo – Pietro Industries
    • Randy Hertzler – Giorgi/Gaspari Mushroom
    • Mary Gonzalez – Giorgio Foods*
    • Guy Braxton – Giorgi Mushroom Co
    • James Howard – Country Fresh Mushroom
    • Linda Messer – Country Fresh Mushroom
    • Rick Wright – To-Jo Mushrooms
    • Russ Kilmer – To-Jo Mushroom
    • Peter Gray – Phillips Mushroom Farm
    • Todd Cullen – Phillips Mushroom Farm*
    • Daniel Beltran – Masda Mushrooms
    • Jose Daniel Beltran – Masda Mushroom
    • Saloman Ortiz – S & P Conveyors Inc.
    • Rosa Ortiz – S&P Conveyors*
    • Joanne Osborne – S & P Conveyors, Inc.
    • Kara Oliver – Kaolin Mushrooms*
    • Jerry Yeatman – C. P. Yeatman & Son
    • Erin Klotzbach – C.P Yeatman & Son
    • Meghan Klozbach – CP Yeatman & Son
    • Fred Rucchiuti – Basciani Foods
    • Cindy Hindman – Kennett Square Spec.
    • Gus Carozzo – Mushroom Spawning/Casing
    • James Touey – OSHA
    • Tara Cote – Pietro Industries
    • Chris Buckley – Giorgi Fresh
    • Bill Barber – Giorgi Mushroom
    • John Hilliard – Securus
    • David Sampson – Country Fresh
    • Monica Rocha – Country Fresh Mushroom
    • Jesus Juarez Jr. – Modern Mushroom
    • Sam Wilson – Needhams Mushroom Farm
    • Bill Green – Phillips Mushroom Farm
    • Tyler Blackwell – C.J. Mushroom Co
    • Carmen Davile – Masda Mushrooms*
    • Dee Hughes – Sunny Dell Foods**
    • Joanne Osborne – S & P Conveyors Inc
    • Leanna Verget – Oakshire Mushroom Farm
    • Anita Swayne – Swayne's Inc.
    • Richard Rush – Kaolin Mushroom
    • Viviana Cordero – CP Yeatman & Sons
    • Meghan Davila – C.P. Yeatman & Sons
    • Robert Cantarera – John C. Leo & Son
    • Luke Dowell – Basciani Foods
    • David Bottomley – Kennett Square Spec.
    • Chris Lafferty – Mushroom Spawning

     

    Contributors:

    • Albert D'Imperio – Area Director, OSHA Philadelphia Area Office
    • Laura Phelps – President AMI
    • Sara Manning – Mushroom News
    • Isabel DeOliveira- Compliance Assistance Specialist -OSHA Region III
    • Karen Eichman – Karen Eichman Esq. PLLC
    • Maria Gorgo-Gourovitch – Penn State Extension
    • Katie Poppiti – Chester County Penn State Extension
    • Jodi Gauker – Chester County Industrial Development

     

    • * New Company Representative
    • ** New Company
  2. Implementation Team Meetings

    Implementation Meetings held at the American Mushroom Institute facility located in Avondale (Kennett Square), PA.

    Alliance Implementation Team Meeting was conducted on November 17, 2011. Topics of this meeting included OSHA's Top Ten most Frequently Cited Standards as well as OSHA Heat Stress Enforcement Activities. An OSHA training session on respirators was conducted on this date. (21 representatives were in attendance)

    Alliance Implementation Team Meeting was conducted (via conference call) on January 5, 2012. Topics of this meeting included OSHA Injury/Illness Recordkeeping requirements and upcoming changes to the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (GHS). Discussions were also conducted concerning renewing the Alliance for an additional two years. (19 representatives were in attendance)

    February 16, 2012, Alliance Renewal Agreement re-signed extending the agreement an additional two years (February 16, 2014)

    Alliance Implementation Team Meeting was conducted on June 28, 2012. Topics of this meeting included a five year review of OSHA enforcement activity and resulting citations issued in the Mushroom Growing Industry as well as promoting the development of individual company Heat Stress Programs. A representative of Penn State University's Agriculture Safety also attended this meeting. (18 representatives were in attendance)

    Alliance Implementation Team Meeting conducted on September 20, 2012. Topics of this meeting included the upcoming AMI's sponsored Lock-Out/Tag-Out (LOTO) training for front line supervisors. The group also discussed scheduling additional electrical training for the implementation team members. (19 representative were in attendance)

    In addition to the above noted Alliance Implementation Meetings attended by the Philadelphia Area Office Compliance Assistance Specialist, the AMI conducts monthly meetings where the on-going Alliance activities are monitored and moved forward.

  3. Activities and Products

    Evaluation Period: October 28, 2011 through February 15, 2013.

    Events and Products

    • Training and Education

      November 17, 2011- American Mushroom Institute - Alliance Meeting and Training Session- Regional Compliance Assistance Specialist Isabel DeOliveira provided a one hour training session on Respirator Programs. (21 in attendees)

      October 18, 2012 - American Mushroom Institute Alliance – OSHA's Philadelphia Area Office Compliance Assistance Specialist provided a general Electrical Hazard Awareness Training Session. (19 in attendance)

      November 1, 2012 – AMI "Lock-Out Tag-Out (LOTO) Train the Trainer Course" was provided for nineteen AMI Membership companies. The focus of the training was on the: Why, Where, When and How to implement lock out tag out, various types of LOTO equipment available and identifying individuals in each company who must be trained. The training was provided by the AMI Subcommittee for LOTO. (50 employees in attendance)

    • Outreach and Communication

      May 24, 2012 - American Mushroom Institute Alliance General Meeting- the AMI/OSHA Alliance conducted their Fourth Alliance General Meeting "Break-out Session". Sixty representatives from thirty-six Mushroom Industry employers were represented at the meeting. Topics for the full day event included; a Review of the Mushroom Industry Specific Sample Powered Industrial Truck Program (Eugene Richards AMI), a review of the Mushroom Industry Specific Sample Emergency Action Plan (Guy Braxton Giorgi Mushroom Company), and How Should I Fill Out the OSHA 300 Log and 300A Survey Form and Case Management of an Injured Employee (John Hillard, Securus, Russ Kilmer, To-Jo Mushroom, Chris Buckley Giorgi Fresh, and Iris Ayala Kaolin Mushroom Farms

      In the most recent year, the Alliance finalized two additional "Mushroom Industry" specific sample safety programs covering Powered Industrial Trucks (forklift) and Emergency Action Plans. They also began developing additional Safety and Health Programs covering Respiratory Protection, Machine Guarding, Confined Space Entry and the new Hazard Communication 2012 (Global Harmonized System). The two newly released programs make a total of seven programs developed and disseminated to the member companies in the five years of the agreement. Other sample programs include; Developing a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA), Personal Protective Equipment, Pick Light Safety, Recordkeeping and Lock-Out/Tag-Out. Just recently the sample programs were posted on the American Mushroom Institute's website and are now available to the public at http://www.americanmushroom.org/ under the header "workplace safety".

      Communications between the AMI Alliance and OSHA continues throughout the year in the form of technical assistance and OSHA Updates that affect the mushroom growing industry. Topics discussed in the past year included Global Harmonized System (GHS), LOTO, OSHA's Multi-Employer Worksite Policy, Emergency Evacuation Plans, Heat Stress, Powered Industrial Truck Safety, and Recordkeeping,

    • Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health

      OSHA Region III Latino Summit, Seaford DE June 10, 2012- American Mushroom Institute Alliance Team Member Guy Braxton (Giorgi Mushroom Company) was a guest presenter at OSHA Regional Latino Summit held in Seaford DE. The presentation "Safety in the Poultry Processing Industry" was attended by 20 participants.

      From October 2011 to February 2013 (seven) additional articles were published by the Alliance members in the American Mushroom Institute's National Monthly Magazine "Mushroom News". These seven articles were added to the twelve prior Alliance related articles printed since the initiation of the Cooperative Agreement. These articles can also be found at the AMI's website.

  4. Results

    The Alliance continued to have success in the fifth year of the agreement. The implementation team has continued to grow in the past year adding members representing several new companies. As was with the first five years of the agreement, the Alliance group has continued to voluntarily provide individual company injury/illness data. This statistical information, which has allowed the localized industry to share in their trends, has shown to be consistent from year to year and more statistically reliable for use. The continued gathering of this information will develop a measurable base-line for the industry employers to be compared to in future years. The Alliance group has developed several "Mushroom Industry" specific sample safety programs which have been disseminated amongst their member companies. The group recently began a relationship with the Chester County Economic Development Council. This "Partnership" relationship was forged with the intent to develop training programs geared towards AMI membership company employees covering both "workplace safety" as well as other industry topics. The workplace safety portion of this partnership training focuses on training and certifying 500 employees in the areas of: Powered Industrial Truck (Fork Lift and Electric Jack), Electrical Hazard Identification, On Site Hazard Identification and Supervisor Training.

    Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
    AMI Implementation Team Meetings (4) 77
    AMI Alliance Group Training Session – Train the Trainer Lock Out Tag Out (LOTO) 50
    AMI Alliance Implementation Team Training Session – Electrical Safety 21
    AMI Alliance Implementation Team Training Session – Respirator Programs 17
    Alliance General Meeting "Break-out Session" 60
    OSHA Region III Latino Summit – Safety in the Poultry Processing Industry 20
    TOTAL: 9 245

    The work of the group also has a major impact on the Mushroom industries' Hispanic Workforce. It is estimated that 90% of the estimated 12,000 employee workforce in this industry are Hispanic.

  5. Upcoming Milestones

    The focus of the Alliance's sixth year is the continuation of the development of sample safety programs for the Mushroom Industry. In the last year the group has developed or is in the process of developing and releasing six additional programs. The Alliance also intends to develop a case study on injury and illness trends in the Mushroom Growing Industry utilizing the previously gathered AMI Member statistical information voluntarily collected since the inception of the Alliance.

    The AMI Alliance will also continue to encourage individual industry employers to translate site specific safety programs into Spanish for their predominantly Latino workforce.

Report Prepared by: James Touey Region III Labor Liaison

For more information, contact the Office of Outreach Services and Alliances at 202-693-2340 or go to www.osha.gov.