ANNUAL ALLIANCE REPORT
ALLENTOWN AREA OFFICE
LEHIGH VALLEY SAFETY COMMITTEE
A CONSORTIUM OF THE
NORTHAMPTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF SAFETY ENGINEERS – LEHIGH VALLEY CHAPTER
January 12, 2015

1. Alliance Background

   Date Signed: December 12, 2011

   Date Renewed: December 10, 2013

   Alliance Overview:

   The Lehigh Valley Safety Committee is a consortium of organizations including business, labor and community leaders, which was developed to enhance safety knowledge for labor, management, academia and government for those who work 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 (Principals)

   Thomas Barnowski

   Northampton Community College (NCC) - Chair

   Lee Cunningham

   West-Side Hammer Electric – Vice Chair

   Heather Ehritz

   NCC - Secretary, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local No. 375

   Tyrone Reed

   Alvin H. Butz, Inc.

   Jennifer Kszak

   NCC

   Judith Rex

   NCC

   Karl Buesgen, Jr.

   Orlando Diefenderfer Electrical Contractor

   Cynthia J. Mellen

   PA/OSHA Consultation Program at Indiana University of PA

   Bruce Everett

   ASSE

   Dominic Brignola

   Global Loss Control – ASSE

   Len Rameriz

   Fromm Electric

   Jodi Simon

   St. Luke's Hospital

   Scott G. Shimandle

   USDOL/OSHA - Allentown Area Office

2. Implementation Team Meetings/Activities

   January 14, 2014	Safety Alliance Committee meeting and presentation "Safely Working with Chemicals", at Northampton Community College (NCC) (Bethlehem, PA)
   April 8, 2014	Safety Alliance Committee meeting at NCC – Main Campus (Bethlehem, PA)
   May 15, 2014	Outreach Event – Safety Expo 2014 at NCC – Main Campus
   June 4, 2014	Safety Alliance Committee meeting at NCC – Fowler Center
   July 24, 2014	Outreach Event – "Introduction to OSHA", 2 sessions conducted at NCC – Fowler Center
   Aug. 19, 2014	Safety Alliance Committee meeting and presentation on "An Overview of ASSE", at NCC – Fowler Center
   Sept. 16, 2014	Safety Alliance Committee meeting and presentation on "Vaccination and Winter Skin Care" at NCC – Fowler Center
   Oct. 21, 2014	Outreach Event – "Electrical Safety", at NCC – Main Campus
   Oct. 21, 2014	Outreach Event – "The Value of a Safety Culture" and "OSHA Regulatory Update", at the Northampton County Country Club
   Nov. 18, 2014	Safety Alliance Committee meeting and presentation on "Machine Guarding Techniques" at NCC - Fowler Center
   Dec. 5, 2014	Outreach Event – "Temporary Worker Initiative", 2 sessions at NCC – Fowler Center

3. Activities and Products

   Evaluation Period

   December 11, 2013 through December 11, 2014.

   Alliance Activity

   • Training and Education

     1. January 14, 2014 – "Safely Working with Chemicals", presented by Diane Overton (Avantor Performance Materials).
     2. May 15, 2014 – Safety Expo 2014 – 4 different "tacks" including Safety Committees, Healthcare, Emergency Response and Hazard Recognition and Control. Topics included Accident Investigations, Distracted Driving, Bloodborne Pathogens, Respiratory Protection, Healthcare Ergonomics, the ABC's Of JSA's, Hazard Communication, Emergency Action Plans, Local Emergency Planning Committees, and Incident Command Systems. Presenters were from the PA Dept. of Labor and Industry, Northampton Community College, Brandenburg Industrial Services, Smooth-On, Inc., Selective Insurance, Lehigh County Emergency Management Services, Northampton County EMS, and St. Luke's Hospital.
     3. July 24, 2014 – "Introduction to OSHA", 2 sessions co-presented by Thomas Barnowski (Northampton Community College) and Scott Shimandle (USODL/OSHA).
     4. August 19, 2014 – "An Overview of ASSE", presented by Bruce Everett, ASSE Chapter President
     5. September 16, 2014 – "Vaccination and Winter Skin Care", co-presented by Judith Rex (NCC) and Deb Brown (Advanced Dermatology).
     6. October 21, 2014 – "Electrical Safety", co-presented by IBEW Local 1600, Karl Buesgen (Orlando Diefenderfer Electrical Contractor) and Lee Cunningham (West Side Hammer Electric Company).
     7. October 21, 2014 – "The Value of a Safety Culture" and "OSHA Regulatory Update", presented by Tom Barnowski (NCC) and Scott Shimandle (USODL/OSHA).
     8. November 18, 2014 – "Machine Guarding Techniques", presented by Charles Kleinhenn (Total Control Inc.) and Mike DeRosier (Schmersal USA).
     9. December 5, 2014 – "Keeping Temporary Workers Safe", presented by Scott Shimandle (USDOL/OSHA).

   • Outreach and Communication

     See comments above for Training and Education

   • Promoting the National Dialogue on Safety and Health

     No national events were held during this time frame. However, 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 – a new signatory member, 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.

   Alliance Products

   The products developed during this evaluation period include numerous PowerPoint presentations. The PowerPoint presentations were developed by each of the presenters, as well as flyers which were used to announce/register for the 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.

   • Training and Education
   • Outreach and Communication
   • Promoting the National Dialogue on Safety and Health

4. Results

   1. The table below lists each of the outreach activities and the number of individuals reached during the reporting period.

      Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.)	Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
      Safely Working with Chemicals	25
      Safety Expo 2014	200
      Introduction to OSHA (2 sessions)	51
      An Overview of ASSE	24
      Vaccination and Winter Skin Care	11
      Electrical Safety	20
      The Value of a Safety Culture and OSHA Regulatory Updates	25
      Machine Guarding Techniques	17
      Temporary Worker Initiative	45
      TOTAL	343

5. Upcoming Events/Milestones

   The Lehigh Valley Safety Committee is currently working on another full-day event, entitled "Workplace Violence Prevention and Response". This event will be a series of presenters sharing insights into the psychology of violent behavior, vulnerability assessment of a workplace, response, enforcement, and litigation. The event is currently scheduled for May 14, 2015.

   Efforts will continue to include a safety topic at each of the Safety Committee meetings, with upcoming topics on the recently constructed hockey arena, fall prevention and rescue, and heat stress/disorders.

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 OSHA's Website.