ANNUAL ALLIANCE REPORT

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Pennsylvania OSHA Consultation Program at Indian University of PA
And the Upper Bucks County Technical School (UBCTS)

September 14, 2018

1. Alliance Background

   1. Date Signed

      September 17, 2015, Renewed September 14. 2017

   2. Evaluation Period

      September 17, 2017 – September 16, 2018

   3. Overview

      The purpose of this Alliance is to provide Upper Bucks County Technical School (UBCTS) with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect the health and safety of workers (including young/student workers), particularly by reducing and preventing exposure to various workplace hazards, and understand the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act).

   4. Implementation Team Members

      OSHA

      Scott G. Shimandle, Compliance Assistance Specialist – USDOL/OSHA - Allentown

      Alliance participants

      Cynthia Mellen, CSP, Safety Consultant, PA-OSHA Consultation at Indiana Univ. of PA
      Michael Herrera, Ed.D. Supervisor of Career and Technical Education, UBCTS

2. Implementation Team Meetings

   • Oct. 12, 2017       Safety Committee Meeting
   • Nov. 9, 2017       Safety Committee Meeting
   • Jan. 11, 2018       Safety Committee Meeting
   • March 16, 2018    School Audit
   • April 12, 2018      Safety Committee Meeting
   • June 12, 2018       Safety Committee Meeting
   • Aug. 14, 2018       Implementation Team Meeting
   • Sept. 13, 2018       Safety Committee Meeting

   One meeting had been cancelled due to weather conditions and another meeting was held without OSHA or PA OSHA Consultation participation, as the AAO CAS was on leave and the PA OSHA Consultation representative had other scheduled work activities which conflicted with the scheduled meeting. In addition to the meetings that were held, the Alliance participants maintained regular contact throughout the reporting period to provide technical assistance and 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.

   Raising Awareness of OSHA’s Rulemaking and Enforcement Initiatives: To share information on occupational safety and health laws and standards, including the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers.
   Activity Type	Activity Name/Summary	OSHA Areas of Emphasis Supported	Number Reached
   Alliance Product	No product developed at this time
   Training (10/12/2017) (12/19/2017) (2/22/2018)	Safety and Health for the Young Workers * Health Care Career Program * Welding & Fabrication Program * Construction Cluster (students in both School-to-Work Program and various construction trades programs)	Youth Safety Health Care, Workplace Violence (WPV) Slips/Trips/Falls, Bloodborne Pathogens (BBP) Electrical Struck-By Caught-In	53 20 60
   Dissemination	OSHA regulation excerpts and review of school inspection resources	Hazard Comm. Lockout/Tagout Insp. Checklists Safety Mgmt. Programs PPE (gloves)	15
   Other	Email communications	Youth safety issues (PPE) and young worker injuries, Air Quality and Noise Control efforts	Metric not measured
   Raising Awareness of OSHA's Rulemaking and Enforcement Initiatives: To convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions, or stakeholder meetings on youth safety to help forge innovative solutions in the workplace or to provide input on safety and health issues.
   Activity Type	Activity Name/Summary	OSHA Areas of Emphasis Supported	Number Reached
   Meetings	5 Safety Committee Meetings attended over the evaluation period	Numerous safety and health topics discussed including Safety Committees, SHMS's, Accident/Incident Reporting and Investigations, Ladder Safety, Machine Guarding, Air Quality, Noise Control, Fire Suppression and Alarm Systems and Safety and Health training	56* *Note: not all members were in attendance at each meeting
   Training and Education: To review and provide input on effective training and education curricula for youth entering the workforce to promote understanding of workers' rights, including the use of the OSHA complaint process, and the responsibilities of employers and to communicate such information to workers and employers. To deliver various safety and health related training and education on topics including but not limited to: understanding worker rights, fall, struck-by, caught between, electrical hazards, material handling hazards, use of personal protective equipment and hazards associated with chemicals.
   Activity Type	Activity Name/Summary	OSHA Areas of Emphasis Supported	Number Reached
   Training (10/12/2017) (12/19/2017) (2/22/2018)	Safety and Health for the Young Worker In Health Care Career Program Welding & Fabrication Program Construction Cluster (students in School-to-Work Program and various construction related programs)	Youth Safety WPV, Slips/Trips/Falls, BBP Electrical Struck-By Caught-In	133
   Outreach and Communication: To develop information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards, and to develop ways of communicating such information (e.g., print and electronic media, electronic assistance tools, and OSHA's and the UBCTS Web sites) to students, faculty, employers serving on Occupational Advisory Councils and other academic (career and technical) institutions. To speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA's or UBCTS's conferences, local meetings, or other Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Education events. To share information among OSHA personnel, academia and industry safety and health professionals regarding UBCTS's best practices or effective approaches through training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures (or any other applicable forum) developed by the Participants.
   Activity Type	Activity Name/Summary	OSHA Areas of Emphasis Supported	Number Reached
   Meetings	See above
   Speech/Presentation	See above
   TOTAL			202 (directly) Approx.1200 (indirectly)

4. Evaluations

   This Alliance is truly gaining momentum as the schools Safety and Health Committee has embraced their new bylaws, developed some new subcommittees and many of the faculty members have requested safety and health presentations from OSHA and/or OSHA Consultation Program. Safety and Health Committee meetings are structured to include a review of student and faculty injuries, reported safety/health concerns raised to Committee members, and safety/security issues (e.g. active shooter concerns, aggressive behavior (fights), and vehicle speed through parking lots). Tours of the facility have been conducted with a review of all career and technical programs and efforts are still being made to assist in program review and development for faculty and students.

   Pennsylvania schools rely heavily on local business and industry experts to guide the institutions, termed Occupational Advisory Councils (OAC's). At UBCTS, there are approximately 175 OAC members who participate in these advisory meetings for each and every vocational program at UBCTS and they also conduct audits (of the labs) each fall. However, these audits occur after school hours, when students are not present and machines are not in use. Additionally, it has been recognized that these volunteering business and industry representatives may not necessarily see through the same (safety) lenses or have the same background, experience, or training to recognize some safety and health hazards as a safety and health professional.

   It is for this reason that this past year, UBCTS has expanded the schools Safety and Health Committee to include OSHA and the PA-OSHA Consultation Program (under the auspices of this Alliance Program) in the safety auditing process to occur during the school day when students are present and performing activities within their respected vocational program of study. During these audits, which are conducted with several members of the schools Safety and Health Committee, best practices and opportunities for enhancement (potentially hazardous conditions) are identified, reported and discussed for corrective action planning.

   According to the UBCTS administration, these recommendations have been invaluable not only to the administration, but to the instructors and students, as well. Additionally, these "observations" have been included into the Spring OAC meetings minutes (for each vocational program) which were shared with the 175 local and business industry representatives. This effort has in return, provided the business and industry OAC members a direct (safety) benefit from their active participation in the varied OAC meetings.

   Finally, as noted above outreach has been conducted for students and faculty of the Health Care Careers Program, Welding & Fabrication Program, Cabinetmaking, Carpentry, Electrical, Construction and Plumbing Programs.

5. Upcoming Milestones

   Plans for the next year include additional outreach activities for the schools' Safety Committee, Faculty and students. The next evaluation period may include outreach, as time and resources permit, to the following programs, which had previously expressed interest in safety outreach but could not be scheduled this past academic year: Transportation Cluster (Auto Tech and Auto Collision, Diesel Technology, and Small Engine), Culinary & Baking, Machining and possibly Animal Sciences and Landscaping Programs.

   Report prepared by: Michael Herrera, Ed.D. Supervisor of Career and Technical Education, UBCTS, Cynthia Mellen, PA/OSHA Consultation and Scott G Shimandle, Compliance Assistance Specialist, USDOL/OSHA, September 14, 2018.