Region 3 - Alliance Annual Report - September 23, 2019
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
And the
Lehigh Career and Technical Institute (LCTI)
-
Alliance Background
-
Date Signed
Original agreement signed on August 23, 2003.
Renewals: August 23, 2005; March 27, 2008; April 19, 2010; September 6, 2012 (rewrite/renewed); December 12, 2012; December 18, 2014; and January 19, 2017 -
Evaluation Period
August 28, 2018 - September 27, 2019
-
Overview
The purpose of this Alliance is to provide Lehigh Career and Technical Institute (LCTI) students, staff members and others, including public and private volunteer members of the Safety Occupational Advisory Council (Safety OAC) with information, guidance, and access to training resources in order to provide safety and health education to staff and students (young workers entering the workforce). Additional, the Alliance is to help promote safe work practices on and off the campus of LCTI and to ensure that youth understand the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act).
-
Implementation Team Members
Tim Rushton LCTI
Kurt Adam, LCTI
Scott G. Shimandle, USDOL/Allentown Area Office
Alliance participant
Daniel Kotran, Holly Custodio, LCTI
Craig Berrier, Alvin H. Butz
Tom Civic, Merck Sharpe and Dohme, retired
James Casey, Praxair Distribution Inc. (in memory of)
Bill Horn, Lutron Inc.
James Rutt, Just Born Incorporated
Anthony Naradko, Parkland School District
-
-
Implementation Team/Safety Advisory Council Meetings
- October 18, 2018 Safety Occupational Advisory Council Meeting
- December 20, 2018 Safety Occupational Advisory Council Meeting
- March 21, 2019 Safety Occupational Advisory Council Meeting
- April 25, 2019 Safety Occupational Advisory Council Meeting
- May 16, 2019 Safety Occupational Advisory Council Meeting
In addition to these formal meetings, the Alliance coordinators from both groups maintained regular contact throughout the reporting period to monitor the Alliance’s progress and results.
-
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 products developed at this time Training An Introduction to OSHA and Workplace Safety Youth Safety LO/TO, PPE, HazCom, WWS, Healthcare, Welding, Fall Protection and Trench Safety 23 Dissemination Youth related safety news articles Retail Industry and Workplace Violence Fatigue Youth Safety Construction Falls 300 (estimated based on specific school programs) Speech/ Presentation PA Career Technical Education Conference - Safety and Health with Career and Technical Education Institutions – A review of OSHA Alliances and our collaborative approach to workplace safety and health through/and with schools OSHA and Career Technical Education, Young Workers 128 Other Email Communications Unknown 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 Occupational Advisory Meetings held over the evaluation period. One meeting was canceled due to inclement weather. Numerous S/H topics discussed including student and faculty injuries, related accident investigations, school inspection findings and new notification systems for emergencies. 38 (167 Committee Members) Note: Not all members were 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 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 An Introduction to OSHA and Workplace Safety Youth Safety LO/TO, PPE, HazCom, WWS, Healthcare, Welding, Fall Protection and Trench Safety 23 Speech/ Presentation PA Career Technical Education Conference - Safety and Health with Career and Technical Education Institutions – A review of OSHA Alliances and our collaborative approach to workplace safety and health through/and with schools OSHA and Career Technical Education, Young Workers 128 Meeting Meeting with LCTI’s Safety Committee – Topic of focus was on Near Miss and Accident Investigations, process and techniques Young Workers Safety & Health Programs/Committees 12 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 LCTI’s 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 LCTI’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 LCTI’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 Training See above Speech/Presentation See above TOTAL Approx. 500 (relisted events not counted twice) -
Evaluations
As noted in previous evaluations the only issue that has some significant bearing on the Alliance’s implementation is that the Safety OAC only meets during the academic school year. Therefore, the insight, technical assistance and expansion of safety and health promotion beyond the school may be somewhat limited. However, the AAO CAS continues to be in constant contact with LCTI officials throughout the entire year, as Building Maintenance and Services are year round functions. Additionally, as new articles or resources are identified, the AAO CAS continues to forward information to LCTI’s administrators and faculty as relevant and pertinent to their programs.
As noted above one of the outreach efforts conducted during this evaluation period was for the Pennsylvania Cooperative Ed. Assoc. Conference, which was at Penn State University, in State College, PA. The presentation focused on Safety and Health with Career and Technical Education Institutions, with a focus on OSHA Alliances and the assistance that may be provided to assist schools in educating youth and academia on workplace safety and health. There were nearly 100 different schools represented from all over the Commonwealth. In addition to the presentation, a booth had been set up to provide attendees with the resources (posters, booklets, QuickCards, FactSheets and pamphlets) to assist their own safety committees and use for classroom lessons.
-
Upcoming Milestones
Plans for the next school year includes efforts to increase the number of Safety Occupational Advisory Council members attending the meetings. This is more important considering that one of the active members past away earlier this year.
Report prepared by: Scott G. Shimandle, CAS, Allentown Area Office, Sept. 4, 2019.