AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
JACKSON AREA OFFICE
AND
THE ASSOCIATED BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS, INC.,
MISSISSIPPI CHAPTER

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Jackson Area Office and the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Mississippi Chapter (“ABC, MS Chapter”) recognize the value of establishing a collaborative relationship to foster safety and health practices and programs to improve American workplaces. To that end, OSHA and the ABC, MS Chapter hereby form an Alliance to provide members and the public with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect workers by reducing and preventing exposure to hazards commonly found in trenching and excavation, scaffolding, and confined spaces, as well as other prevalent safety and health hazards in the construction industry such as falls, struck-by, chemical and electrical hazards, and understand the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act).

This agreement provides a framework and objectives for the Alliance's activities. Alliance participants also agree to meet the "Fundamental Requirements for OSHA Alliance Program Participants" and the "Guidelines for OSHA's Alliance Program Participants: Alliance Products and Other Alliance Projects."

Through the Alliance, the organizations will use injury, illness, and hazard exposure data, when appropriate, to help identify areas of emphasis for Alliance awareness, outreach, and communication activities. The Alliance will also explore and implement selected options, including but not limited to member surveys, to evaluate the Alliance and measure the impact on improving workplace safety and health. In developing this Alliance, OSHA and the ABC, MS Chapter recognize that OSHA's State Plan and On-Site Consultation Project partners are an integral part of the OSHA national effort, and that information about the products and activities of the Alliance may be shared with these partners for the advancement of common goals.

Raising Awareness: Outreach and Communication

The Participants intend to work together to achieve the following objectives:

• Develop information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards, work-related suicide, mental health issues, potential workplace drug overdoses and communicate such information (e.g., print, and electronic media, electronic assistance tools, and OSHA and the ABC, MS Chapter Websites) to employers and workers in the industry.
• Speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA or ABC, MS Chapter conferences, local meetings, or other events.
• Convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions, or stakeholder meetings on prevalent hazards in the construction industry to help forge innovative solutions in the workplace or to provide input on safety and health issues.

Training and Education

The Participants intend to work together to achieve the following objectives:

• Develop effective training and education programs for construction workers regarding fall protection, trenching and excavation, electrical safety, scaffold safety, confined space safety, steel erection, struck-by hazards, silica, heat illness prevention, as well as mental health and suicides prevention, and to communicate such information to constituent employers and workers.
• Deliver or arrange for the delivery of courses in fall protection, trenching and excavation, electrical safety, scaffold safety, confined space safety, steel erection, struck-by hazards, silica, heat illness prevention, as well as mental health and suicides prevention.

OSHA's Alliances provide parties an opportunity to participate in a voluntary cooperative relationship with OSHA for purposes such as raising awareness of OSHA's initiatives, outreach, communication, training, and education. These Alliances have proved to be valuable tools for both OSHA and Alliance participants. By entering an Alliance with a party, OSHA is not endorsing or promoting, nor does it intend to endorse or promote, any of that party's products or services.

An implementation team made up of representatives of each organization will meet one to two times per year to track and share information on activities and results in achieving the goals of the Alliance. OSHA team members will include representatives of the Jackson Area Office and any other appropriate offices. OSHA will encourage State Plans' and OSHA On-site Consultation Programs' participation on the team.

This agreement will remain in effect for five-years. Either signatory may terminate it for any reason at any time, provided they give 30 days written notice. This agreement may be modified at any time with the written concurrence of both signatories.

Signed this 16 day of August 2022.