ANNUAL ALLIANCE REPORT
ALLENTOWN AREA OFFICE
THE LEHIGH CAREER AND TECHNICAL INSTITUTE
January 13, 2014

1. Alliance Background

   Date Signed:

   August 23, 2003

   Date Signed:

   August 23, 2005, March 27, 2008, April 19, 2010, September 6, 2012

   Alliance Overview:

   The Alliance was formed 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 (youth entering the workforce) and to help promote, protect and on the LCTI campus.

   Implementation Team Members:

   • David Lapinsky^*/Tim Rushton LCTI
   • Daniel Kotran, LCTI
   • Linda Pacifico, LCTI
   • Scott G. Shimandle, USDOL/Allentown Area Office
   • Claude Kohl, retired
   • Craig Berrier, Alvin H. Butz, Inc.
   • Tyrone Reed, Alvin H. Butz, Inc.
   • Mark Lapos, Parkland High School
   • Christine Sullivan-Reitz, American Millwork & Cabinetry
   • Bill Horn, Lutron Inc
   • James Casey, Praxair Distribution, Inc.
   • Tom Civic, Merck Sharpe and Dohme
   • Steve Hughes, Uline
   • Frank Baxter, Skanska USA
   • Jordan Hanna, Amazon
   • Kathyrn Hertzog, Lehigh Valley Health Network
   • Edward Kresge, retired
   • Richard Warner, Lehigh Carbon Community College
   •  
2. Implementation Team Meetings
   • October 19, 2012 - Safety Occupational Advisory Council Meeting
   • December 20, 2012 - Safety Occupational Advisory Council Meeting
   • January 17, 2013 - Safety Occupational Advisory Council Meeting
   • February 21, 2013 - Safety Occupational Advisory Council Meeting
   • April 18, 2013 - Safety Occupational Advisory Council Meeting

3. Activities and Products

   Evaluation Period.

   April 2012 through April 18, 2013.

   Alliance Activity.

   • Training and Education

     September 21, 2012 - Safety and Health Issues for the Pre-Emerging Engineering Program. OSHA presentation was conducted for a class of Pre-Engineering students and their instructor. These students are conducting job shadowing activities at several workplaces in the Lehigh Valley and are currently pursuing carriers in the Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical, and Architectural Engineering fields. Topics covered during this presentation included emergency action plans, safe egress, personal protective equipment, hazardous chemicals, first-aid, lockout/tagout of hazardous energy, confined spaces and construction hazards.

     December 12, 2012 - Residential Fall Protection for the Construction Industry. OSHA presentation was conducted by Glenn Kerschner, CSHO and Area Office CAS for two classes of Carpentry Program students and their instructors. Topics covered during this presentation included OSHA inspection activities, roofing work, including trusses, ladder safety, fall protection equipment, scaffold safety and equipment inspections.

     February 25, 2103 - Occupational Safety and Health Issues in the Retail Industry for the Retail and Marketing Program. These two OSHA presentations (morning class and afternoon class) were conducted by the Area Office’s CAS with various topics discussed including workplace violence, ladder safety, walking-working surfaces, chemicals, evacuation and injury/illness reporting.

     March 20, 2013 - Residential Fall Protection for the Construction Industry. NOTE: Repeat OSHA presentation - new school year with new students. This discussion was conducted by Glenn Kerschner, CSHO for two classes of Carpentry Program students and their instructors at the House Project. Topics covered during this presentation included OSHA inspection activities, roofing work, including trusses, ladder safety, fall protection equipment, scaffold safety and equipment inspections.

   • Outreach and Communication

     Over this past year, there has been four outreach events conducted by the Allentown Area Office (AAO) at the school.

     During the numerous Safety OAC meetings, various safety and health topics were discussed and since many of the members of the Council are from the "private sector", the various issues, ideas, and control strategies are communicated not just within the school but to those employers who permit their safety and health professionals to actively participate on this committee. Note: Several new members have been added to the Safety OAC, which has now expanded the opportunity for both the school to broaden its knowledge with new safety and health initiatives and also provides OSHA the opportunity to communicate and disseminate safety and health information to new stakeholders.

     The Safety Occupational Advisory Council Meetings, which are held throughout the school year, discussed and reviewed numerous safety and health programs, policies and activities. A description (beyond the review and approval of previous meeting minutes) is as follows:

     October 19, 2012 - At this meeting discussion focused on decrease in injuries and illnesses, revisions being made to the safety and health checklists, the self-audit of the Auto-Body lab, transition of electronic MSDSs, meeting and tour of school by local; fire and emergency medical support responders, new facility evacuation maps, notification by ISO Auditor - "no other school in the state can match what LCTI does with the safety inspection process and OSHA involvement", review of the safe school surveys, update on residential construction changes/emphasis and discussion on renewal of OSHA Alliance agreement. Safety and health activities were reviewed and discussed for Carpentry; Fitness Center; Culinary; Cosmetology; Early Care & Education of Young Children; Auto Technology; Diesel Medium & Heavy Truck Technology; Automated Manufacturing Center; AP Building Trades Maintenance and Foods.

     December 20, 2012 - At this meeting one new member was introduced and welcomed to the Council. Discussions focused on the schools’ Workplace Safety Committee, their activities and function, safety checklist for Plumbing and Carpentry, machinery designed for fixed locations, recordable injuries, ladders and stairways, specifically breaks of over 19 inches, fire alarm and evacuation procedure and respiratory protection use and fitting. Safety and health activities were reviewed and discussed for Indoor/Outdoor Maintenance; Auto-Body/Collision and Repair; Auto Specialization; Center for Automated Manufacturing; Landscape Construction / Environmental Design; Floral Design/Greenhouse Management; Heavy Equipment Operations & Preventive Maintenance; Material Handling/Logistics Technology; and Material Handling.

     January 17, 2013 - After approval of the previous months’ minutes, discussion focused on revising the recordable injury report to include follow-ups and medical referrals, Job Safety Analysis, taking the safety checklists for the independent labs and having a cross-reference to the OSHA standard as a possible hyperlink for quick/easy access, flammable/combustible liquid storage procedure, a review of the code requirements for fire safety at LCTI and possible buddy system for office personnel during evacuations. Safety and health activities were reviewed and discussed for Print Technology; Electrical Technology; Weatherization and Alternative Energy Maintenance; Chemistry, Biology, Earth & Space Science; Physics; and Advertising Design and Commercial Art.

     February 21, 2013 - Approval of previous months’ minutes, discussion on hand/finger injuries and the need to focus on glove safety, flammable/combustible storage procedure, review of labs and theory rooms audited over the last several years and the findings during these audits. Safety and health activities were reviewed and discussed for Laundry; Building Trades; Marketing; Electrical; Masonry; Health Occupations; Dental; Computer Maintenance; Administrative Office Technology; Web Design; Hospitality; Commercial Baking and Pre‐Engineering.

     April 18, 2013 - At this meeting, topics covered included a discussion on the accident investigation form used at LCTI, clearances around emergency equipment e-stops and fire extinguishers, glove usage for many of the labs (and activities when gloves would not be appropriate), Material Safety Data Sheet (now SDS) inventory, door locks, emergency maps and the updated fire evacuation procedure. Safety and health activities were reviewed and discussed for Cabinetmaking, Cafeteria; Early Care and Ed. Of Young Children; Home Health; Science; Commercial Photography/Electronic Imaging, Drafting/Computer Aided Design; Electromechanical/Mechatronics; Electronics Technology/Nanofabrication; Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration; Law Enforcement Security Systems; Painting and Decorating; Precision Machine Tool Technology and Welding Technology.

   • Promoting the National Dialogue on Safety and Health

     During this evaluation period, there was no specific effort by this OSHA office in promoting the national dialogue on safety and health with Career and Technical Institutions. However, staff and faculty of LCTI and members of the Safety Advisory Council continue to promote safety and health curriculum and school safety at the various Administrator and other Occupational Advisory Council meetings.

     Alliance Products.

     During this evaluation period, PowerPoint presentations have been created and/or modified for the specific topics/subject matter listed above.

     As noted above new PowerPoint presentations were developed/modified and used locally.

     • Training and Education
     • Outreach and Communication

4. Results

   The Alliance activities and products created during the reporting period have enhanced the safety performance and culture throughout the entire school. This is evident by the institutionalization of the standardized self-inspection process that is fairly comprehensive in subject matter, yet individualized for each specific vocational area of study (i.e. commercial baking, health services, carpentry, welding, plumbing, …). Students have been given the responsibility to inspect their laboratory (two times per month) to look for (and when found mitigate) hazardous conditions.

   The table below lists each of the activities conducted and the number of individuals reached or trained during the reporting period.

   Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.)	Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
   Presentation - Safety and Health Issues for the Pre-Emerging Engineering Program (9/21/12)	4 Students & 1 Instructor
   Meeting - Safety OAC (10/19/12)	14 Committee Members
   Presentation - Residential Fall Protection - Carpentry (12/12/12) - 2 Sessions	58 Students & 2 Instructors
   Meeting - Safety OAC (1/17/13)	10 Committee Members
   Meeting - Safety OAC (2/21/13)	8 Committee Members
   Presentation - Safety and Health Issues in the Retail Industry - Marketing and Retail (2/25/13) - 2 sessions	55 Students and 1 Instructor
   Presentation - Residential Fall Protection - Carpentry (3/20/13) - 2 sessions	50 Students and 2 Instructors
   Meeting - Safety OAC (4/18/13)	11 Committee Members
   TOTAL	226 directly 3,000 indirectly - all students and staff at LCTI

   C. The only issue that has some bearing on the Alliance’s implementation is that the Safety OAC only meets during the 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.

5. ^*Upcoming Challenges

   The Safety Occupational Advisory Council (OAC) has experienced some attendance issues, as many of the Council members have been finding it difficult to attend these meetings on a routine and regular basis. Although the Safety OAC calendar is prepared and disseminated early in the academic school year, the private sector (and government) work priorities and schedules are not always compatible. To address this issue, several new members have been added, as some members have not been actively participating and/or have retired. Case in point, the Co-Implementation Team Leader, David Lapinsky, Director or Career and Technical Education has since retired (June 3013) and his replacement, Dr. Tim Rushton, is currently being acclimatized to the school and the multitude of Occupational Advisory Councils. The challenge moving forward will be to have a core group of Council members in attendance to assist in addressing any of the safety and health concerns at LCTI.

Report Prepared by: Scott G. Shimandle, OSHA Allentown Area Office , Compliance Assistance Specialist (CAS )

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