Background:

In February 2009, Turner Construction Company formed an OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP) with the Illinois Safety and Health OnSite Consultation and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The OSP was formed to promote a safe work site during the construction of the Queen City Square Tower project in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Key goals of the OSP were to: reduce and/or eliminate serious injuries and illnesses for workers associated with the Queen City Square project; increase the number of and the use of safety and health programs and best practices among contractors; increase the number of workers and supervisors who have completed relevant safety training through programs (for example, orientation, re-orientation and monthly safety training that may result in the OSHA 10-hour certification); and achieve a total lost workday injury and illness incident rate 25 percent below the 2006 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for construction. Fifty employers participated in the OSP covering approximately 2,825 workers. The project was successfully completed in July 2011.

Success Impact:

OSP Meets Goals to Increase Safety and Health Training and the Number of Safety and Health Programs in the Construction Industry

One of the key goals of the OSP was to increase the number of workers and supervisors onsite who completed relevant safety and health training. During the last year, the OSP provided almost 4,400 safety training hours and over 2,500 employees, supervisors, and managers received relevant safety training. Contractor employees on the Queen City Square work site were trained on specific safety topics such as rigging, tower cranes, AED/First Aid/CPR, fall protection, record keeping, scaffolding/swing stage, powder actuated tools, adhesive bonding, and power lines.

Another key goal of the OSP was to increase the number of safety and health programs existing within the construction industry. During the last year of the OSP, Turner Construction Company assisted a total of 35 contractors with 13 of these being new OSP participants. Turner Construction Company mentored contractors and subcontractors and assisted them in the development and implementation of their own safety and health programs.

OSP Meets Key Goals of Eliminating Workers' Serious Injuries and Illnesses and Reducing Injury and Illness Rates - Days Away, Restricted, and Transferred (DART) Rate and Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR)

Another one of the key goals of the OSP was to attain a 25 percent reduction in injury and illnesses in comparison with the 2006 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) national average. The partnership has not only met this goal, it has far exceeded it. Over the course of the OSP, the participants attained a Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR) that was 56 percent below the 2006 BLS' national average for construction and a Days Away, Restricted, and Transferred (DART) rate 95 percent below. The table below presents the OSP's TCIR and DART rates over the past three years:

OSP Objectives:

Key objectives of the OSP were to: reduce and/or eliminate hazards within the industry (falls, electrocution, caught-between, and struck-by) that can cause workers' serious injuries and/or death; and increase knowledge and participation of contractors and their workers in their safety and health protection.

• Origin: OSHA Region V, Cincinnati Area Office
• Partners: Turner Construction Company and Illinois Safety and Health OnSite Consultation
• OSP Signed: February 5, 2009
• Industry (NAICS Code): Construction (2362)
• Workers: 2,825
• Employers: 50
• Source (Date): Gaye R. Johnson, Compliance Assistance Specialist, Cincinnati Area Office; James Dillard, OSPP Coordinator, Chicago Regional Office; Danielle Gibbs, OSPP Lead for Region V, OSHA National Office (August 2011)