Background:

On May 8, 2014, OSHA's St. Louis Area Office and MC Industrial signed an OSHA Strategic Partnership agreement (OSP), for the construction of the Ameren Missouri's O'Fallon Renewable Energy Center in O'Fallon, Missouri.

St. Louis Area Office staff, MC Industrial safety and health professionals, and six project subcontractors recognized the need for a safe and healthy jobsite. The overarching goal of this partnership agreement was to help ensure a safe work environment for all employees during the construction of the energy center.

The construction project activities included: site grading; site fencing; trenching for electrical lines and site security; installation of more than 2,000 piles; installation of 19,000 solar panels; concrete pads for electrical panels and a communications building; setting of a communications building and electrical equipment. The energy center covers more than 19 acres, an area approximately the size of 19 football fields, and generates nearly 6 megawatts. The construction project was completed in November 2014.

Success Impact:

Achieved no OSHA Recordable Injuries or Illnesses

The project took eight months to complete and involved more than 200 workers performing more than 24,000 work hours without any recordable injuries. In addition to having no recordable injuries, thanks to the OSP, there were no first aid injuries, yielding rates 100% below the Bureau of Labor Statistics national average for Construction (NAICS 23). While it was not one of the measurements for the OSP, the project also achieved a total cost savings of approximately $10,000.

To establish a safe working environment the OSP implored several initiatives, including:

• All contractor employees received site specific safety orientation from MC Industrial and was required to attend a safety review meeting with their respective subcontractor prior to starting work on the project;
• All contractor employees were required to complete the OSHA 10-hour Construction Outreach Training course before starting work;
• All project managers, field engineers and superintendents onsite were required as a minimum to have completed the OSHA 30-hour Construction Outreach Training course before starting work;
• All subcontractors were required to submit written safety and health management systems prior to working onsite; and
• All onsite supervisors were required to conduct bi-weekly MC Industrial Vital Processes checklists that identified leading metrics.

Partnership Objectives:

Some of the goals of the OSP included: to reduce the number of accidents, injuries and illnesses, with zero fatalities on the project; develop a contractor/government partnership that encourages involvement of the subcontractors in the improvement of safety and health performance; and create a working relationship between OSHA and the other OSP members.

Partners:

OSHA's St. Louis Area Office and MC Industrial, with support for the OSP from Ameren Missouri, Building and Construction Trades, St. Louis, MO, and Carpenters' District Council of St. Louis and Greater Vicinity