Nebraska Animal Slaughtering and Processing Industry (NASPI) Partnership Reduces Injuries and Incorporates VPP into Safety Training
Background:
In February 2006, the Nebraska Animal Slaughtering and Processing Industry (NASPI), the Nebraska Workforce Development (NWFD) OSHA Consultation Program, and OSHA's Region VII Omaha Area Office, developed an OSHA Strategic Partnership (OSP). The main purpose of the NASPI OSP is to recognize the value of establishing a collaborative relationship to foster a culture of injury and illness prevention and promote safe and healthful working conditions. The Partnership hopes its presence will encourage and assist participants in the state of Nebraska to comply with OSHA standards and protect workers through educational opportunities, materials, and other resources.
Success Impact:
Injury and Illness Rates Decline
As a requirement noted in the OSP agreement, all of the OSP participants had to make workplace safety and health a core element of their safety and health management system (SHMS). Since the Partnership was implemented, Nebraska facilities covered by the Partnership have shown improvement in injury and illness rates. As shown in the below table, the Partnership's Total Case Injury Rate (TCIR) and Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate have been lower than the 2005 Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) national average for this industry.
|
DART |
TCIR |
|
|---|---|---|
| NASPI OSP Rate (2007) |
4.1 |
7.2 |
| BLS Industry National Average for Most Recent Year 2005 |
6.1 |
9.1 |
| % Difference |
-33% |
-21% |
The Partnership's DART rate was 33% below the national average for this industry, and the Partnership's TCIR was 21% below.
Partnership Incorporates VPP into their Safety and Health Training
The Partnership includes several companies that have already achieved OSHA Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) status. Although obtaining VPP status is not a specific goal of the Partnership, the Partnership has incorporated the OSHA 1989 Guidelines and core elements of VPP into a number of the Partnership's safety and health training modules. The Partnership has also asked these VPP participant companies to facilitate the training.
Partnership Objectives:
The Partnership's key objective is to reduce injury and illness rates at participating facilities to levels below the BLS national average by promoting safe and healthful working conditions in Nebraska's meat plants.