Angela Latino-Geier, President/CEO of the ABCNew Orleans/Bayou Chapter, and Dorinda Folse, Baton Rouge Area Director of the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) met on June 8th to sign a Partnership Agreement between the two offices.
ABC & OSHA agree to work in alliance to improve safety & health performance by accomplishing three key goals:
- Reduce by 3% over the course of the partnership the “Days Away Restricted or Transfer” (DART) rate affecting participant employers, with an emphasis on reducing injuries & illnesses resulting from falls, struck-by and caught-in mishaps, and electrocution. Upon signature of this agreement, the most current three-year average DART rate of those companies participating in the partnership will serve as a baseline.
- Increase the number of ABC member firms participating in the Safety Training & Evaluation Process (STEP) program.
- Increase the number of companies participating in mentoring activities.
The benefits provided by OSHA to ABC member participants include the following:
- When calculating the initial penalty reduction when a partner company has been inspected & a violation exists, OSHA will provide an additional reduction for good faith beyond the reductions provided in the firm where the partner has taken significant steps beyond those provided in the FIRM to implement the OSH Act, and achieve a high level of employee protection. This additional reduction will not apply to high gravity serious, willful, failure to abate or repeat citations. The percentage of this additional reduction is based upon the partner company’s level of participation in the STEP program. They are: Bronze (2% reduction), Silver (4% reduction), Gold (6% reduction), and Platinum (10% reduction).
- If a partner company is selected for a programmed inspection and has undergone an onsite non-enforcement verification inspection within one year of the date of the programmed inspection, a focused inspection will be conducted. The focus of this inspection will be falls, electrical, struck-by and caught-in-between hazards, which remain the top four hazards of the construction industry.
For more information on applying for the STEP program, please email Debbie Ebel with your request at ABC New Orleans/Bayou Chapter (debra@abcbayou.org).