Upgraded OSHA program may assist contractors

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http://www.bizjournals.com/industries/real_estate/construction/2002/06/17/cincinnati_focus2.html ViewpointUpgraded OSHA program may assist contractorsErlanger firm is first in U.S. to seek status Sell------------------------------------------------------------ After two years of research, planning, development, and more than a little bit of political jousting, several contractors from the Greater Cincinnati market have been awarded a pilot program from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Washington, D.C. The pilot program is a modification of the existing Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). Participants in the new program must have excellent safety and health programs with performance standards that are far better than the average. The newest wrinkle of the VPP is simply called the Voluntary Protection Program for Construction, or VPPC, and the Cincinnati-area OSHA office is coordinating this effort on behalf of OSHA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor. The VPPC initiative was launched by several members of the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), a Dayton-based trade association that represents many local builders. The group decided to accept the challenge laid down by Regional OSHA Director Mike Connors. Connors said he wanted a VPP to be created from area partnerships in existence. The leadership of the ABC has accomplished just that. This group solicited members from other associations and general industry to form the Voluntary Protection Program Association for Construction (VPPAC). The association is presently funded by the Ohio Valley Construction Education Foundation, which is a nonprofit trust designed to improve education in construction. The association's purpose is to serve as the organization for VPPC participants, supporters and suppliers, as well as an agency that assists the construction firm in its pursuit of VPPC status. One local company, Century Construction Inc. in Erlanger, has already passed the VPPAC audit and submitted its application to the Cincinnati OSHA office. Century Construction is the first company in the country to enter the fray as a potential VPPC firm. The application submitted by Century was filed in March and has had to endure a learning process as the program's guinea pig. It's also survived a bureaucratic odyssey that's taken the application through OSHA offices in Cincinnati, Chicago and Washington D.C. Then again, this is a pilot program, so these things are expected. Here's how the program works: Once awarded the VPPC designation, a contractor's sites are exempt from routine compliance inspections. This award does not, however, exempt a contractor from inspections due to complaints, fatalities, multiple injuries or qualitative program audits. The key difference in this program is OSHA provides recognition for the company, not the site. OSHA selects various sites to perform the VPP audit, but all sites are covered if their company is accepted. Century has recently received the green light from the OSHA regional office in Chicago, and audits will most likely occur in June of this year. The pilot program expires on Dec. 31, 2003 but OSHA officials have committed to fast-track the program if enough applications are quickly submitted. Company officials from Century Construction are eager to assist the Kentucky Labor Cabinet in becoming the first VPPC plan as soon as a federal plan is codified. OSHA's mission is to ensure safe and healthful workplaces in America. Since the agency was created in 1971, workplace fatalities have been cut in half and occupational injury and illness have dropped 40 percent. At the same time, U.S. employment has doubled from 56 million workers at 3.5 million worksites to 111 million workers at 7 million sites. In fiscal year 2002, OSHA employs a staff of 2,316 that includes 1,123 inspectors. The agency's budget is $443 million. Sharing the responsibility for oversight of workplace safety and health are 26 states that run their own OSHA programs with 3,105 employees, including 1,378 inspectors.Copyright© American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.You can view this article on the web at:http://www.bizjournals.com/industries/real_estate/construction/2002/06/17/cincinnati_focus2.html