USF SafetyForida On Site Magazine

2011

Your First Line of Defense to Reducing Injuries

Taking Safety to the Next Level

Florida's Leading Small Businesses in Safety First Florida Building Corp. employees show their appreciation for USF SafetyFlorida

p ro g r a m d i re c t o r ’s c o l u m n s

Dr. Yehia Hammad

Charlene Sitterly

Professor, USF College of Public Health

Program Manager

Program Director, USF SafetyFlorida

USF SafetyFlorida Consultation Program

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e are very proud that the new USF College of Public Health (COPH) undergraduate degree in public health is the first of its kind to be offered in Florida by an accredited college of public health. The Bachelor’s of Science in Public Health degree program provides courses required for entry-level public health jobs found in government agencies, health corporations, community non-profit organizations and health care facilities.

Established in July 1984 with an initial enrollment of 100 students, the USF College of Public Health is fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) and has graduated more than 2,000 students with Master’s and doctoral degrees, including our USF SafetyFlorida consultant Luis Pieretti, Ph.D. Current enrollment includes nearly 600 Master’s and doctoral full- and part-time students. With excellent facilities, the College of Public Health building houses an auditorium, classrooms, a distance education studio, computer classrooms, and 17 laboratories. Our roster of more than 90 faculty members continues to grow as we increase our undergraduate enrollment. The faculty provides education, research and service, impacting local, state, national and global public health.

With the new bachelor’s of science program, undergraduate students will be encouraged to seek opportunities to participate in public health research ranging from laboratory studies to participatory community-based research with a focus on the culturally competent aspects of healthy community development, including the social, economic, educational components.

This research provides entry-level student employment opportunities on a variety of specific public health projects while learning basic research skills, including data collection, data entry and technical report writing. Under faculty leadership, students are mentored to achieve personal goals, whether they choose employment after their bachelor’s degree or admission into a graduate or professional program.

Please share the word about our new undergraduate public health degree program. Tell anyone interested to go to http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/ undergrad/index.htm or to contact me at yhammad@health.usf.edu for more information.

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hat does safety mean to your business? While you may be wondering if this is a trick question, I can assure you it is not the intention.

Instead, I ask this so you will think in terms of your company’s current safety and health management system. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 12 Americans die on the job each week and more than 3.3 million suffer a serious work-related injury or illness each year. This is a sobering statistic, particularly since these fatalities, injuries and illnesses are preventable.

This year, OSHA announced an Injury and Illness Prevention Program proposal that is designed to target businesses that lack having an effective safety program in place. While the proposal is still in its early phases, it is a proposal that, if enacted, would require employers to develop a program that helps them “find and fix hazards in their workplaces.”

This is where we can help. As Florida’s official OSHA on-site consultation program, USF SafetyFlorida assists small business owners with developing and maintaining effective workplace injury and illness programs, all at no cost. Our comprehensive on-site safety and health inspections are done confidentially by one or more of our 12 statewide consultants. We have the training and experience in OSHA standards, hazard identification and hazard correction. Furthermore, as an extra set of eyes, we see things that often go unnoticed. And it’s these unintentional, undetected items that can potentially lead to an injury, illness or fatality … all of which can be costly, even tremendously so.

Our mission is to help employers profit from workplace safety. In this issue, you’ll read how businesses that are proactive about workplace safety achieve healthier bottom lines through fewer injuries and illnesses, out-of-pocket medical expenses and reduced workers’ compensation premiums.

We work with many different types of employers on their injury and illness programs, from veterinary offices and hair salons to commercial construction firms and manufacturing facilities. Requesting a consultation is as simple as calling us at 1-866-273-1105 or visiting us online at www.safetyflorida. usf.edu.

So take that important first step in becoming more proactive about safety.

Requesting a free on-site consultation may be one of your best business decisions yet.

USF SafetyFlorida On-Site

2 0 1 1 , V o l . 4. I ss u e 1

4 table of contents

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1 3 5 7 9 11

Program Director’s Column USF SafetyFlorida News USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center News Think SHARP Sunshine State Safety Recognition Award Features 11 OSHA, USF SafetyFlorida, JEA partnership brings safety to the forefront 12 On-site consultation: An employer's first 14 Did your company receive a High Dart Incident Rate letter from OSHA this year? We can help.

18 19

What We Hear USF SafetyFlorida Management Tools 19 SafetyWriter

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20 Accident Tracker 21 RecordKeeper 22 HurriPlanner Program Manager

Charlene Sitterly USF SafetyFlorida College of Public Health 13201 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, MDC 56 Tampa, FL 33612-3805 1-866-273-1105 www.safetyflorida.usf.edu

Reading this code with your smartphone, using QR code scanning software such as http://web.scanlife.com/en/ download-application, will enable you to go directly to the USF SafetyFlorida website.

csitterl@health.usf.edu

Designer

Martin Young martinyoung@comcast.net

Editor

Kelly Garland kellygarland@comcast.net

On-Site magazine is published annually by USF SafetyFlorida, a small business safety and health consultation program funded by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Workers’ Compensation.

USF SafetyFlorida News

Florida small businesses benefit from maritime training

USF SafetyFlorida supervisor Keith Brown delivers a presentation at the April 2011 Division’s Workplace Safety in Tallahassee.

USF SafetyFlorida continues presence at Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation’s Workplace Safety seminars

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SF SafetyFlorida consultants partnered again this year with the Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation by participating in its workplace safety seminars held throughout the state. The free seminars provide attendees with important information about workers’ compensation laws as well as workplace safety. Business owners, licensed contractors and employers are invited to attend.

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n June USF SafetyFlorida consultants participated in an OSHA trainer course for the maritime industry. The consultants’ successful completion of the 5400 course certifies them as OSHA authorized maritime outreach trainers for the 10- and 30-hour maritime outreach courses. The 5400 course was developed by the USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center in partnership with the Gulf Coast Maritime Safety Alliance and the Mobile Area OSHA Office.

The course has been designed for all people working in the Maritime Industry who either want to learn more about workplace safety and health hazard recognition or who want to become OSHA authorized trainers for the 10 and 30 hour Maritime courses. Special emphasis have been placed on those areas in the Maritime industry that are the most hazardous, using the OSHA 29 CFR 1915; 1917; and 1918 standards as a resource. Course participants who successfully complete the course and pass a final exam will become OSHA Authorized Maritime Outreach Trainers, authorized to conduct both the 10 and 30 hour Maritime outreach courses.

Sheryle Birdsong with the Division’s Compliance Bureau says the partnership works well because workplace safety interests the attendees. “They are impressed by the services offered by USF,” says Birdsong.

Note: The Division’s trust fund adds a 10 percent matching grant to the federal government’s funding of the USF SafetyFlorida consultation program.

As OSHA authorized maritime outreach trainers, USF SafetyFlorida consultants can assist maritime companies with safety and health compliance.

USF SafetyFlorida On-Site

Governor Rick Scott Recognizes Florida’s New SHARP Employers

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overnor Rick Scott recognized eight new Florida SHARP employers for exemplary workplace safety practices with a letter he sent to each of the companies. OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program award is the highest safety honor for small businesses and granted to employers nominated by USF SafetyFlorida. SHARP certified companies are exempt from OSHA inspections for a period up to two years, with the exception of a serious accident, fatality or employee complaint.

In his letter to the employers, Scott wrote, “Your commitment to a safe work environment for Floridians is to be commended. We are fortunate to have companies like yours in the Sunshine State who provide a safe place to work each and every day.”

Currently there are 60 SHARP-certified businesses in the state of Florida. To earn a SHARP, a firm must request and undergo a consultation visit from USF SafetyFlorida, involve all employees in the consultation process, correct hazards identified during the on-site consultation, implement and maintain a safety and health management system that, at a minimum, addresses OSHA’s 1989 Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines, reduce their Lost Workday Injury and Illness Rate and Total Recordable Case Rate below the national average for their industry, and agree to notify USF SafetyFlorida prior to making changes to working conditions or introducing new hazards into the workplace.

The Division of Workers’ Compensation is part of Florida’s Department of Financial Services and handles workers’ compensation claims for employees who are injured or killed on the job. In 2009, it reported a total settlement cost of $69.9 million due to workplace injuries and fatalities.

Florida’s newly certified SHARP companies received recognition letters from Florida Governor Rick Scott in April.

USF SafetyFlorida plays central role in annual OSHA conference

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or the third consecutive year, USF SafetyFlorida assisted OSHA with coordinating its annual On-site Consultation Training Conference.

With representatives from all 50 states and U.S. territories, the training conference featured Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, Dr. David Michaels, as keynote speaker as well as 24 workshops on different safety and health issues facing the country today. Michaels called the on-site consultation program “one of the government’s best kept secrets” during his keynote address.

Scaffolding leads OSHA top 10 list

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ast October, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its list of the top 10 most frequently cited standards by federal OSHA officers. The list of most commonly identified hazards is compiled annually and included for 2010: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Scaffolding (1926.451) Fall protection (1926.501 Hazard communication (1910.1200) Respirator protection (1910.134) Ladders (1926.1053) Lockout/Tagout (1910.147) Electrical, wiring methods (1910.305) Power industrial trucks (1910.178) Electrical, general requirement

(1910.303) 10. Machine guarding (1910.212)

Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, Dr. David Michaels, delivers the keynote speech during the 2011 National On-site Consultation Training Conference that was held in May.

USF SafetyFlorida was featured in Florida Trend’s May issue as a resource for business owners who are looking for ways to reduce workplace injuries.

USF SafetyFlorida featured in Florida Trend

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n an article about workers’ compensation and why it is working, the USF SafetyFlorida Consultation Program was featured in the May issue of Florida Trend as a resource for business owners looking for ways to reduce workplace injuries.

Shadowing experiences help USF students learn about occupational safety and health

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here is often no better way to learn than by first-hand experience, and USF students get to do just that when they shadow USF SafetyFlorida consultants during an onsite visit. This year, both undergraduate and graduate-level students from the College of Public Health participated in workplace safety and health visits with USF SafetyFlorida professionals.

In March, 12 undergraduate students specializing in epidemiology, global health, and maternal health and well-being visited Solamatrix, Inc. in St. Petersburg and the Pinellas County Department of Solid Waste Operations. Says Safety and Health Supervisor Mylene Kellerman of the visit, “We wanted them to understand how environmental health and its many facets are integral parts of public health.”

USF nursing students enrolled in the graduate certificate course Occupational Health Nursing II, or NGR 6651, also received familiarization in the roles and functions of OSHA and USF SafetyFlorida on-site consultation. Students must undergo a 15-hour mentoring experience with a safety and health consultant to learn how OSHA and on-site consultation programs affect high-hazard industries and the occupational health nursing practice. One student shadowed safety and health consultant Jim Ulseth during an on-site visit in New Port Richey to Hawkins Construction, Inc., and Project Manager Josh Spooner says the student’s visit and added insight was helpful. “We’re all about preventing injuries, and what they explained was how areas have the potential to harm and hurt workers.”

Conversely, the student found the experience enlightening as well. “As an OHN/ARNP, there is a high probability for me to come into contact with employees who have been injured on similar jobsites. It is very important to understand how an

injury could occur in order to be able to recommend ways to prevent them and to prevent occupational injuries for my future employer.”

USF College of Public Health undergraduate students participate in a field trip to learn more about the relationship between environmental and public health. USF SafetyFlorida consultants accompanied the students during the March visit.

Did you know? USF SafetyFlorida has a video library of 579 titles on safety topics such as distracted driving, electrical hazards, landscaping, powered industrial trucks, personal protective equipment and more. Many are available in both English and Spanish.

Video rentals are free, and businesses can borrow up to five titles for two weeks. Videos are copyrighted by law and may not be duplicated. For more information, visit www.safetyflorida.usf.edu.

U S F O S H A Tr a i n i n g I n s t i t u t e E d u c a t i o n C e n t e r

The USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center is located in Wesley Chapel, north of the USF Tampa campus, near Interstate 75.

Florida’s Workplace Safety Training and Continuing Education Resource

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Courses are offered throughout the Southeast and internationally in the countries shown above.

he USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center (OTIEC) bustled with activity this year. As Florida's premier source of safety training and education, the center is one of 25 OSHA education centers in the U.S. and the fifth most-active in the country. Located in Wesley Chapel near Tampa, it offers both online and live safety training courses to more than one thousand students annually. Moreover, its 400-plus authorized trainers delivered safety courses to 11,357 students this year.

Certificate Program

During the spring, the center conducted a HAZWOPER training course for the City of Miami and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of The City of Miami Brownfield Job Training Program. The program provides free environmental, industrial and commercial industry-related training and certification to city residents, helping to increase job skills and workforce employability.

Private Safety Classes

The center also unveiled a certificate program for safety professionals looking to expand their workplace knowledge and practical experience in general industry, construction and maritime industries. Each certificate program offers tracks with four required courses and five elective courses.

Individuals enrolled have five years to complete their certificate and receive a 20 percent discount for each course taken.

For companies in need of training at their place of business or at a specific time, private safety courses are available upon request. Courses can be tailored to a business's needs. Furthermore, they are effective way to bring training to your site and help business owners save money in travel-related costs.

What We Hear

In June, the center offered an ANSI Z10 course on Integration with ISO Standards. The course included an overview of the ANSI Z10 standard, elements of the standard, and how to integrate standard elements into an existing ISO system. The class had 25 attendants in its first year. And in August, OTIEC instructors led OSHA’s 10-hour General Industry course that was held during the 66th annual Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference in Orlando. Nearly 150 people attended the safety course.

COLIN HACKLEY

HARRY JAMES

City of Miami residents receive safety training from the USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center as part of a job training program sponsored by the city and Environmental Protection Agency. The program is designed to help residents increase job skills for the workforce.

We take great pride in the feedback we receive. Typical responses include “Best course I have ever taken,” “Will definitely return to USF for more courses,” and “I learned so much in this course that will help me provide a safer work place.”

Attendees listen during a safety education course at the USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center, located in Wesley Chapel.

USF SafetyFlorida On-Site

v OTI 521 Guide to Industrial Hygiene

The center's catalog of courses includes the following classes:

v OTI 2015 Hazardous Materials

v OTI 7400 Trainer Course in Construction Noise

v OTI 2045 Machinery and Machine Guarding Standards

v OTI 7405 Fall Hazard Awareness for the Construction Industry

v OTI 2225 Respiratory Protection

v OTI 7415 OSHA Construction Industry Requirements: Awareness of Major Hazards and Prevention Strategies

v OTI 2250 Principles of Ergonomics Applied to Work Related Musculoskeletal and Nerve Disorders

Online

v OTI 2264 Permit Required Confined Space Entry v

Aggression Control Manager

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OTI 510 Occupational Safety and Health Standards for Construction Industry (prerequisite for the OTI 500 course)

v

OTI 511 Occupational Safety and Health Standards for General

Industry (prerequisite for the OTI 501 course)

v OTI 3010 Excavation, Trenching and Soil Mechanics v OTI 3095 Electrical Standards v OTI 6000 Collateral Duty Course for Other Federal Agencies v OTI 7000 OSHA’s Ergonomic Guidelines Training for Nursing Homes

v Fall Protection Qualified Person Training v USF 9001 Sub Part R Steel Erection Safety Standards Maritime v OTI 5400 Trainer Course in Occupational Safety and Health Standards for Maritime Industry

v OTI 7100 Introduction to Machinery and Machine Safeguarding

10-hour OSHA Safety Course for both General Industry and Construction

v OTI 7105 Introduction to Evacuation and Emergency Planning

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30-hour OSHA Safety Course for both General Industry and Construction

v OTI 7115 Lock out/Tag Out Controlling Hazardous Energy to Prevent Workplace Injury

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24-hour HAZWOPER

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8-hour HAZWOPER

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v

v Scaffolding Qualified Person Training

Disaster v OTI 5600 Disaster Site Worker Train-theTrainer Course v OTI 5602 Update for Disaster Site Worker Trainer Course

v OTI 7120 Introduction to Combustible Dust Hazards

v OTI 7105 Evacuation and Emergency Planning

4-hour Recordkeeping

v OTI 7200 Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control for Healthcare Facilities

v OTI 7600 Disaster Site Worker Course

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Fleet Driver Program

v OTI 7205 Health Hazard Awareness

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Safe Teen Jobs Awareness Training

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Specialty 1 Hour Online Courses

v OTI 7210 Pandemic Influenza and Workplace Preparedness

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Fall Protection

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Blood Borne Pathogens

v OTI 7300 Understanding OSHA’s Permit Required Confined Space Standards

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Scaffold

v OTI 7410 Managing Excavation Hazards

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Stairways and Ladders

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Introduction to OSHA

v OTI 7500 Introduction to Safety and Health Management

v OSHA Standards and Inspection Procedures

v OTI 7505 Introduction to Accident Investigation

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Personal Protective Equipment

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Recordkeeping

v OTI 7510 Introduction to OSHA for Small Business

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Safety Programs

v OTI 7845 Recordkeeping Rule Seminar

v

Rigging and Material Handling Construction

General Industry v OTI 501 Trainer Course in Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the General Industry v OTI 503 Update for General Industry Outreach Trainers v OTI 511 Occupational Safety and Health Standards for General Industry (also available online)

v OTI 500 Trainer Course in Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry v OTI 502 Update for Construction Industry Outreach Trainers v OTI 510 Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry (also available online) v OTI 3110 Fall Arrest Systems

For more information about the USF OTI Center and to register for classes, visit us on the web at www.usfoticenter.org.

USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center 2612 Cypress Ridge Boulevard, Suite 101 Wesley Chapel, FL 33544 Direct: 813-994-1195 Fax: 813-994-1173 e-mail: usfoticenter@health.usf.edu www.usfoticenter.org

Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program Award

Prestigious SHARP Certification Offers OSHA Exemption What is SHARP? OSHA created the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program award to recognize small business owners who operate an exemplary safety and health management system (SHMS). Once SHARP certified, employers are exempt from OSHA inspections for a period up to two years, with the exception of a serious accident (involving the hospitalization of three or more employees), fatality or employee complaint. Firms throughout the U.S. can earn a SHARP, and the approval process begins with a recommendation from a state safety consultation program.

How can a company become SHARP? Companies interested in the SHARP program must first request a safety and health consultation visit from USF SafetyFlorida. The consultation visit involves a full service safety and health hazard survey of the worksite(s) involved, including equipment and work processes. Other qualifying requirements for the SHARP program include: • Have at least one year of operating history at the company or worksite; • Implement, demonstrate and maintain a SHMS that, at a minimum, addresses the major elements of OSHA’s 1989 Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines; • Lower the company’s Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate and Total Recordable Case (TRC) rate below industry national average; • Correct all hazards identified by the consultant; • Agree to notify the USF SafetyFlorida Consultation Program prior to making changes in working conditions or work processes that may introduce new hazards into the workplace.

First-Time SHARP Certification and Exemption Once a business has satisfied all SHARP requirements, a USF SafetyFlorida consultant may recommend a company for SHARP approval and certification. If approved by OSHA, the company will receive formal SHARP recognition from OSHA and USF SafetyFlorida during an award ceremony.

During its first SHARP certification, a company is exempt from OSHA inspections for a period up to two years.

SHARP Renewal Companies that wish to renew their SHARP certification must apply during the last six months of its exemption period. They must also undergo a comprehensive visit by a USF SafetyFlorida consultant to ensure the company’s SHMS has been maintained or improved. Furthermore, the employer must meet all SHARP eligibility requirements, agree to conduct self-evaluations and provide a written report based on the elements of OSHA 1989 Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines and OSHA’s required injury and illness logs.

Why SHARP? Businesses that earn a SHARP say the recognition instills a sense of pride and accomplishment. It also creates opportunity for other worksites to aspire for the certification. One such example is Gate Precast Company, which is headquartered in Jacksonville and has locations throughout the Southeast. The Jacksonville plant earned a SHARP award in 2009, and management became so supportive of the process that today three other Gate Precast plants are SHARP certified: one in Tennessee, another in Winchester, Kentucky, and a third in Kissimmee.

Portside Maintenance and Repair of Jacksonville, a division of ICS Logistics’ Coastal Maritime, also earned a SHARP certification this year. And to Safety Coordinator Gus Cagigas, SHARP is a tangible reward that demonstrates the company’s fruits of its labor when it comes to safety. “We’re proud of this achievement; seeing where we were and where we are now,” says Cagigas. Cagigas will also be working with USF SafetyFlorida again when the program visits two other Coastal Maritime divisions this year.

Proof that safety can indeed create value for a company’s bottom line.

SHARP Deferral If a business meets most but not all of OSHA’s SHARP eligibility requirements, a USF SafetyFlorida consultant may recommend a business for an inspection deferral up to 18 months, provided the company has: • Completed a hazard identification survey with a USF SafetyFlorida consultant and corrected all identified hazards; • Implemented, demonstrated and maintained a SHMS that, at a minimum, addresses the major elements of OSHA’s 1989 Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines; • Implemented an action plan with established abatement dates that completes the necessary items that prevented the company from reaching SHARP status during the original survey.

Portside Maintenance & Repair, Jacksonville

Gate Precast Company, Kissimmee

USF SafetyFlorida On-Site

Florida’s SHARP Companies Each year approximately 55 companies in Florida earn OSHA’s SHARP award. This year’s SHARP employers include: SHARP Key: (N) = new, (R) = renewal (R) Advanced Sawmill Machinery, Holt

(N) JRS Custom Fabrication, Inc., Ocala

(R) Ajax Building Corporation, Midway

(N) JELD-WEN Window Division, Venice

(R) Aluma Tower Company, Inc., Vero Beach

(N) JELD-WEN Millwork Division, Coral Springs

(R) A-C-T Environmental & Infrastructure, Bartow

(R) Johnson Controls Miami Warehouse

(R) Amphenol Sine Systems, Lake Wales

(N) Mapei, Inc., Ft. Lauderdale

(R) Architectural Specialties Trading Company, Pensacola

(N) MI Metals, Inc., Oldsmar

(R) BAE Systems Inc., Aerospace Solutions, Crestview

(R) Moss & Associates, Fort Lauderdale

(N) BAE Systems, Inc., Metal Fabrication Division, Crestview

(R) Nestor Sales, Largo

(R) Bayonet Point Health & Rehabilitation Center, Hudson

(N) New Limeco, LLC., Princeton

(R) Beall's 810 Facility, Bradenton

(N) Orbeco-Hellige, Sarasota

(R) Beall's 817 Facility, Bradenton

(N) Phoenix Wood Products, Ocala

(N) Bovis Lend Lease, Tampa

(N) Portside Maintenance & Repair, Jacksonville

(N) Cable USA, Inc., Naples

(N) Probuild #82, Milton

(N) Canterbury Tower, Tampa

(N) Pursuit Boats, Ft. Pierce

(R) Coreslab Structures Orlando, Inc.

(R) Ro-Mac Lumber & Supply, Leesburg

(R) Cox's Wholesale Seafood, Tampa

(R) Sea Ray Boats, Flagler Beach

(R) Custom Window Systems Inc., Ocala

(N) Snapper Creek Nursery, Ft. Pierce

(R) Current Builders, Pompano Beach

(N)

(R) Daws Manufacturing Company, Inc., Pensacola

(R) Southern Precast, Alachua

(N) Exactech, Inc., Gainesville

(R) Stewart-Marchman-Act Behavioral Healthcare

(N) Facility Contract Services, Pembroke Pines (N) Florida's Blood Centers, Orlando

Orbeco-Hellige, Sarasota

Southern Manufacturing Technologies, Inc., Tampa

Enrichment Program, Daytona Beach

Johnson Controls, Miami Warehouse

(R) Sypris Electronics LLC, Tampa

(N) Florida's Blood Centers, Lake Park

(R) Technology Conservation Group, Lecanto

(N) Florida's Blood Centers, Miramar

(N) Thomas & Betts Corporation, Ormond Beach (Southland)

(N) Florida Club Care Center, Miami

(N) Thomas & Betts Corporation, Ormond Beach (Aviator Way)

(R) Florida Presbyterian Homes, Lakeland

(R) Trucks & Parts of Tampa

(R) Gate Precast Company, Jacksonville

(N) Trusswood, Titusville

(N) Gate Precast Company, Kissimmee (R) Great Southern Wood of Florida, Inc., Lake Panasoffkee (N) International Baler Corporation, Jacksonville

BAE Systems Inc, Crestview

Ready to become a SHARP? Contact USF SafetyFlorida at 1-866-273-1105 or visit us online at www.safetyflorida.usf.edu to request a free on-site consultation.

Southern Manufacturing Technologies, Inc., Tampa

Exactech, Inc., Gainesville

Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program Award

USF SafetyFlorida’s Sunshine State Safety Recognition Award: Teamwork makes the difference

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sk any successful business owner involved in high-risk industry their advice on keeping incident levels low, and their answer will most likely be employers and employees working together to keep a job site safe.

This employer-employee safety commitment is the reason USF SafetyFlorida developed the Sunshine State Safety Recognition Award.

Created in 2006, the Sunshine State Safety Recognition Award commends employers and employees in all industries who proactively and routinely engage in job safety. Approximately 40 firms earn this honor annually, and it recognizes companies that have implemented good safety initiatives to better protect employees on the job.

According to Keith Brown, a USF SafetyFlorida safety and health supervisor, “Team work is essential in accident prevention, and when there are open lines of communication between workers and management, it speaks volumes about a company’s commitment to safety.”

To qualify, a business should request and receive a complete on-site consultation survey and employ at least one person at the worksite to be evaluated. Additionally, the business should have no willful, repeat or willful-repeat citations within 24 months of the consultation and no serious citations related to injury or exposure within 12 months of the consultation.

During the consultation, a safety consultant will perform a comprehensive on-site evaluation of all written accident prevention management programs. The consultant will also speak with workers and conduct an evaluation of the work area. The safety consultant will review: • Administration and oversight of safety management programs • Safety and health management practices • Safety training and instruction • Employee safety rules • Internal safety inspection routines for new and existing substances, processes and equipment If hazards are identified during the visit, an abatement of those specific hazards must take place before recognition is granted. Once initial and final consultations are complete, a safety consultant may decide to formally recommend the firm for a Sunshine State Safety Recognition Award, which is approved

by USF SafetyFlorida management. A formal letter of commendation is sent to the company, recognizing the employers’ and employees’ efforts in implementing and maintaining an effective injury and illness prevention program.

“Working together towards maintaining safety is something everyone can take pride in,” adds Brown.

USF SafetyFlorida developed the Sunshine State Safety Recognition Award to motivate and support employers who demonstrate a commitment to continuously improve their workplace safety and health management system.

Top to Bottom: Hawkins Construction, Inc., Safe Haven Veterinary Clinic, First Florida Builders Corporation, Merit Professional Coatings

USF SafetyFlorida On-Site

What it means to earn a Sunshine State Award

The 2010-2011 Sunshine State Safety Recognition Award recipients include:

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Alyses Tropical Salon, Daytona Beach American Thermoplastics Extrusion Co., Miami Balfour Beatty (396 Alhambra), Coral Gables Coastal Construction Company

Over the past two years First Florida has received ten Sunshine State Safety Awards. The awards are highly coveted by all. There are several sources that aid in supporting the growth of the Safety and Health Program. The AGC, OSHA Strategic Partnership and USF Consultation Program are at the top of the list. The USF Consultation Program

(Camilus House Sheppard Project), Miami Coastal Construction Company (St. Regis Bal Harbour Project), Miami Covenant Christian School, Palm Bay Custom Building Products, Miami

was first introduced by Gabe Garcia, one of the current consultants. We discussed the program, but did not take immediate action. A few years passed. First Florida’s program was not advancing as quickly as desired. We contacted USF for their assistance. They brought the elements that helped to boost the safety program and culture. “Above and beyond” is what we kept hearing over and over from the consultants. Eventually it sank in; even today we continue to look for the little things that make the safety program more efficient and effective. This has minimized accidents and lowered insurance costs, allowing First Florida to be more competitive. Currently some subcontractors are directed to use USF, resulting in the level of safety First Florida demands. The USF Consultation Program is a win, win program for all involved.

EMJ Construction, West Melbourne Firmenich, Lakeland First Florida Building Corp.

(Heritage Place Apartment), Miami First Florida Building Corp.

(Magnolia Landings) Miami First Florida Building Corp.

(Park Place Apartments), Melbourne First Florida Building Corp.

(Sabal Ridge II Apartments), Tampa Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation, Inc., Wauchula Hawkins Construction, Inc., Holiday Indian River Medical Office - SAA, Titusville Merit Professional Coatings (USF IDRB), Tampa Moss & Associates (Publix Coral Gables),

irst Florida Building Corp. is a privately owned and second generation general contractor, primarily building apartments throughout the state of Florida. Safety is at the top of First Florida’s priority list. “Safety First” is not just a phrase, it is a part of the safety culture. The importance of safety starts at the top and trickles down. The owners, President Bob Miller and Vice President Cathy Miller, demand that of all employees.

Coral Gables

Regards, John Stellato Safety Director

Moss & Associates (Western Beef Project), Pembroke Pines Mueller Industries, Ft. Pierce Ponte Vedra Plastic Surgery, Ponte Vedra Beach Raydon Corporation, Port Orange Superior Construction Company, Jacksonville Syncron EMS-SAA, Melbourne United Launch Alliance, Cape Canaveral Versacold Logistics, Plant City

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Features

An employer’s first line of defense to reduce injuries, fatalities The government’s best kept secret is how Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Dr. David Michaels described on-site consultation, a service provided to U.S. small business employers, at the 2011 Annual On-site Consultation Training Conference that was held in Orlando.

The consultation program, established by the OSH Act of 1970, reaches all 50 states and U.S. territories by offering confidential and comprehensive workplace safety and health assistance--at no cost to the employer. This professional assistance helps employers develop safety and health management systems that comply with OSHA standards. Keeping workers safe by reducing exposures to workplace hazards and the subsequent injuries and illnesses they can cause is the primary goal of on-site consultation.

Because the program is voluntary, a business owner must request a consultation. During FY 2010, over 30,000 consultation visits were conducted, reaching more than 1.5 million workers worldwide.1 In Florida, OSHA’s on-site consultation program is known as USF SafetyFlorida and is operated from the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health in Tampa. The program assists Sunshine State business owners identify and mitigate workplace hazards, thus reducing the potential for injuries and fatalities that can cripple a business’s profitability. This year the program will conduct more than 700 safety visits, impacting thousands of employees. “Protecting workers and ensuring that every job is safe is what USF SafetyFlorida prides itself on,” says Charlene Sitterly, program director of USF SafetyFlorida.

“We want to provide employers with the safety education and training they need to make a positive difference,” Sitterly adds.

OSHA. On-site Consultation.

1

whttp://www.osha.gov/dcsp/smallbusiness/consult.html.

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USF SafetyFlorida On-Site

Referrals: Working Together to Reduce Injuries The OSH Act that created on-site consultation programs nationwide also created area enforcement offices. Consultation and enforcement are separate organizations that have a common goal. Florida’s consultation program, USF SafetyFlorida, is headquartered in Tampa with consultants statewide. OSHA enforcement has three area offices in Florida: Jacksonville, Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa.

USF SafetyFlorida ‘s safety and health consultants do not have the ability to enforce OSHA regulations through fines. However, OSHA enforcement personnel refer a steady stream of Florida small business owners to consultation for support in meeting OSHA workplace safety standards. That’s because OSHA’s enforcement and consultation goals are similar when it comes to reducing Florida’s workplace hazards, as each program engages in their specific but separate activities to reach companies in particular industries that work with certain hazards.

Therefore, high-hazard industries are a priority for both enforcement and consultation. Such industries tend to have hazards that can cause amputations and have work sites that include lead, silica, noise, combustible dust, trenching and hexavalent chromium hazards. Other high-hazard industries for both consultation and enforcement are Construction, landscaping and horticultural services, scrap and waste materials recycling operations, and businesses that use power industrial trucks or have electrical hazards.

Enforcement offices make these referrals to USF SafetyFlorida since our consultants have the knowledge and training in OSHA standards and hazard prevention, and can assist an employer that requests general safety assistance or that receives an OSHA settlement agreement.

Subcontractor Safety This year USF SafetyFlorida targeted the construction industry with its Safety for Subs flier, created in an effort to educate and encourage subcontractors to develop a written safety and health plan. Since it is common for numerous subcontractors to work on a common worksite, safety inconsistencies can quickly compromise the overall safety and health of workers. Safety

for Subs directs subcontractors to SafetyWriter, an online tool developed by USF SafetyFlorida that gives business owners the power to create a custom and site-specific written safety and health plan at no cost. The safety plans can be shared with employees and general contractors, thus helping subcontractors to become safer on the job and in compliance with OSHA. Workplace Safety Seminars USF SafetyFlorida also partnered this year with the Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Workers’ Compensation. Each year, the Division’s Bureau of Compliance hosts more than 40 Workplace Safety seminars throughout the state, with the goal of reaching and teaching small business owners about workers’ compensation laws and workplace safety. The seminars are free and open to the public and an effective way for the consultation program to educate more of the small business community about the importance of keeping employees safe. e-Letter Another outreach effort initiated by USF SafetyFlorida is its monthly electronic newsletter that is received by more than 4,000 readers. The e-Letter features a variety of safety topics that inform readers about workplace hazards, from the importance of air sampling and personal protective equipment to how to create a hurricane safety plan and train employees using powered industrial trucks. Readers particularly enjoy the consultant-written “What’s Wrong With This Picture” and “Consultant’s Corner” sections of the e-Letter that contain important safety tips and how-to’s that engage the reader with photos and corrective recommendations.

Launched in 2009, the e-Letter has been a success for the consultation program, and Program Director Charlene Sitterly says she even receives calls from businesses that look forward to its arrival each month.

A ‘Fantastic’ Service!

Companies that request on-site consultation are appreciative of the professionalism and quality services they receive. Sarasota-based OrbecoHellige, a manufacturer of water and wastewater analytical laboratory testing instruments, began

working with USF SafetyFlorida after relocating to Florida from New York in 2008. As a new firm to the Sunshine State, safety was a top priority for the company’s management in order to grow the business and keep employees happy and healthy. It used USF SafetyFlorida in addition to its insurance company and the Manatee Fire Department to enhance overall workplace safety.

“Our motivation was to ensure that we were diligently covering safety and to work judiciously to be recognized for that safety effort,” says Richard Donoghue, technical specialist. Prior to receiving an on-site consultation, any employee could walk through the company’s chemical storage room that houses liquid bases and agents that make reagents, thus creating a potential exposure and possible danger for employees.

Today, only authorized personnel are allowed access to the room, and chemicals are better labeled and inspected for expiration dates. The company even has its own appointed fire marshal to ensure employees remain safe while on the job and recently earned OSHA’s prestigious Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) award. “USF has been just fantastic,” says Donoghue.

Hawkins Construction, Inc. of Tarpon Springs is another company that decided to use on-site consultation. The construction management firm, which has a presence throughout the Southeast, requested the service earlier this year as part of a pilot project--to see if and how on-site consultation would be valuable. Management found the experience to be so helpful that it intends for all of its Florida worksites to undergo the process. “We’re all about preventing injuries, and what they explained was how areas have the potential to harm and hurt workers,” says Josh Spooner, a Hawkins project manager. He adds that the service is beneficial since it not only identifies safety deficiencies but also areas in which a company performs well.

USF SafetyFlorida’s mission of protecting workers and helping employers remain profitable can make a positive impact to a small business owner. “Safety education and training

Hawkins Construction, Inc. receives a USF SafetyFlorida Sunshine State Safety Recognition Award for a car dealership it built in New Port Richey.

really makes the difference,” says Charlene Sitterly. “We are an employer’s front line of defense and work with employers to help make work practices safe so that employees go can home to their families every day.” To request your complimentary on-site consultation, visit www.safetyflorida.usf.edu.

Orbeco-Hellige receives its OSHA SHARP award in January. The manufacturer of water and wastewater laboratory instruments is located in Sarasota and began working with USF SafetyFlorida after relocating in 2008 from New York.

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JEA, Aerophoto

Features

JEA’s newest power plant, natural gas-powered Greenland Energy Center, started operation in 2011 to provide electricity to Jacksonville’s southeast area.

OSHA, USF SafetyFlorida, JEA partnership brings safety to the forefront

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o reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities in the construction industry, OSHA joined forces with the USF SafetyFlorida OSHA Consultation Program and JEA to enhance the overall workplace safety and health of the Northeast Florida utility and its contractors. The strategic partnership was first created in 2000 and has been re-signed three times--in 2003, 2006, and again in 2010.

JEA has a strong presence in the greater Jacksonville area. As the largest communityowned utility in Florida and the eighth largest in America, the company operates an electric system with three generating plants, 134 artesian wells, 35 water treatment plants, seven regional sewer treatment plants and eight non-regional sewer treatment plants. Combined, this enables the company to serve 417,000 electric customers in Jacksonville and three surrounding counties, 305,000 water customers and 230,000 sewer customers.1 As part of its agreement, JEA, USF SafetyFlorida and OSHA work synergistically to increase the number of employers with effective safety and health management systems and the number of workers who receive OSHA 10-hour construction safety training. JEA safety professionals and USF SafetyFlorida consultants together visit worksites to monitor safety management and identify hazards. As a result, contractors with successfully developed safety and health management systems and site-specific plans in compliance with OSHA standards are recognized by JEA.

1

JEA. www.jea.com.

2

United States Department of Labor, OSHA.

http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/success_stories/partnerships/ region4/011_jea_success.html 13

USF SafetyFlorida On-Site

Safety Management Focus USF SafetyFlorida has provided numerous on-site workplace safety and health inspections at JEA worksites throughout the 11 year agreement.

In 2011, more than 20 worksite visits have been provided. Keith Brown, a supervisor with USF SafetyFlorida, says the OSHA alliance and visits raise the level of safety awareness. "I think the most significant result has been the increased focus on safety management by contractors who work on JEA projects and, subsequently, the prevention of work-related injuries and illnesses on JEA jobsites," says Brown.

JEA monitors safety by keeping data on its contractors. In addition to tracking hazards reported and abated, the company ensures all incidents are reported, investigated and corrective action plans are written. Furthermore, the company monitors Days-Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rates, Total Recordable Case (TRC) rates and Experience Modification Rates.

Since the agreement's signing in 2000, rates have dropped significantly. In 1999, JEA reported a 6.16 TRC rate and a 2.08 DART rate. Last year, rates were 1.37 and .63, respectively, significantly lower than the national average 5.7 TRC and 3.0 DART rates in the Construction and Other Special Trade Contractors NAICS code (23899).2

JEA TRC and DART Rates, 1999-2010 Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 BLS National Average

TRC 6.16 5.60 4.05 4.91 2.74 3.07 2.71 2.70 2.51 2.10 1.40 1.37 5.70

DART 2.08 1.85 0.97 2.04 1.20 0.99 0.92 0.93 0.78 1.20 0.67 0.63 3.00

Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration, JEA

Safety Training Additionally, the partnership has been successful in providing 35,035 employees and 3,644 supervisors with OSHA 10-hour construction safety training or National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) eight-hour contractor safety orientation training. Some of the OSHA 10-hour construction training courses are led by USF's OSHA Training Institute Education Center. In September, the center will teach a class for 24 JEA participants.

By recognizing contractors with successful safety and health management systems, OSHA programmed inspections of JEA-approved contractors and subcontractors are focused rather than comprehensive. If serious hazards are found, however, the inspection may be expanded to the comprehensive level. Additionally, approved contractors and subcontractors are not penalized for non-serious violations, except for recordkeeping and non-reporting violations, and receive penalty reductions on uncontested serious violations, up to 25 percent. They also receive technical assistance and training from USF SafetyFlorida and OSHA. Changing Safety Cultures Paul Thomas, a safety specialist with JEA, says the alliance strengthens the company's safety commitment and benefits everyone involved.

"JEA’s safety mission statement is to provide utility services in a manner that will ensure the safety of our employees, contractors, customers and the communities we serve. This partnership and its outcomes continue to support that mission," he says. Contractors are reaping the benefits as well, Thomas adds. "A number of our contractors have realized the return on investment (ROI) safety can provide and have adopted many of our contractor safety program elements, now changing the safety culture within their own companies."

Partnerships in workplace safety can be mutually advantageous. For more information about OSHA and USF SafetyFlorida strategic partnerships, contact USF SafetyFlorida at 1-866-273-1105 or visit our website at www.safetyflorida.usf.edu.

Did your company receive a High Dart Incident Rate letter from OSHA this year? We can help.

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ach year OSHA distributes letters to companies throughout the U.S., alerting them about their elevated Days Away from work, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rates. In March 2011, OSHA sent these letters to 14,600 U.S. workplaces with the highest occupational injury and illness rates. Not only did the letters express concern for the safety and well-being of the companies’ employees, but they also urged employers to seek safety and health assistance.

Here in Florida, 937 employers received this call to action. “Companies that receive the high DART rate letter should not take it lightly,” says William Tomlin, a safety and health supervisor with the USF SafetyFlorida OSHA Consultation Program.

“The letter is an invitation for the employer to take corrective actions now before the situation can elevate into something further,” he says.

What to Do OSHA’s letters suggest that employers with elevated injury and illness rates contact an OSHA consultation program. That is where USF SafetyFlorida can help.

The program, operated from the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health, has safety and health consultants located throughout the state and ready to assist year-round with workplace safety and health issues. Professionally trained and experienced in OSHA hazards, a consultant will visit a worksite in person to discuss the company’s existing safety and health management system.

Furthermore, they will conduct a comprehensive walkthrough of a workplace to identify any hazards or potentially hazardous areas--all done confidentially and without citations.

Turning it Around How long it takes for a company to identify and correct hazardous and potentially hazardous areas varies by company. And Tomlin adds that an on-site consultation can usually shorten the process versus a company going it alone.

“Consultants help businesses better understand OSHA requirements and what an employer needs to do to become in compliance,” says Tomlin.

Gate Precast Company (NAICS 327390) was previously on OSHA’s high DART rate list. In 2007 after receiving a letter, the company’s Jacksonville plant (and headquarters) made a decision to go after OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP). While it took two years to earn the prestigious award that recognizes businesses with exemplary safety and health management systems, the Jacksonville plant did so and was motivated enough to encourage its other plants in the Southeast to aspire for the program.

In fact, Gate’s corporate management committed itself so much to safety and wellness that the company now measures safety equally with quality and productivity. Instead of how fast, how good or how much, the company takes a close look at how safely it operates. And this isn’t just talk. The company increased its Kissimmee plant’s safety and health budget by 35 percent this year, a move many companies would question in today’s tighter economic climate.

The Kissimmee plant, another former recipient of OSHA’s high DART incident rate letter,

was at one time faced with the challenge of employee knowledge about safety regulations and standards. In addition to inviting USF SafetyFlorida on-site for a comprehensive safety analysis, the plant worked hard to educate employees about safety through open communication. Safety meetings’ frequency went from weekly to daily, and morning toolbox talks became more focused to discuss specific situations such as near-misses or incidents from the previous day. Furthermore, the plant introduced monthly safety luncheons and safety bingos in order to motivate employees and keep safety top of mind. Mike Parker, Kissimmee’s plant manager, says the combined familiarization efforts and having consultants visible on-site succeeded in establishing a mindset where everyone takes a shared responsibility to safety.

“Employees are committed to watching each other’s back to ensure we all go home in good shape at the end of the day,” says Parker.

Today, the Kissimmee plant is Gate Precast’s most recent addition to the OSHA SHARP program. Its DART rate has dropped from 7.8 to .5 between 2008 and 2010, and its number of injuries and illnesses has also taken a drastic decline. Combined they have helped the company to reduce its dollar value in workers’ compensation claims by 29 percent during this same two-year period.

Gate Precast now has four SHARP certified plants.

In addition to Kissimmee and Jacksonville, two other sites--Winchester, Kentucky and Ashland, Tennessee--are in the SHARP program. “We’ve always wanted to be safe,” says Parker, “but what y’all (USF SafetyFlorida) do makes it possible. The consultants were very helpful and put safety in such a way that we could understand it … I’d be willing to stand on a street corner with a sign; that’s how strongly I feel about consultation.”

And it doesn’t stop there. If hazards are identified, a consultant will offer advice on how to correct the hazards to keep them from recurring. “We give employers a visualization and appreciation of what can happen from a hazard,” says Tomlin.

“We want them to understand how to make positive safety changes in order to keep employees safe on the job.” Part of those safety changes includes education and training. By talking oneon-one with employees as well as management, important tips and how-to’s become an eyeopening experience in safety.

Gate Precast Company’s Kissimmee and Jacksonville plants are both in OSHA’s SHARP program, which recognizes companies for exemplary safety and health. The plants were previously on OSHA’s high DART rate list and successfully enhanced their safety and health management systems to award-winning programs.

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Features

What a High DART Rate Means

The Positive Side Effects of Safety Companies that take a proactive approach to safety and health management understand its benefits, including: • Reduced injuries and illnesses • Reduced workers’ compensation claims • Healthier, safer workers and

workplaces • Higher productivity • Increased employee morale • Reduced costs • Higher profit potential As SHARP companies today, Gate Precast Company’s Jacksonville and Kissimmee plants are off OSHA’s high DART rate list and view the SHARP program as a way to improve and promote safety awareness within the company, to reduce worker injuries and to reduce workers' compensation costs. If your company is interested in turning around its own safety and health management system, contact us today at www.safetyflorida.usf. edu. All consultations are confidential and free of charge.

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USF SafetyFlorida On-Site

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Each year OSHA surveys employers to collect workplace injury and illness data. The surveys deliver important results and allow OSHA to pinpoint companies whose injury and illness rates may be higher than their industry average. In 2011, OSHA identified U.S. 14,600 workplaces-–including 937 in Florida–with the highest Days Away from work, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rates. Those employers received letters in March, alerting them about their high DART rate and possible OSHA inspection. The letters also recommended that the employers contact their state OSHA consultation program.

A high DART rate indicates that a business’s injuries and illnesses are greater than their industry average. It can also signify that workers are being injured at a rate higher than most other businesses in the country.

OSHA requires certain businesses to maintain injury and illness records by law (Part 1904, Standards 29 Code of Federal Regulations). Recordkeeping is considered a critical part of an employer’s safety and health system since it: • Tracks work-related injuries and illnesses and helps with future prevention • Identifies problem areas so they can be analyzed and corrected • Facilitates safety and health programs with accurate records • Increases employer and employee awareness about safe work practices and workplace hazards OSHA determines which establishments must keep injury and illness records by using the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code. There are some low-hazard businesses--retail, finance, real estate and insurance companies and employers with less than 11 employees-that are exempt from recordkeeping. A list of these establishments can be found on OSHA’s website, www.osha.gov. For firms required to maintain records in their practice, they must use the Form 300 to list injuries and illnesses, in addition to days away from work, restricted or transferred. They must also use Form 301 to document supplementary information about recordable information or use a workers’ compensation or insurance form, provided it supplies the same information. A summary of incidents for each year is handled through the required Form 300A, which should be posted inside the business from February 1 to April 30.

Recordkeeping and labeling procedures of chemicals are discussed during a safety and health consultation.

By assisting companies understand the importance of workplace safety, employees can make positive safety changes that help them keep safe while working.

USF SafetyFlorida Accolades and Achievements A round-up of USF SafetyFlorida’s participation in professional development activities and speaking engagements throughout the state.

Mylene Kellerman and William Tomlin (above) attended the 12th annual Alliance for Central Florida Safety (ACFS) Safety Day on March 3 at the Contemporary Resort, Walt Disney World. The one-day, free event is for small and medium-sized employers to learn about workplace safety and available resources and to network with other businesses about safety and health matters. More than 600 participants attended.

In February, Pat Stark (left) delivered the presentation “How to Avoid and Survive an OSHA Audit” at the Florida Movers and Warehousemen’s Association annual convention in Orlando. In attendance were 50 household movers from around the state.

Jim Ulseth (left) spoke about the essential elements of an effective workplace safety and health management system at the national Power Plant Safety Conference that was held on June 29 in Clearwater.

Safety officials representing power plants throughout the country attended the event.

Charlene Sitterly, Keith Brown, William Tomlin, Mylene Kellerman and Keila Ashman attended the 2011 Annual OSHA On-site Consultation Training Conference that was held May 2-5 in Orlando. The conference featured a keynote address from Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels, and three days of safety and health training workshops.

Consultation project managers and representatives from all 50 states and U.S. territories attended the event.

Gabriel “Gabe” Garcia (left) delivered a safety and health presentation to 30 members of the Plumbing Contractors Association (PCA) during its December 7, 2010 meeting in Miami. PCA was founded in 1952 and has members from Dade and Broward counties.

Garcia also earned the Professional Certificate in Construction (PCC), General Industry (PCG) and Maritime (PCM) industry designations from the USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center in Tampa. The center’s certificate program is a safety continuing education curriculum for new and experienced safety professionals.

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Features

Jessica Bohan (left) received a Master of Public Health degree in Global Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance this spring from the University of South Florida. She also recently earned the Certified Public Health (CPH) designation. Bohan serves on the board of directors of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP). The BCSP is recognized as a domestic and international leader in certifying safety, health and environmental practitioners

and establishes standards and administers examinations for the Certified Safety Professional designation. The accredited, non-profit organization is headquartered in Illinois.

In June USF SafetyFlorida consultants became OSHA Authorized Maritime Outreach Trainers after successfully participating in the OSHA 5400 Trainer Course in Occupational Safety and Health Hazards for Maritime Industry. The 5400 Maritime course was developed by the USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center in partnership with the Gulf Coast Maritime Safety Alliance and the Mobile Area OSHA Office. The course is used by other OSHA Training Institute Education Centers around the nation.

USF SafetyFlorida’s Mylene Kellerman (far left), Charlene Sitterly (right) and Dr. Thomas Bernard from the USF College of Public Health (far right) speak with Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels (left) during the 2011 Annual OSHA On-site Consultation Training Conference that was held in Orlando]

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USF SafetyFlorida On-Site

April 8, 2011 USF Safety Florida (USF SF) is a life saver. I firmly believe that without the benefit of USF SF, Marpan Recycling would not be providing as safe a work environment. Marpan Recycling opened in May of 2008 as Florida’s first Class III Material Processing Facility. Class III material consists of construction and demolition debris, furniture, packaging – essentially all non-hazardous, non-food type waste. As a result of an employee injury reported to OSHA, Marpan learned of USF SF services and immediately requested a consultation.

Upon settlement of the OSHA citations, USF SF was on site for a complete safety audit of the facility. Mike Tartal, Safety and Health Consultant, performed the inspection and identified several improvements that needed to be done. These included installing guards and ensuring that they were in place while the equipment was running, eliminating extension cords and installing proper signs

What we hear …

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requently we receive letters from companies that thank us for the consultative services we provide. We are honored to be a part of Florida’s small business community and hold our mission of keeping workers safe with the utmost regard.

May 18, 2011 Dear Ms. Sitterly,

We just wanted to send you a quick note to tell you just how much we appreciated the time we have spent thus far with Mr. Ned Fayson.

We found his visit last month very informative and are looking forward to his return visit here this Friday. The knowledge, professionalism and courtesy shown by Mr. Fayson shows a sincere interest in our concerns for our company and our employees. He sincerely and intelligently answered all of our general questions with the utmost courtesy and friendliness.

We were left at the end of the day with an unfamiliar enthusiasm and your department deserves a thunderous round of applause for a job well done.

Sincerely,

Dave McGarva Bio-Tech Industries, Inc Orange Park, FL

for all electrical disconnects. The equipment manufacturer had done a good job with their installation, the additional modifications made in-house needed to be safer and we followed the recommendations of Safety Florida.

Ned Fayson, USF SF Safety and Health Consultant, completed noise and air quality studies which indicated that Marpan was providing satisfactory PPE for the work environment. This was good to hear.

He did recommend annual screening to ensure employees are in good shape and organizing test results for quick reference.

OHSA recordkeeping requirements were a bit foreign to me due to my background in local government and solid waste management. Mr. Tartal referred me to the USF SF website and how to use SafetyWriter and AccidentTracker. These features made recordkeeping much more streamlined and accurate because they prompted me to collect data and information the way OSHA requires it. Also, my former employers (City and County) had their own safety trainers. USF SF maintains a library of videos which are FREE and easy to borrow. These cover many topics and satisfy OSHA training and Marpan’s monthly safety meetings as well as include tests to ensure that employees “get it”.

As you can tell, I am a HUGE fan of University of South Florida SafetyFlorida. I firmly believe that their services have made Marpan Recycling a much safer and therefore productive workplace. We had one significant injury the first six months we were open and none since.

I know that OSHA’s primary goal is to provide a safe workplace. I also know that the potential threat of an OSHA inspection is much less stressful because of USF SF and their excellent services.

Nancy Paul, General Manager Marpan Recycling, LLC Tallahassee, FL

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S a f e t y M a n a g e m e n t To o l s

What Florida Businesses Like About SafetyWrtier “This is such an invaluable resource. I cannot thank you enough for offering this service free of charge -- and in Spanish!” says a landscaping company that uses SafetyWriter.

If you were on SafetyWriter.com to click together a health and safety plan in the past 12 months, your visit was one of 2,234 visits from 217 Florida cities that came to the site to quickly build or update a customized safety plan for your company.

Not only is SafetyWriter free, but it is easy to use. In three easy steps, users can customize a safety plan for their own business. As one construction employer told us, “Thank you for making a daunting task so much easier. I can’t thank you enough.” Others business owners commend SafetyWriter’s ability to provide a starting point for developing site-specific plans as well as its user-friendliness and ease of navigation. “It writes the program for you.”

And, explains another, “I save a lot of time and research using it.”

SafetyWriter’s menu enables users to select small sections of pre-written text to customize a plan to their specific industry. It begins with a basic safety program on which they can build a complete program specific to their needs.

As one survey respondent says, SafetyWriter “provides you with an umbrella safety program and enables the user to customize it to his specific needs.”

Users can narrow their options so the plan fits their business model. As one user says, “I can make it fit what our company needs and leave out items that do not apply. I was able to take an existing safety plan and modify it to my specific need.” The net result is that SafetyWriter’s produced plan “is easy to use and easy for employees to understand.”

Another benefit is SafetyWriter’s adaptability. The program creates an electronic copy that can be edited. One user noted “the ease of handling the material associated with differing job classifications. All that is needed is some editing so it best reflects our company’s situation.” In addition, the program inserts your company name, and “other information is present, making it easy for a company to tweak the info to their specific needs,” with the ability to edit easily and customize an OSHA-compliant plan for a specific application. Notes one user, “This program was very easy to use and helped me to create a Hazard Communication Program for my company.”

Many insurance brokers also use SafetyWriter. “I use it with several of my small accounts. It gives them a good start on the safety program.” Adds another, “As an insurance agency, we use SafetyWriter for added value. Employers get a 2 percent credit on work comp for have a written safety plan.”

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USF SafetyFlorida On-Site

1. Go to the USF SafetyFlorida home page and click on the SafetyWriter tab.

2. Fill out the Single Signon profile. (Filling out the profile gives you constant access to SafetyWriter, plus RecordKeeper and AccidentTracker.)

3. Submit the profile, and then click on SafetyWriter.

4. Once in SafetyWriter, you have several choices that can enhance the basic safety plan you will soon see as a Word document Your first choice (Method 1) is to enhance the basic plan by clicking on one or more of a list of safety procedures listed by SIC or sorted by industry type. Your second choice is to select from a list of 640 individual safety procedures (Method 2). Method 2 is available in English and can be used to create a Spanish safety plan.

5. The second step is to click on a list of topics you want to include in your safety plan if they are required by OSHA. Examples include Confined Space, Lockout/Tagout, Personal Protective Equipment and nine more.

6. And last, step three you asks SafetyWriter to assemble your plan. In seconds you will see a Word document customized for your

company, using the profile information you filled out in the Single Signon process. Now, save the document to your hard drive, and edit it to reflect the full detail of your safety policies. When you are happy with the result, email a copy of your safety plan to your employees, and give them each a printed copy.

SafetyWriter and Your Current Safety Plan USF SafetyFlorida consultant Gabe Garcia says, “SafetyWriter is a good choice regardless whether the company has a plan or not. I tell everyone that even if they already have a plan, SafetyWriter will help them update it. If the company’s current plan is in digital format, all they have to do is copy and paste items of interest into their plan from SafetyWriter and make their plan better. If you do not have a plan, SafetyWriter provides a quick and to-thepoint safety plan. By filling in the blanks you can create a company-specific plan that can grow with the company and can be modified as needed.”

“Even for companies with an existing safety plan,’ says USF SafetyFlorida consultant Pat Stark, “SafetyWriter can offer elements that the existing company plan may not—one of the most important being Assigned Safety Responsibilities (to key personnel).” Pat stresses that every company should assess their safety and health plan annually. For example, “SafetyWriter may offer elements that are not part of this existing plan.” Pat says “SafetyWriter is a prototype, a template, not in itself a company’s safety program until that company tailors it to their workplace, their workforce, and their exposures.” While SafetyWriter has boilerplate language in the safety policy section, top management needs to use their own words in this policy, Pat says, “so that it relates to their philosophy, their true beliefs.” As important as any safety plan you put on paper, says Pat, is what management and supervisors practice. “Employees are smart enough to tell if their company has just cut-and-pasted a safety program together or if top management, middle management or supervisory personnel are fully committed to practicing safety across the worksite.”

No time to document high-frequency accident hot-spots?

AccidentTracker helps you collect much-needed data for documenting lost-time accidents.

If your company has a risk manager, it’s imperative they know the whowhat-where-when-and-how of each accident and injury. AccidentTracker is a template that lets you quickly fill in accident information. And the reports AccidentTracker produces are a real payoff. Information is money, and the better reporting you have about accident stats, the better you can manage down your workers’ comp insurance costs. Your data is secure at https://secure.consultationconnection.com/AccidentTrackingSystem.

AccidentTracker is Easy Step 1: Create a Profile Indicate locations where you have work sites. Once locations are in the system, you can quickly enter accident data by location.

Step 2: Enter Injury Data You can enter virtually every kind of data associated with an accident, and choose to add as little or as much as is available. If you’ve never kept track of workers’ accident facts because paper systems were too cumbersome, AccidentTracker eliminates paper, helping you gather data that’s important to you. Your insurance carrier will be impressed; you won’t have to wait for their reports. And these will tell you so much more.

“This is an excellent management tool, especially for employers who have people at more than one location, like construction

What You’ll Get with AccidentTracker Reports that let you customize your employees’ accident data by injury type, body part, cause and claim type. AccidentTracker’s reports provide important data, allowing you to put your finger on the sources and causes of safety incidents that are costing you–and your workers–money.

companies, fast food operations, and retailers.”

Jessica Bohan USF SafetyFlorida Safety and Health Consultant

To learn more about AccidentTracker, visit

w w w. s a f e t y f l o r i d a . u s f . e d u.

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S a f e t y M a n a g e m e n t To o l s

No time to keep OSHA records?

RecordKeeper’s wizard fills in all three OSHA accident-reporting forms.

Record keeping has never been easier. This wizard walks you through from input to printout. Save files online or download them to your hard drive.

RecordKeeper’s easy-to-fill-in wizard lets you input data one time for three OSHA-required recordable-accident reporting forms. Whether you have one location or many, RecordKeeper lets you complete OSHA’s required 300-series of accident reporting forms. The wizard saves you time, and you can archive records and print them out for posting or for your files. Your data is secure at: https://secure.consultationconnection.com/RecordKeeping

RecordKeeper is Easy Step 1: Enter Data When you add a new incident, the wizard steps you through each of the data screens and automatically fills out three OSHA forms—301 (to report recordable accidents), 300 (all accidents at a location) and 300A (summary of accidents to be posted).

Step 2: Save, Print, Edit Once data is entered into RecordKeeper, reports can be saved, edited, printed and produced at the click of a button. It’s that easy!

What You’ll Get with RecordKeeper • Completed official OSHA-required forms • Three safety performance measures: Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART), Total Recordable Case Rate (TRCR), and Lost Workday Injury and Illness (LWDII) • Real-time information, allowing you to monitor your safety record and project whether it may lower your workers’ comp modification rate • Time savings so you don’t have to guess about what to fill in

William Tomlin USF SafetyFlorida Safety and Health Supervisor

To learn more about RecordKeeper, visit

w w w. s a f e t y f l o r i d a . u s f . e d u.

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USF SafetyFlorida On-Site

“No one wants a reportable accident.

But when one happens, RecordKeeper saves time with the necessary OSHA forms.”

USF SafetyFlorida Offers HurriPlanner Tool for Small Businesses Create a customized emergency management plan online in three easy steps.

Floridians know that hurricane season is June through November, yet USF SafetyFlorida encourages business owners to do damage control ahead of the storms. That’s why it created HurriPlanner (www.hurricanebusinesssafety. com), a free online hurricane and emergency preparedness plan specifically for small businesses. With HurriPlanner, you can create a hurricane business safety plan in just a few clicks.

HurriPlanner delivers a comprehensive approach to hurricane preparedness with safety tips for before, during and after a storm. The tool is quick and easy, allowing you to create a custom plan for your business and employees.

Three Easy Steps Step 1: Enter important contact information such as your business name, locations, phone numbers and names of emergency and disaster coordinators.

Step 2: Decide if you want additional disaster information added to the plan such as hurricane disaster assistance, continuity of operations; floods, tornadoes and wildfires assistance; emergency planning for employees, and preventing structure assistance.

Step 3: Review the HurriPlanner plan in a Microsoft Word document, print and save.

What You’ll Get With HurriPlanner The end result is a thorough and tailored emergency management plan, with detailed how-to’s for protecting management information systems and handling other key areas such as utility disruptions, damage assessments, employees and suppliers, emergency supplies and more.

Bob Nesbit Program Manager USF OSHA Training Institute Education Center

“Having an emergency management system in place— for hurricanes or any type of disaster—can be life-saving for a business. More importantly, HurriPlanner ensures that business owners and employees understand the important details that come with dealing with all phases of a storm, from preparation to business re-entry.

This website can be an invaluable tool for Florida small businesses.”

To learn more about hurricane and emergency preparedness and USF SafetyFlorida’s HurriPlanner, visit

w w w. h u r r i c a n e b u s i n e s s s a fety.com .

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USF SafetyFlorida HEALTH

13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. MDC 56 Tampa, FL 33612 Toll-free: 1-866-273-1105 Phone: 813-974-9962 Fax: 813-974-8270 www.safetyflorida.usf.edu info@safetyflorida.usf.edu

Non-profit org. u.s. postage

Paid taMPA, florida PERMIT # 236

USF SafetyFlorida Consultation Staff USF SafetyFlorida safety and health consultants include (left to right) Mike Tartal, Gabriel Garcia, Keith Brown, Mark Leon, Jessica Bohan, Dr. Yehia Hammad, Jim Ulseth, Patrick Stark and David Ashman (not pictured: Charlene Sitterly).

Reading this code with your smartphone, using QR code scanning software such as http://web.scanlife. com/en/download-application, will enable you to go directly to the USF SafetyFlorida website.

USF SafetyFlorida industrial hygiene staff includes (left to right) Dr. Luis Pieretti, Ned Fayson, Mylene Kellerman, Charlene Sitterly, Dr. Yehia Hammad and William Tomlin.

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USF SafetyFlorida On-Site