What is the OSHA-ASSE Alliance

Here is an excerpt explaining the OSHA-ASSE Alliance. The excerpt is from a speech by Edwind G. Foulke Jr., the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, at the at the AMERICAN SOCIETY OF SAFETY ENGINEERS (ASSE) Annual Convention and Exposition on June 12, 2006.

OSHA-ASSE Alliance

At the beginning of my remarks, I mentioned that ASSE and OSHA have enjoyed an enduring and successful Alliance. Our organizations first signed the agreement in December 2002, and we renewed it in June 2004. In fact, the Alliance has accomplished so much and so well that at the end of my remarks this afternoon we are going to renew our Alliance for a second time.

At this conference you are enjoying one of the major outcomes of the Alliance between OSHA and ASSE. Since 2003, OSHA has participated in ASSE’s annual safety conference with presentations specially geared to the needs of safety engineers.

This year you can attend a presentation by our Construction Services Director Stew Burkhammer who has a complete update on OSHA construction issues.

Paula White, director of our Cooperative and State Programs, is on the schedule with two presentations on “Designing for Construction Worker Safety” and an overview of “OSHA’s Cooperative Programs.”

Rich Fairfax , who directs our Enforcement Programs, and Dorothy Dougherty, who directs Standards and Guidance programs for OSHA, have put together an update on their directorates’ activities.

Ruth McCully, Dave Ippolito and John Ferris from our Directorate of Science, Technology and Medicine, have a presentation on “OSHA’s Emergency Preparedness and Response.”

And from this same directorate, Elise Handelman will present news on how we promote “Safety Awareness for Young Workers.”

By the way, through our Alliance, OSHA and ASSE are working to address issues affecting young employees in the workplace. For example, in conjunction with our Alliance, ASSE has developed a “Workplace Safety Guide for New Workers.”

This year’s North American Occupational Safety and Health Week also focused on young employees who are newly entering the nation’s workforce. With ASSE’s help, on May 1st last month OSHA kicked off NAOSH Week with an event at our headquarters in Washington, D.C. The program included presentations by ASSE President Jack Dobson, me, and Art Nordholm, the Secretary for the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering. The centerpiece of the event featured the winners of ASSE’s Kids’ Safety Poster Contest.

We are working together in many other ways. Representatives from ASSE participate in our Alliance Program’s Construction Roundtable, which includes special workgroups that focus on Fall Protection and Design for Safety. The workgroups have plans to develop compliance assistance and training materials for employers and workers in the construction industry, including safety tip sheets, PowerPoint presentations, special topic web pages and case studies.

The OSHA and ASSE Alliance is also addressing issues that affect non-English-speaking employees. This is an especially vulnerable population, as you know, and we are committed to finding ways to help them and their employers improve their workplace safety and health record.

In addition, OSHA and ASSE have been pooling our expertise to share with employers our technical knowledge and best practices to help reduce musculoskeletal disorders and improve motor vehicle safety.

And I am very pleased to report to you that ASSE’s many chapters around the nation are also recognizing the value of working together with OSHA. Each year we are seeing more and more ASSE chapters forming Alliances with OSHA regional and area offices to address the specific, local needs of employers and employees.

Read a transcript of the speech
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