Forming a Safety and Health Partnership
U.S. Department of Labor
Reprinted with permission from:
www.osha.gov
CINCINNATI -- The goals of a new partnership among the U.S. Department of Labor's
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Messer Construction Co. are to reduce
injuries and other worksite hazards, develop stronger training programs, and enhance safety and
health during construction of the $89 million Xavier University Hoff Academic Quad in Cincinnati.
"Working together to share best practices, and to develop and implement safety and health
training to contractors and construction employees will be the principal focus of this
partnership," said Richard Gilgrist, OSHA's area director in Cincinnati. "If we can provide these
employers and their employees with the knowledge and ability to anticipate, identify and eliminate
work-related hazards, we will get that much closer to eliminating job-related injuries."
Phase one of the Xavier University Hoff Academic Quad construction project is expected to be
completed in the fall of 2010. Approximately 70 to 80 subcontractors employing an estimated 400 to
500 employees will work at the site.
OSHA's Strategic Partnership Program is part of U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao's ongoing
efforts to improve the health and safety of employees through cooperative relationships with trade
associations, labor organizations, employers and employees. More than 1.4 million employees and
more than 26,000 employers across the United States have participated with OSHA in more than 535
strategic partnerships since the program began in 1998.
OSHA has improved workplace safety and health over the past 37 years. This success is
reflected in the latest data (2006) showing the lowest national injury and illness incidence rate
that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has ever recorded. OSHA will continue to work diligently to
focus its resources where they will have the most impact in assuring that every working man and
woman returns home safely every day.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing
a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health
of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach
and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in
workplace safety and health. For more information, visit
www.osha.gov.
