OSHA Strategic Partnership Program

OSHA’s Strategic Partnership Program (OSPP) was created in 1998 and is an extended cooperative partnership between OSHA and groups of employers and employees in professional or trade associations, labor organizations, councils, private industry, government agencies, and others, to share resources and find effective ways of improving worker protection from injury, illness and death. OSHA Strategic Partnerships are voluntary programs formalized through customized written agreements designed to encourage, assist, and recognize employers in their efforts to eliminate serious workplace hazards and achieve levels of workplace safety and health that exceed levels achieved through traditional enforcement methods previously. Flexibility in the program allows for unique workplace needs to be considered so partners can work together effectively to address mutual concerns and achieve greater worker health and safety.

Many employers need assistance in improving worker protection at their worksites and OSHA remains committed to enforcement of safety and health standards in the workplace. However, through a partnership in OSPP, management, labor, and OSHA become allies, instead of adversaries, as they commit to working cooperatively towards greater safety in the workplace by identifying common goals, developing plans for achieving goals, and cooperating on implementing goals and measuring results.

OSPP PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS

Employers participating in the OSHA Strategic Partnership Program must commit to timely implementation of effective workplace safety and health management systems or commit to addressing a specific workplace hazard in a timely manner. Partnership agreements must include the following core elements:

CORE ELEMENTS:

Identification of partners and their signatures
Identification of geographic boundaries
Purpose of the partnership
Goals and strategies
How long the Partnership will last
Management and operations
Data collection
Performance measures linked to goals
Annual evaluation responsibilities
Employee and employer rights
Verification procedures
Incentives and benefits of program participation

Partners may be large groups or small businesses and may include associations, unions, and employers in industries and government agencies. Partnerships are established with a written and signed agreement typically lasting from 3 to 5 years, and may cover local, regional or national areas. Through the Partnership program, OSHA, employers, employees and others work together to identify workplace safety and health concerns, then work together to develop goals, strategies, and performance measures to address those concerns. OSHA's Strategic Plan and its 'Areas of Emphasis', 'Targeted Areas', and 'High-Incident/Severity Areas', are frequently the focus for many Partnership participants.

Each Partnership has a designated Primary Contact who manages the Partnership. At least one of three verification methods must be used to confirm participants uphold their agreed upon responsibilities. Offsite, onsite non-enforcement, and on-site enforcement inspection are the possible methods used for verification. An annual evaluation is held to assess the partner’s efforts towards meeting Partnership goals.

OSPP BENEFITS

Through OSPP, the employer’s relationship with OSHA transforms from adversarial to one of mutual cooperation. OSHA provides many benefits for employers that include:

Outreach
Educational resources
Technical assistance
Training
Deferral from OSHA programmed inspection lists
Limited scope inspections that focus on specific workplace hazards

In addition to increased productivity and safer workplaces, benefits that come from participation in OSPP may include:

Reduced illness, injury and death rates
Lower worker compensation costs
Reductions in absenteeism
Increased worker knowledge and skills
Higher employee morale.

OSPP provides benefits to OSHA as well. OSPP encourages cooperation among workers and program participants, leverages available resources, increases outreach of important health and safety information, and showcases industry models to encourage employers in being proactive in improving safety and health in the workplace.

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