Springfield HBA enters partnership with OSHA

Addie Walters, director of member services for HBA, said the organization's education committee was the driving force behind the partnership.

Through the partnership, Walters said, OSHA works together with participating companies to assess their safety programs and practices.

“Basically (it helps) them to strengthen their job-site safety program,” she said. “Some people around here probably don't even have a safety program put into place, and what OSHA will do is work with them instead of going on their job site and … handing out citations.”

HBA-member companies that want to join the partnership with OSHA must go through a separate application process.

“It's a pretty involved application. They have to provide some details about what they do to promote safety on their job sites. They have to report any instances that have happened over the past couple of years that they've had to report … and OSHA takes all that into consideration. It's basically just an assessment of where they are and where they need to be,” Walters said.

HBA was able to specify some of the requirements set forth in the partnership agreement, including the provision that participating companies in the partnership had to be members of HBA. Also, Walters said, once companies join the HBA-OSHA partnership, they are required to attend some educational events presented by HBA, although those might not specifically address OSHA-related issues.

“There are certain things that we had to have in the partnership agreement to comply with OSHA standards,” she said.

The partnership was unveiled to members at HBA's Jan. 17 dinner meeting, when OSHA District Representative Mark Banden was the featured speaker and was available to answer questions.

“At the meeting, we were just talking with some of the members (and) there was a very favorable response,” Walters said. “At the same time, they're still kind of unsure about it just because it is OSHA.”

At that meeting, attendees learned that job-site safety in the Springfield area is very much a concern for OSHA, and Banden's Kansas City office is planning to visit in the next several months to conduct inspections. Banden could not be reached for comment.

“For years, we've heard about OSHA getting ready to come into our area and come down pretty hard on some of the contractors … inspecting job sites,” Walters added. “We thought that this would help protect the builders, not just strictly having them to pay fines to OSHA, but having them work with OSHA on safe practices.”While OSHA-HBA partnership members will still receive citations for safety violations, Walters said fines will greatly reduced.

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