Alliance Background

Date Signed

November 29, 2004

Dates Renewed

November 28, 2006
November 18, 2008

Overview:

Through the Alliance, OSHA and AHTD are working together to provide industrial workers, supervisors and machine designers with information and guidance to raise awareness of the importance of proper selection, use, maintenance and installation of machine guarding equipment and the use of lockout/tagout procedures.

Implementation Team Members

OSHA:

Lee Anne Jillings^*, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs (DCSP), Office of Outreach Services and Alliances (OOSA)
Lisa Ramber^**, DCSP, OOSA
Bill Willson, DCSP, OOSA

AHTD:

Phil Allen, Grace Engineering
James Norton, JHN Group
George Otte, AHTD
Steve Phillips, Ross Controls
Maggie Skarich, Management Resource Association (MRA)
Tom Swenton, Applied Automation Controls, Inc.

^* Lee Anne Jillings served on the Alliance Implementation Team until August 2008.
^**Lisa Ramber served on the Alliance Implementation Team until September 2008.

Evaluation Period

November 29, 2007 - November 28, 2008
Implementation Team Meetings

December 10, 2007 - Implementation Team Meeting
March 12, 2008 - Implementation Team Meeting
June 18, 2008 - Implementation Team Meeting
October 1, 2008 - Implementation Team Meeting

In addition to these formal meetings, the Alliance coordinators from both groups maintained regular contact throughout the reporting period to monitor the Alliance's progress and results.

Results

Events and Products

Outreach and Communication Goals

Work with OSHA to provide expertise in developing and disseminating information on machine guarding equipment and lockout/tagout procedures, and to provide expertise in developing ways of communicating such information (e.g. print and electronic media, electronic assistance tools and OSHA's and the AHTD’s Web site to employers and employees in the industry.

Products

Safety Light Curtain Checklist

Through the OSHA and AHTD Alliance, AHTD completed its Sample Safety Light Curtain Check-out Log. The log is posted to the AHTD and OSHA Alliance Web page on the association’s Web site and linked to from the OSHA and AHTD Alliance Web page on the Agency’s Web site.

OSHA and AHTD Alliance Web Page

OSHA continues to maintain and update the OSHA and AHTD Alliance Web page on the Agency’s Web site. The page includes information on the Alliance’s activities and events, products and resources, and milestones and successes. For more information on the number of visits to the OSHA and AHTD Alliance Web page, please see the “Alliance Program Reach Table.”

AHTD Web Site

In 2008, AHTD continued to update the AHTD and OSHA Alliance Web page with links to OSHA safety and health resources and a number of Department of Labor-developed articles.

In addition, AHTD posts editions of the Alliance Program’s Alliance Quarterly Review (AQR) newsletter on the members’ only section of the association’s Web site.

PowerPoint® Presentation on Machine Guarding Devices

The OSHA and AHTD Alliance implementation team developed a 2-hour training course on Machine Guarding Devices, to present to OSHA staff. The presentation addresses high technology machine guarding devices that are used in the workplace. During this reporting period the agency provided review and comment to AHTD regarding the new section “Control Reliable Fluid Power Valves Module” in the presentation.

OSHA Safety and Health Topics Pages

Through the Alliance, AHTD representatives continue to serve on the editorial boards for the following OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages and provide the Agency with their expertise and feedback:
- Control of Hazardous Energy
  - Jim Norton, JHN Group, Hanover, MA
  - Steve Phillips, ROSS Controls, Troy, MI
  - John Thompson, Dittman and Greer Inc., Middletown, CT
- Machine Guarding
  - Jim Norton, JHN Group, Hanover, MA
  - John Pirner, PowerMation, St. Paul, MN
  - John Thompson, Dittman and Greer Inc., Middletown, CT
- Robotics
  - Jim Norton, JHN Group, Hanover, MA
  - Roberta Nelson Shea, Pilz Automation Safety, L.P., Canton, MI
  - John Thompson, Dittman and Greer Inc., Middletown, CT
Speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA’s and AHTD’s conferences, meetings or other events, such as the AHDT Spring and Fall Meetings and regional safety conferences that AHTD member companies may participate in.

Events

2008 AHTD Spring Meeting, Key West, Florida, April 2 - 5, 2008

OSHA provided AHTD with a number of the agency’s publications for distribution to its members during the association’s Spring Meeting April 2 - 5, 2008, in Key West, Florida. The OSHA publications included: the OSHA and AHTD Alliance Activities Summary, Control of Hazardous Energy Lockout-Tagout, Controlling Electrical Hazards and Questions & Answers for Small Business Employers.

2008 AHTD Fall Meeting, Vail, Colorado, October 8 - 11, 2008

On October 9, 2008, Bill Wright, Safety Engineer, Region VIII, USDOL-OSHA, spoke at AHTD’s Fall Meeting in Vail, Colorado. Mr. Wright gave a presentation on OSHA’s compliance assistance resources and the OSHA and AHTD Alliance activities to approximately 200 attendees. In addition, he provided safety and health publications including:
- OSHA and AHTD Alliance Activities Summary
- Alliance Brochure
- Safety and Health Adds Value Brochure
- Partnership Brochure
Encourage AHTD’s members to build relationships with OSHA’s Regional and Area Offices to address health and safety issues in the industrial workplace, including machine safeguarding and lockout/tagout procedures.

OSHA Region I

As a result of the relationship established with Region I’s staff through their participation in the AHTD’s Machine Guarding Technology Training Seminar, which is a product of the Alliance, a working relationship has been established between OSHA staff in Region I and AHTD.

This relationship lead to an opportunity for AHTD to present “Robotics,” a draft training seminar being developed by AHTD through the OSHA and AHTD Alliance, to 19 OSHA Regional staff in Boston, Massachusetts on September 19, 2008. The presentation covered how robots are becoming more prevalent in the workplace and the safety measures involved in utilizing them.
- Work with other Alliance participants on projects to address safety and health issues in the industrial workplace including machine safeguarding and lockout/tagout procedures.
  
  The OSHA and AHTD Alliance Implementation Team has not started work on programs or projects to address this goal.
- Share information among OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals regarding AHTD best practices or effective approaches and publicize the results through outreach by AHTD and through OSHA-or AHTD-developed training programs, workshops, seminars and lectures (or any other applicable forum).
Events

Machine Guarding Technology Training Seminar

Through the Alliance, AHTD delivered a number of Machine Guarding Technology Training Seminars to 139 OSHA staff. The seminar, taught by a member of AHTD, focuses on high technology equipment such as: safety interlock switches; guard locking devices (e.g. trip cords and safety mats); safety light curtains; two hand trip controls and safety laser curtains. During the training, the attendees also learn about safety issues associated with robotic equipment, the types of robotics used in the workplace and the applicable OSHA machine guarding and robotics-related ANSI standards.

The following seminars were conducted during the reporting period:
- May 21, 2008, Wethersfield, Connecticut
- May 29, 2008, Montpellier, Vermont
- September 10, 2008, Seattle, Washington
- September 11, 2008, Portland, Oregon
- September 30, 2008, Kansas City, Missouri
- October 14, 2008, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
- October 16, 2008, Jacksonville, Florida
Promoting the National Dialogue Goals:
- Develop and disseminate case studies illustrating the business value of safety and health and publicize their results.
  
  The OSHA and AHTD Alliance Implementation Team has not started work on programs or projects to address this goal.
- Participate in stakeholder and other forums for providing input on machine safeguarding and lockout/tagout issues in the workplace.
  
  The OSHA and AHTD Alliance Implementation Team has not started work on programs or projects to address this goal.
Executive Summary

Through the OSHA and AHTD Alliance, the organizations have continued their excellent working relationship through their combined efforts to raise awareness about high technology machine guarding devices and robotics through sharing information and participating in outreach opportunities.

AHTD distributed a number of OSHA’s publications at AHTD’s 2008 Spring Meeting in Key West, Florida and at AHTD’s Fall Meeting in Vail, Colorado. In addition, Bill Wright presented information about Agency safety and health resources along with information about the Alliance Program.

Through the Alliance AHTD presented their Machine Guarding Technology Training Seminar to 139 OSHA staff members in three Regions. AHTD also presented their Robotics Training Seminar to OSHA staff in Boston, Massachusetts.

Lastly, OSHA and the AHTD renewed the OSHA and AHTD Alliance on November 18, 2008.

Alliance Program Reach

Type of Activity	Number of Individuals Reached
OSHA and AHTD Alliance Web page	Waiting for Web Trends to come back up
AHTD/OSHA Alliance Web page	Data Not Available
April 1, 2008 AHTD Spring Meeting, Key West, Florida Publications	270
May 21, 2008, Machine Guarding Technology Training Seminar – Wethersfield, Connecticut	13
May 29, 2008, Machine Guarding Technology Training Seminar – Montpellier, Vermont	18
September 10, 2008, Machine Guarding Technology Training Seminar – Seattle, Washington	25
September 11, 2008, Machine Guarding Technology Training Seminar – Portland, Oregon	20
September 19, 2008, Robotics Training Seminar – Boston, Massachusetts	19
September 30, 2008, Machine Guarding Technology Training Seminar – Kansas City, Missouri	16
October 14, 2008, Machine Guarding Technology Training Seminar – Ft. Lauderdale, Florida	17
October 16, 2008, Machine Guarding Technology Training Seminar – Jacksonville, Florida	11
October 8, 2008, AHTD 2008 Fall Meeting, Vail, Colorado Bill Wright	200
November 2008 - OSHA Renews Alliance with the Association for High Technology Distribution (Compliance Home - OSHA News, http://www.compliancehome.com)	Data Not Available
Control of Hazardous Energy Safety and Health Topics page	73,380
Machine Guarding Safety and Health Topics page	29,339
Robotics Safety and Health Topics page	5,840
Total	110,545

Upcoming Milestones

In the next year of the Alliance, OSHA and AHTD will continue to work together to identify opportunities for promoting safety and health and the OSHA and AHTD Alliance through presentations and exhibiting opportunities at AHTD events, such as the AHTD 2009 Spring Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona and the AHTD Fall Meeting in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

The OSHA and AHTD Alliance implementation team plans to deliver the Machine Guarding Technology Training Seminar for OSHA staff in OSHA Regions III and IV during 2009. Training is being scheduled for OSHA staff in:

Philadelphia, PA, 2009
Mobile, AL, 2009
Atlanta, GA, 2009
Nashville, TN, 2009
Birmingham, AL, 2009
Jackson, MS, 2009

Report prepared by: Bill Willson, Alliance Coordinator, Office of Outreach
Services Alliances, February 6, 2009.