The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently announced it had renewed its partnership with ABC’s Central Texas Chapter and promoted the partnership as a success story. In , OSHA highlighted a number of collaborative programs between ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓand OSHA that led to a significant safety achievement: The 2016 combined Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rate for participating contractors was 50 percent below the 2015 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) average.

ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓCentral Texas and OSHA began their partnership, which covered ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓmembers that employed more than 3.5 million workers in 2016, in 2011. The partnership promotes mentorship by pairing contractors who visit each other’s jobsites and share expertise. OSHA officials also attend the ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓSafety Committee’s monthly meetings, where both parties share industry best practices. ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓand OSHA hold two public events, a chili cook-off for casual networking and a one-day Safety Rodeo, which includes safety training to small groups in English and Spanish.

To learn more about ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓsafety resources, including ABC’s contractor-designed roadmap to world-class safety—the Safety Training Evaluation Process (STEP)—visit abc.org/step.

For more information regarding ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓCentral Texas’ partnership with OSHA, contact Chapter President Tracey Evers.